Schoolhouse by the Bay

[eastcoaster]

Thinking of sending my daughter (2.5y) to Schoolhouse by the Bay on the East Coast (Kg Arang). I have visited and was impressed by the facilities and what i heard of the play-based curriculum. I especially liked the outdoor facilities and the amount of time they spend in them.

Before I make my decision I'd like to hear any experiences from parents. I know there have been some past comments which I have found through searches, but many others have been deleted which is frustrating. Seems random which threads are kept and which deleted. Anyway...

One reservation I had was that the kids seemed very controlled - the way they moved from class to playground in almost silent lines in pairs (!) Do the kids here have enough freedom? At the same time, other pre-schools I visited were chaotic, which is not what I'm looking for either...

[haitai]

HI I send my daughter there, and am really happy with the facilities and the teachers.  I actually like that the children move as they do, holding hands in 2 lines.  I always think it is safe practice especially if they are going out as a group.  If that is your only reservation then I would sign up!!

[walking in pairs]

My son goes to a Montessori and when the kids move around be it to the playground or cafeteria or excursion, they are encouraged to hold hands, make pairs and go. I think its a good thing as it allows them to walk hand in hand with their friend and also teaches them some discipline & order. I don't think it relates to curbing their freedom! All the Best!

[Aliyanotloggedin]

I liked it alot but the only thing I didnt like was it was not a very indoor/outdoor environment, ie the children were inside in air con most of the time which I found quite restrictive. 

[ex-SBTB]

I removed my child from SBTB in Dec and I wasn't the only one who did it due to a number of issues that built up into one big issue. On the plus side, they do have good facilities (including an indoor gym, gym lessons and outdoor play) and the kids get to play outdoors a lot. The security and admin is good. However this is a bit of a double edge sword as I found that the kids played outside and inside the gym for most of the time and didn't actually get to do much else. They do have a very good Chinese curriculum there and my child enjoyed and benefitted from that. However, that largely depends on the teacher you get. They did have a very high turnover of teachers at the end of last year. I did not see any evidence of creativity or things being taught during my year there e.g. numbers, letters, drawings, artwork and my child would be sent home with scribbles when they can actually draw proper objects on their own. I never saw an art project or a picture that my child had made because they didn't do any. I also had quite a few run in's with my child's teachers over things I think are negligible e.g. my child regularly came home with green bruises and eggs on their head.  

Anyway, this is just my personal opinion and experience. I was not happy, so I moved my child and I am very glad I did. I saw a huge difference in my child within 2 weeks of moving in terms of what they had learnt and in how busy they kept them. SBTB is a cheap school, but if you can afford more, look around as there are better schools out there. As said, just my personal opinion and experience. I am sure others are happy there.

[eastcoaster]

Thanks to all for your feedback so far. Much appreciated and keep it coming.

Ex-SBTB: some things you point out seem like pluses to me as I have a very physical child and want them playing and climbing and getting bruises rather than doing lots of worksheets at this tender age. I am looking for a strongly play-driven program. But I understand and respect that this was not for you.

However what you said about staff turnover does worry me - that can be very upsetting for children. But at least the teachers left at the end of the year rather than in the middle like some east coast schools I've been hearing about lately...

haitai and Ex: what is your experience with the quality of the English spoken by the teachers? And how hands-on and caring would you say they were with the kids?

I hope you have time to answer more of my questions :-) There's only so much info you can get from the school itself, and I'd like to get as many views as I can.

[mum of 4]

I'm just curious - not intending to start a flame war, just some debate as my children are past the kindergarten age.

When people want a 'strongly play based curriculum', do you mean lots of free, unstructured play?  If so, why not just take your child down to the park, or to mum and toddler groups, or even around to friends for playdates.  I really can't understand why you would pay for this.  I didn't want my children to sit and do nothing but worksheets, but I wanted them to be taught to sit down and focus on a task (be it play doh, puzzles) and basically be trained to work/function in a group setting. My oldest child was at a UK nursery which was playbased (no choice there) and it was basically a free for all with some children (mostly boys) charging around and not focusing on anything all day long.  

I do sometimes wonder if the reason so many children have concentration problems is the lack of structure in their early years - never made to sit down and concentrate.  I think children can be trained from an early age to do this. Before I get flamed, I do have qualifications and a lot of experience in this field.

Anyway, that's my take on it, but I'm open to other opinions.  I'm genuinely curious.

[Aliya]

PP, that was the reason I put my little girl into a local preschool in the end.  The teachers are Australian trained and they do have lots of art and dancing and singing and outdoor stuff but they also have some structured "lessons" where the children focus on what is being told to them or what they are asked to do in a group environment.

Another one I liked alot was Shaws, thought their structure and play were equally good.

[eastcoaster]

Well, I don't want to hijack my own thread. Everyone will make their call based on their research and experience. Mine pushes me strongly in the direction of play, yours may not. As long as you're informed, then that's fine.

[ex-SBTB]

I agree with one of the PP's and that's one of the reasons why I moved my child. If I sent my child to Kindy for 3 hours, I didn't want them in the playground or doing free play for most of that time. Nor do I want them doing work sheets. However what I did want was to see my child doing arts and crafts (e.g. making simple pictures, painting, shapes, sticking and cutting, coming home with a massive smile on their face and covered in paint and goo), having lots of stories and songs, dancing and spending time in the playground and gym. My child is very boisterous and physical but they also need to be engaged to sit down and learn how to do a task for half an hour.   

[WLmom]

I look for balance. A good balance of outdoor and indoor. Went to check out a pre-school along mountbatten which charges outrageous fees and very disappointed to know outdoor is only twice a week? For a school with large area with outdoor facility, its most likely just for show. For me, it doesn't have to be expensive or cheap. Its about having a good balance.

[older now]

When we chose a playgroup/kindergarten for our children we wanted them to mix with other children and also learn to look after themselves a bit (ie with me not there), and also for them to play and mess about with paints and water and all that stuff.  There was a bit of 'lesson' time with counting and learning the alphabet and all that, but nothing too strenuous.

There's plenty of time for sitting down and doing proper lessons later on in life, as we've discovered now we're into the realm of secondary school with exams twice each year and homework every night, so looking back, I'm glad I didn't make them do too much of that before they needed to.

[another ex-SBTB]

I am another parent who was not happy at all and withdrew my child in January.  In my child's class at the same time another 5 kids withdrew.

The school is big and the admin is a mess.  They are very smiley (as with most schools' admin) but are really inefficient in processing fees, receipts, and other general administrative matters.

Two of the other parents withdrew because they were fed up that the school doesn't seem to care about the kids.  If your child is out sick for two weeks they don't call.  One mom called the school and asked if the school cared about her child. The response was ... your child will return eventually.  The mom asked what if her child has hand, foot and mouth disease.  The admin person's response was, if it was hand, foot and mouth the Ministry of Health would inform them.

But that's not the point!

The school should care if the child is not attending classes.

Most of these parents ran off to nearby schools where if your child misses a day of school, the school would call and find out if everything is ok.

SBTB also prides itself with the fact that they have waiting lists for virtually all levels.  I think they are lucky to have such premises.

But as another parent pointed out earlier, turnover rate is high.  One time my friend's son's teacher there went off for a month and in that month, her son had SEVEN relief teachers, most of whom are not very committed.

Sometimes there is no relief teacher even 10 minutes into class time!  In such a case, the assistant teacher becomes the teacher. 

Because they have good premises, the school sells. 

But as some above has said, we need a balance of play and structure.  The school disappointed me in this area too.  They don't seem to know what to do with the kids.

[getingoutof UK]

Hi, where did you remove your children to?
and what may I expect to pay?
THANKS

[another ex-SBTB]

I moved my child to pat's schoolhouse.  And trust me, I was not the only one.

I also got very fed up with Schoolhouse because the director, teachers and staff don't listen to feedback.  They always side the school, teachers, staff when faced with feedback. 

The principal is a lady but no one knows what she looks like or sound like.  She's hardly there.  The director is a canadian.  He doesn't talk to parents nor does he listen.  When I tell him something he would ask me to ask the office.  And when I did, the office would then ask him and he'd tell them how to justify the status quo and get back to me. 

Their curriculum nights are just another avenue for them to justify how they do things.

After years at that school I finally saw the light.  I was so blinded by the premises and the grandeur of the school.

I was a huge, huge, huge fan of the school.  I told everyone I knew about how wonderful the school was.  I couldn't believe how silly I was to think that way.