Pat's Schoolhouse
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empressplace:
I guess different kids and different parents have different ways of adapting to new situations. I'm a sahm who has been taking care of my dd since she was born, so preschool was a whole new experience for both of us. I supposed if your kids are really raring to go to school, and really doesn't have separation anxiety, you could just drop them off on the first day.Re orientation for new kids, I think they believe the best policy is to say a firm good bye and go off. I was told we could stay in school for the first few days. However I notice that all the parents just dropped off the kids and went off. These were parents with older children and experienced. So I also followed them and left. I didn't feel any pressure from the teachers to leave. But it was odd for me to stay when everyone else wasn't!
On at least 2 occasions that I have seen the food, there were lots of meat and vegetables in one dish served together with rice. I think the food is good enough.
What really disturbed me was that there were other new kids on dd's first day in school. Which means that there were a lot of wailing kids- at least 3- and the teachers really look overwhelmed. If the parents were allowed to stay with the kids longer, that would have helped with the wailing to a certain extent. If they don't want parents to hang around, then perhaps they should stagger the enrollment of the new kids?
My daughter didn't cry on the first day because I got to spend half an hour with her. But she started crying on the second day and for days after that.
A lot of other preschools allow parents to stay with their kids for at least the first 3 days, with gradually decreasing duration. It is expected that all kids will take time to adapt, and just because the parents are allowed to stay with the kids doesn't mean that the kids will not cry. The main purpose of having parents hang around is so that there is a gradual transition from known caregivers to new caregivers, and to reassure the kiddos that we're not abandoning them. If this transition is not handled properly, the poor kiddos will need a lot more time to settle down. PSH is so big on being child-centred, so it's really a big surprise that they haven't come across studies showing that a gradual transition is best.
As for the food, I've visited PSH 3 or more times before enrolling dd. And because i visited on the same days, I saw the same time of food being served: soupy porride (with very little rice) with carrots. There was supposed to be meat, but I couldn't really see them. After dd started attending psh, I've observed the food that was being served on most of the days that I picked her up. Some things: very soupy stuff, with mainly carrots. I've checked out the menu and what they serve do not correlate with what's on the menu.
There are other things like the exits and entrances not being secured etc that alarm me as well...
The reason why I'm so upset is that I'm not paying peanuts, and I shouldn't be getting monkeys. I enrolled dd in psh, and not in chiltern house or other preschools, because I thought that PSH provided a well-rounded education and a conducive environment. And as a premium preschool, I really expected more in terms of food, teacher quality, admin quality, operating procedures etc... I don't expect them to be perfect, but I expect them to be good enough.
The good thing about all this is that the management has been quite understanding when I raise my concerns to them. I hope that they understand that I'm not trying to make things difficult for them, but am suggesting ways in which they can make the place better for all kids and parents. Sort of like doing a free quality check for them.
I'm wondering if the fact that PSH has been bought over by knowledge universe has made any diff in their beliefs and practices? Are they like more profit-oriented now? -
I’ve heard that diff PSH branch is diff.
Any views of PSH Serangoon?
Anyone’s kid is there for half day only?
My child is 2008, am thinking of placing her for half day. At the same time also exploring church kindergartens, how diff is PSH programs for half day for younger kids of 3yo compared to church kindys? Many thanks in advance for any advise. -
Omgmum
I think you should have insisted on staying with your kid if you really think it helps. I don't think they would have stopped you. For some kids, parents hanging around may actually slow down the orientation process. Perhaps that's why they don't encourage it. But you know your kid best so if you don't agree, it's OK to explain and ask to stay. There is a boy in my son's class who cried for weeks and I found out later from his mum that for months later, he wasn't really participating in class. After 9- 10 months, he was finally participating and I can see him blossoming and looking chirpy. I think his mum knows his temperament from previous experience and was not too alarmed with this.
You would also find out very quickly that it is necessary to scale down your expectations about Singapore preschools because of the shortage of good preschool teachers and rising costs. After all, it is a business and from my own experience, premium preschools have no shortage of takers notwithstanding the high price. We can certainly give feedback but real change would only come if there is serious competition. I understand Mindchamps is one of the new contenders for the premium range. However as of now, the ones with proven track records are Pat's Schoolhouse and Chiltern House based on the feedback I have heard.
Between the 2 chains, the impression I have is that Chiltern House is much better in administration and communication but Pat's seems slightly better in promoting bilingualism. Another major factor is whether there is a centre near your home in the first place.
Finding good local preschool teachers who speak good English is likely to be a serious challenge in Singapore, maybe more so than finding good Chinese speakers as there are many PRC teachers in preschools now. If we are not even happy with what premium chains provide, imagine what it is like further down the price range. For example, I observed some teachers at the popular St James Church Kindergarten on one occasion. I am not too sure if they were the teachers or teacher assistants or just aunties helping out the kids in cleaning themselves. Some were speaking in a very local Singaporean accent.
Personally, among the issues one may have, I would rate the quality of the teachers and their language proficiency as foremost in my list of criteria. I would raise a huge fuss if there are teaching assistants in Pat's who speak \"perfect Singlish\". We can easily get this kind of environment at a fraction of the price if this is what we are after.
Of course, at the end of the day, once the kid goes to primary school, we may not be able to control the language environment that much anyway.
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My kid is 2008 born and we have been with Tanglin for 1 month. We are currently in the queue for Serangoon (seems that there are >200 2008-born kids in the queue :roll: )
Teachers-wise, we have a local lady teaching English and a PRC lady teaching Chinese. The English teacher is very friendly and readily offers feedback of our kid's progress in class. The class ratio (if I remember correctly) is around 12:2. Ms Ada (our principal), the main reason we signed up with Tanglin in the first place, is very approachable and ever willing to offer advice.
We do agree that food-wise, there is room for improvement. However, because our kid is there for half-day only, the food was not high on our list of \"must-haves\" when we chose PSH.
Like empressplace, we chose PSH after comparing the curriculum (Chinese & English) with the other preschools (5 in total) that we visited. Having said that, whenever I ask my kid what she does in school, she will always cheekily say: \"Dancing the whole day.\"
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debpch:
Thanks so much for your valuable sharing.My kid is 2008 born and we have been with Tanglin for 1 month. We are currently in the queue for Serangoon (seems that there are >200 2008-born kids in the queue :roll: )
Teachers-wise, we have a local lady teaching English and a PRC lady teaching Chinese. The English teacher is very friendly and readily offers feedback of our kid's progress in class. The class ratio (if I remember correctly) is around 12:2. Ms Ada (our principal), the main reason we signed up with Tanglin in the first place, is very approachable and ever willing to offer advice.
We do agree that food-wise, there is room for improvement. However, because our kid is there for half-day only, the food was not high on our list of \"must-haves\" when we chose PSH.
Like empressplace, we chose PSH after comparing the curriculum (Chinese & English) with the other preschools (5 in total) that we visited. Having said that, whenever I ask my kid what she does in school, she will always cheekily say: \"Dancing the whole day.\"
Your child is there for full day?
I visited church kindy too, at this age, it does seem like it's more Music & Movement, i.e. singing & dancing. That's the reason why I wanna see what is the diff from PSH's curriculum. So maybe, I will consider PSH when she is older, i.e, K1, as compared to now, cos the $$$ is really high, sob sob.
Cos K1 onwards, there's enrichment like iMath, etc which I feel is very useful. But PreN & N, I wonder where is the diff. Hope more mums can enlighten me, thanks! -
Dear mummies,
i agree that its more worth it to send them in at the later stage when the enrichment classes and the strong curriculum kick in.
However, i have also heard mummies telling me that the wait list for nursery and Kinder level were so long that they never get to enroll eventually as they are not many dropouts as the children progress to Kindergarden level.
What i heard is, for popular outlets like Serangoon, the wait list is ridiculous. My jaw dropped when i heard the number. Serangoon Pat’s are trying to increase their capacity by acquiring more spaces, so pray hard that they are successful. If not, no point waiting, better have some contigency plan.
I suggest those who are in waitlist for Serangoon or other popular outlets, call and enquire how many people are in front of you. No point pining high hopes if there is a whole chunk of people queueing ahead of you.
For them, priority will be given to siblings, followed by existing students asking for transfer, and then to those on the waiting list. So mummies can roughly guess the chances from there.
eyktay,
The reason why i started my gal with the toddler’s class is to have my first foot in Pat’s. To be honest, whatever she learn during her toddler’s class year, i believe she could learn it in other PAPs childcare also. The second reason was a low teacher student ratio which i thought is impt as she is only 1yr+ then. Academically wise, I have zero expectation.
Curerntly she is in playgroup (2-3yrs). I will expect them to maintain a good student ratio, trained my gal to be academically ok, and also with decent teachers who speak properly.
At nursery level, I will have HIGHer expectation. My gal has to speak well and be academically stronger than her peers in the cheaper CC. If not why i pay so much since the student ratio is getting closer and closer to the normal CC. This is the stage where Pat’s strong curriculum and teachers are important. -
eyktay:
hi, my boy is 2007 and he is with the serangoon branch since last year @ playgroup. My views on serangoon is that it's a well established center w lots of experienced teachers (having said that, alot of things are taken for granted that u should know or you shld not worry too much coz it's been tried and tested by tonnes of kids in the past). He was in half day last year and full day this year. the enrichment programs (imaths, music and me, fasttrac kids, speech n dramas), all started in nursery level and above. For playgroup, quite similar to other cc/kindies, it is more towards gearing them in their self help skills. curriculum wise, they are exposed to the 26 characters in lettterland.I've heard that diff PSH branch is diff.
Any views of PSH Serangoon?
Anyone's kid is there for half day only?
My child is 2008, am thinking of placing her for half day. At the same time also exploring church kindergartens, how diff is PSH programs for half day for younger kids of 3yo compared to church kindys? Many thanks in advance for any advise.
seriously, i dunno how much he learnt in playgroup, except he's having lots of funs -_-' -
debpch:
be warned abt the high student ratio in serangoon ~ ah boy nursery class is 2 trc: 18 students ( 2 new add-onz from last yr playgrp).My kid is 2008 born and we have been with Tanglin for 1 month. We are currently in the queue for Serangoon (seems that there are >200 2008-born kids in the queue :roll: )
Teachers-wise, we have a local lady teaching English and a PRC lady teaching Chinese. The English teacher is very friendly and readily offers feedback of our kid's progress in class. The class ratio (if I remember correctly) is around 12:2. Ms Ada (our principal), the main reason we signed up with Tanglin in the first place, is very approachable and ever willing to offer advice.
We do agree that food-wise, there is room for improvement. However, because our kid is there for half-day only, the food was not high on our list of \"must-haves\" when we chose PSH.
Like empressplace, we chose PSH after comparing the curriculum (Chinese & English) with the other preschools (5 in total) that we visited. Having said that, whenever I ask my kid what she does in school, she will always cheekily say: \"Dancing the whole day.\"
yep. even the 2 new addon who came in had some relations to enter... 1 is transferred from Whitely, the other is like got older sibling in the sch. -
Thanks for sharing mummies! Truly appreciate the frankness. So seems like PG years are for investment for a place in PSH…sigh…very ex lei…sob sob.
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