Chiltern House

[edunloaded]

Rainbow98:

Hi Pocky7C,


Agree. The school is only as good as the teachers get. You need the teachers to deliver what the school promised to do for its students.
If yr kids don't get a good teacher, it doesn't matter how good the school's philosophy is. Seems like the new teacher at Mtbatten didn't get good reviews from a few of her class parents. Friend said other than the teacher's lack of response, one parent even commented that their kid became more withdrawn after starting school at this branch, which is not in line with CH's culture. Not sure what role the principal played or did not play in this instance. That's why the rest of our friends who were considering the Mt batten branch changed our mind about sending our kids there. Good to know that your kid is happy at a different branch. But heard long waitlist at other branches at all times.

totally agree with u.

Recently I got to meet the Chiltern House Principal Fiona Walker Not too sure about her teachers, but I was quite impressed with their programs, and she gives really sound advice.

U can check out my feelings here.

http://www.edunloaded.com/parenting/do-my-kids-need-enrichment-classes/

[yummy_pie]

hi hi, any mummies sending their child to chiltern house mountbatten and halifax. need feedback because contempleting between the two. read in the forum that mountbatten teachers are not so experience. wonder if there are any improvement now?

[LittleLambie]

Any parents here who's kids are with CH at The Playground in East Coast? How do you find it?


I am trying to send my 3y.o. dd for their N2 class next year. For the past few MONTHS, I've tried visiting them personally (was turned away), called many, many times, emailed many times too but nobody responded at all. We just wanted to find out more & probably have to be put on waitlist but we can't even get hold of somebody to do that! Incredible! Are they really that high-handed? :?

[toddles]

LittleLambie:

Any parents here who's kids are with CH at The Playground in East Coast? How do you find it?


I am trying to send my 3y.o. dd for their N2 class next year. For the past few MONTHS, I've tried visiting them personally (was turned away), called many, many times, emailed many times too but nobody responded at all. We just wanted to find out more & probably have to be put on waitlist but we can't even get hold of somebody to do that! Incredible! Are they really that high-handed? :?

possibly because the waitlist is so long they don't see a point to entertaining more queries...

[autumnbronze]

LittleLambie:

Any parents here who's kids are with CH at The Playground in East Coast? How do you find it?


I am trying to send my 3y.o. dd for their N2 class next year. For the past few MONTHS, I've tried visiting them personally (was turned away), called many, many times, emailed many times too but nobody responded at all. We just wanted to find out more & probably have to be put on waitlist but we can't even get hold of somebody to do that! Incredible! Are they really that high-handed? :?

They can be.

When I called up to make an appointment with them last year (finally), I was told they could only accommodate me 2 weeks later. This despite the fact that my DS had been in JG for 2 terms.

And on the day of appointment, they called me up at 9am plus to inform me that the appointment date had to be changed (something about preparing for the coming art exhibition in their school).

I made a really big fuss because my DH had taken leave so that we could recee some schools together. In the end, they relented.

Needless to say, I went against my initial decision (before recee) to sign up in that school. Their lack of \"potential customer service\" sealed their fate. And first impressions can sometimes be the clincher in one's decision making process.

It was actually my first choice in the list of pre-schools for DS. And the first one to be striked off.

If you are really interested, the best way to be put on priority wait list is still to sign up for some programmes in JG.

[Melchan]

Rainbow98:

Hi Mummies,


Heard not so good comments on CH's new branch at Mountbatten. Some teachers are new and thus, don't get your money's worth for the \"CH thingy\" that you pay for. Check out the teacher's previous experiences and qualifications before you send your child in. I guess other branches might be better.

Hi Rainbow98,

i wonder what is the source of your misleading comments. I feel that your comments are very unfair to the justice of what CH Mountbatten has done for their students and wld like to share my geunine experience rather than HEARSAY and GOSSIPY UNTRUTHS.

Personally, i sent my child to CH Mountbatten and i find the principal and all the teachers to be very professional. My daughter is very happy in school. She was previously withdrawn in another pre-school and was labelled as ''quiet & timid\" but after switching her to CH Mountbatten, she opened up and became less shy. She is even able to speak up in class now and look forward to sharing stories with her classmates.

She is also more independent and is able to feed herself during mealtimes without much supervision. She is also toilet trained in school and now almost 90% successful. The teachers were very patient with her and i like the way they encourage each student to shine. I like their positive approach to handling each different students and do not label the child as \"naughty\". \"talkative\" etc...

I have observed the children in class and i can see the spontaneity of their behaviour in class versus the withdrawn and conformist behaviour of kids in another pre-school that my child was in previously. The teachers are all wonderful and they can remember the names of all the students despite whether they are N1, N2 or K1 teachers. They all display caring nature and a nuturing approach to childhood learning. I feel very at ease leaving my daughter in school and assured that she is well looked after.

Mostly, i love the clean and bright airy classrooms and the lovely clean playground. I had visited the other CH at Halifax and Bukit Timah, but i chose Mountbatten becos the BRAND NEW facility impresses me the most. I live somewhere central so either location is about same travelling time, so i picked Mountbatten. I was offered a space in CH Bukit Timah & Forum but turned both down and chose Mountbatten instead.

Hope Mummies out there do visit the preschools and make an informed decision rather than jugding based on what you read on forums. Some people are competitors and may not make real comments or they may be trying to make the queue shorter for themselves...

You may send me a personal message if you want to know further about my experiences etc. I will be most happy to help.

[LittleLambie]

autumnbronze:

LittleLambie:

Any parents here who's kids are with CH at The Playground in East Coast? How do you find it?


I am trying to send my 3y.o. dd for their N2 class next year. For the past few MONTHS, I've tried visiting them personally (was turned away), called many, many times, emailed many times too but nobody responded at all. We just wanted to find out more & probably have to be put on waitlist but we can't even get hold of somebody to do that! Incredible! Are they really that high-handed? :?

They can be.

When I called up to make an appointment with them last year (finally), I was told they could only accommodate me 2 weeks later. This despite the fact that my DS had been in JG for 2 terms.

And on the day of appointment, they called me up at 9am plus to inform me that the appointment date had to be changed (something about preparing for the coming art exhibition in their school).

I made a really big fuss because my DH had taken leave so that we could recee some schools together. In the end, they relented.

Needless to say, I went against my initial decision (before recee) to sign up in that school. Their lack of \"potential customer service\" sealed their fate. And first impressions can sometimes be the clincher in one's decision making process.

It was actually my first choice in the list of pre-schools for DS. And the first one to be striked off.

If you are really interested, the best way to be put on priority wait list is still to sign up for some programmes in JG.

Thanks so much for sharing! In fact, my dd is currently attending enrichment classes at JG too. But during the time when I went down personally, they mentioned there is NO added advantage to the waitlist for JG students. :roll:

Any other mommies or daddies who might be able to share their experiences as well? How long a wait on average before its your turn?

[LittleLambie]

~ Double posted ~

[happydam]

Hi there, can I check if CH is a childcare or a regular 3+ hour nursery/kindergartens? Also, how much are the fees? Thanks!

[makoshark]

Don’t send your kids to Chiltern House Mountbatten!

How good a school depends on the branch’s teachers and Centre’s Head and the Mountbatten branch has one of the worst teacher I have even encountered and the Centre’s head as well as her boss doesn’t try to help with the situation.
They are only interested in the money you pay them.
My girl was there for less than 2 months and during that time she has become so fearful of the word school.
Her teacher (E) operates more like a domestic help than a teacher.
She never tell us or the grandparent about any issues when we ask her nor were we updated on any issues in the communication book but she can send a direct e-mail to us on a weekend just to list down all the issues with my daughter.
And in the e-mail there were no attempt to seek any clarifications on why things were down or how she could help. so much for the "teachers and parents will work together" philosophy.
We had to go down and meet the Head to get more info and again instead of working together to address the issues, E was so defensive and kept on trying to justify her accusations.
How much care and concern do you think this teacher has?
This teacher is incompetent and heartless.
You all might think I am biased but just think about this - How much love, care and concern an environment has if a child becomes so traumatised by the place that the mentioned on the word "school" would make her cry?

And do you know what?
They managed to send out the year end "portfolio" and wrote great things about my daughter. They wrote about how she has grown and can do many things. It was like they were writing about a totally different person.
My believe is that it was a standard report which they just change the names.

Finally, their mercenary ways showed up so clearly that photos of my daughter’s field trip were not given to us even though it was out entitlement and the head happily ignored my request because I had withdrawn my daughter from the school. Do note that my request came during the period where we still pay school fees.

Don’t waste your money to send your kid to this branch.
The other branches might be good but this one (especially E) is terrible.