For first time parents, it is certainly not easy deciding on an appropriate school for your little one, with the variety of choices available in the market. How we made the decision on where to send our 18-month boy, was based on our needs.
1. We are both working parents - we needed to make sure that our boy is well-taken care of in the day hence we chose a preschool/childcare centre, which operates from 7am-7pm. On days that my parents-in-laws can pick up my child earlier, it's a bonus coz my boy would get home earlier at 4pm. Other days, he goes home when we knock off.
2. We wanted a school with good curriculum - of course, the school curriculum has to cater to our children's development stages and eventually prepare them for Primary School. Taking a look at the type of children's work displayed in school for all levels, it will give a good idea on the level the children are at. I must say, we were reasonably impressed by the works of the children in my boy's school - from the English 'essays', Chinese 'essays' to the creative artwork...at K2 level, some children can write very well in their 1-2 paragraph 'essays'! Although my boy is still in the Playgroup class (for 18mths - 2years), he has been learning a lot from both his English and Chinese teachers and I'm sure he will learn more in time to come.
In my son's school, enrichment programs are also included, like gym classes, cooking sessions, creativity & theatrical strategies... The good thing is, we didn't need to pay additional fees for these programs. I know there are schools where enrichment programs are payable separately, which will add on significantly to the school fees. For us, having the enrichment programs included meant that our son will be exposed to different varieties of programs, without paying more. It's evident that he likes his gym classes and cooking sessions coz he would repeat the actions at home from time to time.
Also, we wanted to make sure we chose a school which did not use TV during the 'free' time to occupy our child. Even if it's educational program, we think TV time can be done at home with supervision and not in school where they are to interact with their peers. TV is no-no in our son's school.
3. We wanted a school which can instill good habits and values to our child - since our boy has started school, he's learnt some good stuff like weaning off his pacifier, learning how to eat and share his toys and showing affection to his friends. Some of his friends have also started toilet-training, which is the next thing I want start my boy on. Of course, there are times when children of this age misbehave...like my boy hit his friends and bit them, the teachers made sure he stops his aggressive behaviour and apologise to his friends for causing pain to them. I know he remembers his teachers' words coz he will repeat them at home.
4. We wanted a school with good, clean environment and a vibrant atmosphere - visiting the school before enrolling your child is always a good way to assess things like how the children behave, what is the children sleeping on (I personally prefer the mesh cots that my son's centre uses), the kind of toys used in class, cleanliness of classrooms/toilets etc. I liked what I saw in my son's school - the children were very happy, chirpy and polite - which I believe,says a lot about the school's culture.
After weighing various considerations, we sent our son to MindChamps PreSchool. As they are also under MCYS, we could enjoy childcare subsidy and use the CDA account for deductions. Overall, we are rather happy with our choice. 
