Interview Primary Schools

[Stevenage]

Hi Chief, any indicator which Pri schools will be in the scope for this series of articles?


I think right now, the current buzzword is probably [b]how and what schools are doing about Mental Health Awareness[/B] given the younger age of the (Primary School) students?

[zac's mum]

I think the following specific info would be useful to parents. Sometimes it’s even hard for existing parent to squeeze this info from the schools! I understand whatever answers may change suddenly though, if internal policy is reviewed from time to time:


- how many children are there per class in P1-2? P3-4? P5-6?
- how many teachers’ aides in the whole school? Per level?
- how many qualified counselors in the whole school? Per level?
- how is subject-based banding done and at which year? What is the cut-off mark (or percentage/ #of students selected from the cohort) for the various banding classes?
- how many hours of PE per week? What sports do the kids get to learn during PE?
- How many hours of Science lessons (P3 and above) per week? How many hours of these are practical lessons in the laboratory?
- How many hours of FTGP per week? What do the form teachers discuss with their class?
- Give some examples of activities that the school organizes for the kids to broaden their knowledge & worldview outside of academic curriculum (Eg. Career talks by volunteers/alumni for graduating P6s, social etiquette lessons, Chinese calligraphy lessons, etc.)
- what sort of practical & emotional support does the school provide for kids who have difficulties keeping up with the rest of the class?
- how does the school encourage parents to partner with them in helping their kids? (Eg. Organize talks for parents on how to manage their kids’ screen time, how to deal with puberty issues in upper primary, etc)

[ChiefKiasu]

Wow! Thanks for the great feedback. We will definitely properly categorise the questions you have to ask the various school administrators.


Zac's mum: Not sure what you mean by \"qualified counsellors\". Are u talking about teachers students can talk to for non-academic issues that are troubling them? Subject-based banding is complicated and there are many subjects to deal with, but we'll see how we can structure the questions. Also, I didn't know that kids do science practicals in primary schools now What is FTGP? Gosh... I feel like a noob now. Lol.

[zac's mum]

ChiefKiasu\" post_id=\"2032062\" time=\"1627461754\" user_id=\"3:

Wow! Thanks for the great feedback. We will definitely properly categorise the questions you have to ask the various school administrators.

Zac's mum: Not sure what you mean by \"qualified counsellors\". Are u talking about teachers students can talk to for non-academic issues that are troubling them? Subject-based banding is complicated and there are many subjects to deal with, but we'll see how we can structure the questions. Also, I didn't know that kids do science practicals in primary schools now What is FTGP? Gosh... I feel like a noob now. Lol.

Thanks. I’m sure other parents will have their list of qns too haha…

Science practicals: yes very limited due to time constraints but valuable for the kids to reinforce what they have learnt in theory. Examples that are safe for primary school kids are magnets and simple electrical circuit kits. A few schools even have Science practical exams for one or two weighted assessments.

FTGP is Form Teacher Guidance Period. Some schools have their own FTGP Journal where the school values are taught in various ways. Other things they may do during FTGP are what is an emotion/feeling meter, when I feel _____, what can I do/who can I tell, what are my strengths, goal setting, cyber safety, etc…

School counselors: mentioned in this article that MOE will train teachers to provide additional support to the existing school counselors. Typically only 1-2 serving the entire school right now. Severe shortage IMO.

MOE to strengthen support networks in schools; all teachers to get enhanced training on mental health literacy
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mental-health-schools-support-network-teachers-enhanced-training-15306090

“He added that currently, all schools have at least one school counsellor, while some have two.”

[Imp75]

I would be interested to know:

1. School values/motto
2. School’s accolades (eg best value-added sch etc)
3. School’s niche programme and cca (including types of cca)
4. % of pupils qualify for IP and Express
5. Class size
6. School community outreach program
7. Scope for differentiated learning?

[ChiefKiasu]

Imp75\" post_id=\"2032066\" time=\"1627463537\" user_id=\"2358:

I would be interested to know:
1. School values/motto
2. School's accolades (eg best value-added sch etc)
3. School's niche programme and cca (including types of cca)
4. % of pupils qualify for IP and Express
5. Class size
6. School community outreach program
7. Scope for differentiated learning?

Yes! It is important to know the schools' values and accomplishments. Not very sure by your last point on differentiated learning, though.

[Imp75]

ChiefKiasu\" post_id=\"2032067\" time=\"1627464323\" user_id=\"3:

Imp75\" post_id=\"2032066\" time=\"1627463537\" user_id=\"2358:

I would be interested to know:
1. School values/motto
2. School's accolades (eg best value-added sch etc)
3. School's niche programme and cca (including types of cca)
4. % of pupils qualify for IP and Express
5. Class size
6. School community outreach program
7. Scope for differentiated learning?

Yes! It is important to know the schools' values and accomplishments. Not very sure by your last point on differentiated learning, though.

For eg any special class or after-classs lessons put aside to stretch higher ability pupils and vice versa for pupils who needed more help cos I understand all classes are mixed abilities now.

[ChiefKiasu]

Stevenage\" post_id=\"2032059\" time=\"1627458628\" user_id=\"89746:

given the younger age of the (Primary School) students?

We will try to get all Primary schools to join in. Or at least one from each key area eg. Bukit Timah, Kallang, etc.

I'm not sure if it is too early for mental health awareness, but given what has happened in River Valley High, I agree this is a good starting point.

[Sasawan]

im not sure how to phrase it into questions but what i have always been questioning is about the school characters "Character Building vs Academic". When I talk to mommy friends, for the same school, some will say this school is focusing more on Character building so I let my kid go in. While other mommies would say this same school is so academic and I dont want my kid to be so stressful so I dont let my kid to go there. What exactly is the concrete thing that describe Character building thing or holistic way of learning. How to know which school is really focusing on character building or holistic than academic? Thank you in advance from a very confused mom.