My First Skool to offer 2,000 more childcare places this year

My First Skool to offer 2,000 more childcare places this year
NTUC's My First Skool also aims to grow its enrolment to 20,000 by 2020 - up from the current 13,000 places.

By Loke Kok Fai
Posted 15 Mar 2016 23:20 Updated 16 Mar 2016 15:09

SINGAPORE: Young, dual-income families can look forward to over 2,000 more childcare places in 2016, with the National Trade Union Congress' (NTUC) My First Skool opening childcare facilities in Jurong West, Punggol and Sengkang.

Each of the four centres opening this year can take in between 200 and 500 children.

My First Skool aims to grow its enrolment to 20,000 by 2020 - up from the current 13,000 places. This was announced at the opening of its newest childcare centre at Punggol Waterway Point on Tuesday (Mar 15).

NTUC's Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing, who was at the launch, said larger childcare centres give teachers the chance to pilot and try new ways of doing things. For instance, they can try out different teaching and learning pedagogies to bring out the best in every child.

"It's not just about the numbers - we're talking about people who are committed to the preschool sector and have the interests of the children at heart," he said. "But as you can see in this larger centre, it actually allows us to have economies of scale. It also makes it more attractive for the teachers to come because they're working as part of a larger team. So actually it gives us a lot of advantages to try new concepts."

- CNA/ly

- wong chee tat :)