It feels like yesterday that you brought your precious bundle of joy home from the hospital. Then before you know it, it’s time to start looking for preschools. Even more so if you’re looking into infant care! While there are a host of considerations when looking for a preschool in Singapore, most parents want a school that offers a holistic and nurturing environment that is affordable and convenient! That’s exactly what NTUC First Campus has to offer your child. And to mark its 45th Anniversary, NTUC First Campus plans to expand to offer 4,000 new preschool places over the next two years. Read on to find out all about it!
NTUC First Campus (NFC) – An Overview
NFC is no stranger to parents in Singapore. It operates two preschool brands – My First Skool and Little Skool-House with more than 160 preschool centres across Singapore serving about 25,000 children. NFC’s enduring mission is to provide excellent childcare services to young families all over the island and it has continued to uphold an outstanding track record of being an Early Childhood Care and Education partner for parents over the last 45 years. As a social enterprise, NFC also takes on various initiatives to help children from lower-income families and invest in supporting children with learning and development needs with a team of multidisciplinary professionals such as learning support educators, early interventionists and therapists.
NWhat that means for parents is that you can be assured your children are in trustable hands, not too far from home and without breaking the bank! Ticks all the major boxes!
NFC’s Expansion Plans – More Spaces for Your Children
While all of this is good, NFC recognises that the lack of available preschool spaces is a real concern for many young parents. This leaves them in a conundrum of being placed on a long waiting list or having to send their child to a preschool or infant care that is not close to home. This makes logistics a problem and as parents, we all know that convenience is a key consideration.
To help improve this situation, NFC plans to add 4,000 new preschool places over the next two years. For a start, they recently launched a new My First Skool Centre at 6 New Punggol Road. This is a milestone in NFC’s expansion efforts as this campus is in a striking contemporary architectural building that houses 65 infant places and 585 childcare places. Definitely a sight to behold every morning!
The campus is built thoughtfully with mindful incorporation of light blue shades that reduce anxiety and help infants relax. Some of the highlights include unique Makerspaces in all classrooms that provide an avenue for children to invent, build and construct with their friends as well as a large outdoor play area with ample space for children to ride tricycles and enjoy sand and water play. Your children are sure to love it!
A Glimpse at NFC’s Curriculum
Naturally, you’d want to know what kind of learning environment your child will be placed in. NFC focuses on:
1. Relational Skills
NFC believes in nurturing children to be socially-adept, resilient and caring – the necessary qualities for them to mingle well and thrive in the community. This begins as early as the infant stage as NFC’s Relationships-Based Curriculum helps babies to feel secure. As children grow older, the emphasis shifts towards character building and providing a cooperative learning environment.
Here’s something to look forward to – an Intergenerational Programme. Children will get to interact with seniors through activities and in the process learn values such as empathy, compassion, and respect. This is something they can extend to their own grandparents at home!
2. Global Citizenship
An important aspect of a holistic curriculum is preparing children for timely issues. To help children understand their world and the role they play in it, there are programmes aimed at inculcating a sustainability mindset in the children. Some of these activities include participating in national gardening initiatives and going on adventure trips to Singapore’s parks to help children form a positive connection with nature and the world.
3. Digital Intelligence Skills
There’s no running away from this! Your children are digital natives and NFC will equip them with skills to navigate the digital world and be creative thinkers of the future.
4. Increased Focus on Outdoor Learning Programmes
NFC strongly believes in the importance of outdoor learning programmes. These programmes enable children to develop attributes like resilience, responsibility and a sense of adventure!
Parents, there you have it, an overview of NFC’s programmes, facilities as well as their expansion plans. If you’re considering a preschool or infant care in Singapore for your child, you might want to consider planning a visit or to find out more about NFC. You can be assured that your child will have a meaningful and enjoyable preschool journey. Better yet, with their expansion plans, there’s a higher chance of you securing a spot!
