Wongmummy:

Hello ,

Just happen to come across this thread.
I am a mummy of one child who is currently studying in pats jubilee.
I came upon a teacher who is working in jubilee psh. She doesn't look like a teacher but more like an auntie. Others call her auntie and most of the time I see her taking the kid's temperature.
I am wondering does Psh hire professional teachers? This lady doesn't process any professionalism in the way she talks to parents and children.
I witnessed her calling a child \"oie\" and pulling the child's hand when she was crying and using her mobile while sitting at the front door.
If she is a teacher, then I will fear that my child will ended up learning wrong things from her. Her way of dressing is bad, her spoken language is neither English nor Chinese, but hokkian. Aren't pats suppose to teach children to speaking proper language. I have enough of such unprofessional attitude from this teacher. I also seldom see the principal around. Whenever i ask to speak to her, the teachers will always tell me she arent around in school.
I believe the role of the principal is to oversee the school and prevent the above teacher to take things for granted. I hope my child is under good care and support from her teacher.
Please do something about it.
Thanks and regards.

Dear Wongmummy,

Thanks very much for your feedback. I’ve looked into your concerns regarding the conduct of one of our staff members and the person in question here is not on our professional team but was hired to assist the teachers in taking care of health checks, cleaning of toys, helping the teachers to prepare teaching materials etc.

However, I can understand how you felt because I would have felt the same way too. Even she is only an assistant to the teacher, I will still do everything I can to train and help her understand the importance of setting a good example whether it is in speech or behaviour. Our teachers and assistants know that they should not use their mobile phones while they are on duty unless absolutely necessary. I will remind the team again.

We are very fortunate indeed to have an excellent Principal for our Jubilee Centre - Natalie Lim. She is not only dedicated but she is highly respected and loved by children, teachers and parents. In fact, she was chosen to represent Pat's Schoolhouse in bringing our Bilingual Programme to the United States.

However, I am truly sorry if you feel that she has not been around when you needed her. Natalie spends most of her time at the school but she does have commitments that would take her away from the centre from time to time, such as meetings with external parties and attending to necessary things which will enhance the learning environment and enrich the experiences of our children. I can assure you that Natalie spends a lot of her time interacting with her teachers and with parents too. I have personally visited her centre recently unannounced and was very pleased with her performance and commitment.

Please let me know if you would like for me to arrange a meeting for you with Natalie so that you can get to know her better and share with her any other concerns you might have. I am quite certain that Natalie will make time for you and will be very open to change if necessary.

However, if you wish to speak with me directly, I will be most glad to meet up with you as well.

Please drop me a line at http://www.patschoolhouse.com/resources/ask-pat and I will surely attend to you right away.

Thanks again for your time,

Warmest Regards
Patricia Koh

Hi Verykiasu2010,


Thank you for your sincere wishes. We do appreciate the support and understanding from our parents and friends in times like these.

We all know that no one wants a crisis like this to occur, but we all know that when it hits us, we need more encouragement and prayers than finger pointing.

We are truly glad that most of the children and teachers have recovered from this ordeal and we have sailed this storm together, and made it through the strong waves that hit us so quickly and suddenly.

We couldn’t have done it without the resilient children, and the support of our parents, teachers and Principals. We are grateful to all.


Aside to all,

Thanks to all who have spoken up on my behalf and that of Pat’s Schoolhouse – made more heartfelt because you have spoken from the basis of your experiences with us. Your wishes and kind words are treasured. I will share them with the principals and teachers as well.

Sincerely,

Patricia Koh

Laisee:

Pat Koh


Thanks for replying here.

If a mass food poisoning with potential loss of life is not enough to make a parent upset ( not angry, that's wasted emotion ...) and concerned then I'm not sure what kind of parents we would be.

From your comments I see that pats will be preparing food in-house at each school from now on I.e. \"permanently\". Does this include cooking of the food each day? Will there be any food pre-cooked elsewhere and brought to the schools? Will microwaves be used to reheat food cooked or prepared in advance?

Also, would it be possible to use an external agency or company to review hygiene and cooking arrangements at all schools so that we could be sure that everything is 100% in order. This would provide something more substantial for us to rely on than expressions of regret and wishes for the sad events not to happen again.

Thanks in advance for your feedback

Thanks in advance for your feedback

Hi Laisee,

Yes, my heart goes out to our children and families who have been affected by this unfortunate event. It has been painful for me too to see our children suffering. My two grandsons were suffering too.

We started out in 1988 with In House Cooking at all our centres to centralized Kitchens in 2007 for some schools. Only in July 2010, did we decide to move to letting those who are in the food business take care of our growing needs. The decision was an expensive one as we had already invested much in fitting some centres as a central kitchen. We were very certain that we made the right decision as Mum’s Kitchen had 15 years of good track record and able to meet our requirements.

Since we have had the experience of cooking in house since 1988, we will be working with our team to put it back in place. None of our children’s meals will be precooked and brought into the schools. Our cooks will be cooking from our in house kitchens. There will be no reheating of food in microwaves for the children.

Please check our website for updates for more news on such matters. Please rest assured that this has always be high on our priority list – keeping our centres safe for our children. This is just an unfortunate event in our lives. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

verykiasu2010:

empressplace:

[quote=\"verykiasu2010\"]2. If you surf the websites of KU and PSH, there is no way you could contact anyone directly via email except http://www.patschoolhouse.com/contact-us. Who is the guarantee that such web-form filling will be read ? By who ? They don't even have a whistle-blower email (which is a popular thing among US companies)

I have used the [email protected] email and received a direct personal email from Patricia Koh herself. I was very surprised. And subsequently I have written to her on another unrelated matter and received a prompt reply from her. I have found Patricia Koh to be even more responsive on email than the school principal!

Patricia Koh's mobile is also given out to parents in the latest school letter pasted on the communication book regarding this food poisoning incident. As a parent, I have not found it difficult to get in touch with management if that is a concern.

If any of us had found a problem with Mum's Kitchen's food prior to this incident, I don't think there is any difficulty getting this through to Patricia Koh herself. It is not in Knowledge Universe or Patricia Koh's financial interest to risk PSH's business reputation by continuing to use a questionable caterer which includes non food items in the food. The question is more of - whether management could have selected a better caterer or supervised Mum's Kitchen better or whether making more effort in having inhouse cooked food would have been a better decision.

Thanks for sharing this.

KU may not know what is happening at ground level. Pat's financial interest ? ahem, I shall not say anymore, because I do not want to be accused of making suspicious remarks. Thanks again for sharing your experience.

Usually when the founder of a successful business has sold out, the tendency is the increasing lack of attention to the business by the ex-owner who is tasked to remain to provide continuity to the business, willingly or unwillingly, due to overarching financial interest of the new owner who paid for it.

I am NOT implying anything about PSH. Just my observation having being involved in many M&A over the last few decades. Everytime we read about such M&A touting synergy, economy of scale etc .... we have doubts. And American pre-school is very different from Singapore pre-school. Investor's financial interest will be the sole yardstick to measure how good was the deal entered into. Vendor would be under extreme pressure to ensure all the financial kpi are met, and the demands on Vendor will be very unforgiving. Between meeting those financial kpi in black and white and the perception of quality in catering, it will be obvious which is easier to give way

Once again, just some common market place observation. Not implying anything about PSH.[/quote]Hi Verykiasu2010, like yourself, we are indeed appalled by such comments made by a ‘teacher’ about the way we serve food at the school. Our teachers can attest to the fact that I am very much concerned about everything that goes on in our schools and for that matter, food is something that I pay close attention to. I have personally spent time teaching our cooks how to prepare food and even to bake cakes using a special wok and given them tips on making food presentable to children even though the food was catered.

We have replied to her post and have asked her to contact me directly concerning such accusations.

As for Pat’s Schoolhouse being part of the Knowledge Universe family, you will be happy to note that I dropped everything that I was doing in the United States to return home to manage the crisis with the team. How can I not be involved? How could I have just ‘pocketed the money’ and walked out? In fact, I do take offence to such comments.

Pat’s Schoolhouse is my baby and even if Knowledge Universe has a major interest in Pat’s Schoolhouse, they have trusted me to continue to take care of their new baby. We are in it together to help Pat’s Schoolhouse provide the best education and care for our children for the next generation.

As for the organisation chart, let me assure you that Knowledge Universe is a great company with a mission to provide quality global education for young generations so as to ensure that we all have a better future. All those involved in Knowledge Universe and have a part to play will know their roles. No one is just reliant on one person to run one of the world’s largest Child Care providers.

So, if you wish to learn/clarify more about myself, Pat’s Schoolhouse or Knowledge Universe, reach me at via http://www.patschoolhouse.com/resources/ask-pat. I will surely make time for you for a cup of coffee.

To all concerned,


Firstly, allow me to send my best wishes for a speedy recovery especially to the children and families affected by this unfortunate food poisoning incident. We are truly sorry that it happened when it should never have. In the 23 years of operating our centres, we have never had an incident like this. A lot of you have posted your thoughts and opinions here on the subject and I hope to factually address as many of them as possible.

Kabalevsky: Not all of our centres are affected in this incident, though all 13 centres were catered from food served by Mum’s Kitchen up until this incident. 8 centres were unfortunately affected and as MOH and NEA are still conducting their investigations, we do not wish to speculate on the reason why some were affected and others aren’t. We did not serve the children the same food everyday – the menus were planned carefully and met guidelines set by the Health Promotion Board. Since the 12th of May, we have permanent arrangements in place to cook meals from our inhouse kitchen for the children and staff.

GTGT: Unfortunately, we do not have an official FaceBook page, but you can reach us via our site at http://www.patschoolhouse.com/resources/latest-news and use the contact form there to reach us with your concerns. Alternatively, if you would like to contact me directly, please visit http://www.patschoolhouse.com/resources/ask-pat or my site http://www.patriciakoh.com and I will respond to you directly.

lolmum:Thank you for your understanding on the issue. Moving forward, with our decision to revert to the previous practice of having food prepared by our inhouse cooks, parents can rest assured that we are, and will continue to practise due diligence in ensuring that the standards of hygiene and food practices meets stringent standards. I believe we are in a better position to ensure that the food is freshly prepared and our kitchens are clean. Our Centre Principals and our District Managers are very conscientious at upholding our high standards and in providing the best environment for our children to be in.

Popstar: I remember having a very nice meeting at Starbucks with you and having a long discussion about our plans moving forward. I believe you understood the rationale behind the move to from inhouse kitchen to central kitchen to outsource catering. I am sure at that point in time we spoke about the possibility of making a change if the catering did not meet up to our expectations. It is unfortunate that the incident happened. It was not something anyone wished would occur.In all our 23 years of operating our preschools, an incident like this has never happened before. Since 12th of May and going forward, our in-house cooks have and will continue to prepare meals for the children on a permanent basis. I hope you will continue to give me feedback and know that we have your child’s interest at heart.

omgmum:You have raised a few issues, so please allow me to get to them.

1.\tWe will not be using another caterer in the future. As mentioned, we will be using in-house cooks to prepare food for the children and staff. This will be on a permanent basis. As above, you can reach me at http://www.patschoolhouse.com/resources/ask-pat and I will respond to you as soon as I can.

2. I understand your concern on the timeliness of how information has been disseminated to the parents of the children affected. I assure you that keeping our parents in the loop is important to us, and will continue to do that to the best of our ability. Parents had received communications as to what had transpired via various follow-up circulars and communications. We had also posted updates on our website. We are indeed sorry if some parents have missed out on reading some of their emails since they were busy managing their children’s illness.


empressplace: You too raised some concerns and I hope that I will be able to answer them here.

1.\tI believe that the article mentioned that the food that was suspected to be contaminated was served on Tuesday, and the children were starting to miss classes the following day, Wednesday. It was clear to us by Thursday morning that this was a very serious case, and the principals/teachers of the affected centres started contacting parents immediately by the afternoon. The checks done by MCYS and MOH were conducted on Thursday, not before Tuesday as you mentioned.

The teacher you spoke to may not have known the full extent of this incident on Wednesday, as we ourselves were at the time still gathering and verifying the information.

As for a proper explanation to all the parents, we are in close contact with and are supporting MOH and MCYS who are conducting their investigations into what has happened. We will seek to update all parents as soon as possible.

Our children’s nutrition has and will always be a priority for us. Moving forward, we will be cooking the children’s meals in house, and will adhere to stringent hygiene and food practices.

2.\tWith regards to your comments about “being cheap” and “class sizes”, we can assure you that the decision to switch to catering was not a cost-driven one. We are also answerable to our parents and MCYS when we declare our teacher to children ratios and do not take our commitments and promises about this lightly. Please email me directly if you have specific information about this that led you to this conclusion and I will be very happy to address this with you further at http://www.patschoolhouse.com/resources/ask-pat. The total well-being and health of our children has always been, and continue to be our top priority. Our decision to expand to have new centres have always been to meet demands from parents, and we will not do this if we compromise on our standards and quality of care.

3. Although we had a British Chef, Mr Rittersmith, we had a team of District Managers and principals overseeing the operation of the Kitchen at Mount Emily. I was personally working with our Nutritionist from the Institute of Education to design a menu that was suited for our children and agreeable with Mr Rittersmith’s fancy ideas. Over time we improved on the menu and provided our children with very healthy meals which were also approved by the Health Promotion Board. Mr Rittersmith also worked with two more chefs who were then posted to out other kitchens at Katong and Jubilee. Personally I was also training the new assistant cooks (who are our current kitchen aunties) and gave them ideas on how food should be prepared and presented to children. All our kitchen staff were also sent to the WDA Food Hygiene Course. Some of them are still attached to our kitchen even after the move to catering as we needed them to prepare breakfast and tea for the children.

So, when we started to prepare lunches inhouse from 12th May, we were able to do that quickly. All we needed to do was to activate out procurement team to arrange for the food supplies to be ordered on time for each centre.In fact, we have been doing this from 1988 to 2010, so it is definitely not a problem to put things back together again.

4.\tI am saddened to hear of such an accusation made by happychildren. My relationship with my Principals and teachers over the last 23 years has always been one of respect, trust and professionalism. I would like happychildren to contact me directly as I do take her comment very seriously and will get to the bottom of this. Indeed I do hope this is spoken out of love for the children in her class and for her colleagues at her centre and not just because she has a grudge to bear. We have always pride ourselves to have the best working environment for our teachers and we do have teachers who can vouch for that. A high percentage of our teachers have stayed with us for more than 10 years. In fact that we have some who have been with us since 1989.

koolmama: I am very sorry that your experience with our school recently has been less than satisfactory. I see some of your concerns involve our teaching staff. Would you like to contact me directly via http://www.patschoolhouse.com/resources/ask-pat so my team and I can look into this? We value your feedback and would like to find out more on this.

Just so you are aware - when we selected the caterer last year, it was a company with a long history and was on NEA’s approved list, had a good track record and was able to cater food which met guidelines set by Health Promotion Board. We are sorry that this incident happened when it shouldn’t have and we will not take our own good health and that of our children’s for granted.

happychildren: I appreciate your thoughts and concern for your fellow colleagues’ and students’ welfare, and this is something that we should be able to address internally. I would really like to understand more about your specific observations and allegations in more detail. I invite you to send me a private email or a call so I can hear you out fully.

Laisee: Hi Laisee, I noticed in the tonality of your posts that you are very upset and angry. If you have had any direct experiences with any of our centres in the past, I appreciate if you will write to me directly via http://www.patschoolhouse.com/resources/ask-pat so I can help address them immediately with you. If you are currently a parent with a child at any of our centres, you would have received communication which directly addresses the issue of the preparation of food. Again, if the information provided to you is insufficient or unclear, I would like to hear from you. Thank you.



Sincerely,

Patricia Koh