Are expensive preschools better than those in the heartland? We find out what you should look out for, and compare three centres for different budgets.
Over $2,000 a month
At Chiltern House, every class has its own room and there is an indoor playground, which may not be the case at most preschools.
When we visited its Nursery 2 (N2) class recently, no noise from outside could be heard.
Principal Iris Lim says: “We allow the kids to speak up and express themselves. If the centre had an open concept, it’d be difficult to focus on what the children are talking about.”
Its N2 class was exceptionally small – there were just six children with two teachers in class.
The preschool sets a ratio of one teacher to seven children, and there are 14 places for the N2 full-day programme, but only seven are filled. One was absent on the day of the visit. Iris says parents are more keen on its half-day programme.
Chiltern House belongs to an exclusive club – only around 1 per cent of centres here charge more than $2,000 a month. Most pupils at the preschool, which is on the second floor of the SLF Building in Thomson Road, are from the nearby Newton or Thomson areas.
The Chinese teachers, mostly from China, have lived here for several years, so their mainland accent is not too strong.
Iris says there is regular communication between parents and teachers. “The teachers talk to the parents, sometimes every day, so there’s rapport built.”
The preschool is under the Julia Gabriel Education group and named after Chiltern, in south central England, where the eponymous founder’s parents live.
Visiting specialist teachers from Julia Gabriel Centre conduct speech and drama and music sessions once a week with each class.
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