Life for new expats can be confusing as it is a new country, new environment, away from all things familiar. Choosing the right school for your child is an important decision. Kellie Hammond, Tanglin’s Head of Admissions shares her top tips.
Q: Why is it so important to choose the right school for your child/ren?
Kellie: A school is not only a place for children to acquire knowledge and an education. A good school environment, with the right ethos and solid, passionate educators, helps in character building, and in turn helps parents nurture their child’s passions.
In addition, a child spends a significant amount of time in school and hence the right school provides a safe and caring environment for children to learn, and we know that happy children are the best learners.
Q: How is choosing the right school different as an expat as opposed to being back on home turf?
Kellie: Our family is from Melbourne, Australia. My sons, Blaide, Jet and I have been living in Singapore for 10 years. Back home, finding a school with a community isn’t as important as it is when one is an expat. This is because back home, our community, our support system is already there; with family and friends whom I’d known for decades.
When you are an expat family, finding a supportive community is very important as the community is really your family; you can turn to them when you need urgent medical attention, a listening ear, someone to help babysit in an emergency or even an “extended family” to celebrate festivals (such as Easter, Christmas or Australia Day) with.
For me, when I enrolled my boys at school I found a community with the parents who also sent their children to the school my boys were at. They gave me the support I needed as a young expat mum; what to do when my boys found certain subjects challenging, organised play dates and looked out for one another.
Q: What can be some of the repercussions should you make an incorrect choice?
Kellie: Happy children learn best. A school environment that is the wrong fit may result in a child’s progress; the child may not want to attend school or be inattentive in class.
Q: How long should you wait for your child to start school to know that you’ve made the right decision?
Kellie: Every child is different. Some children take a longer time to warm up to people or get adjusted to a new environment. Six months is a reasonable time period to ascertain if the school is a good fit.
Q: What should you do if you think you’ve made the wrong decision? Who should/could you turn to etc?
Kellie: Speak to the teachers and educators in the school to find out more about why your child isn’t progressing. In the meantime, join online expat forums to research other schools.
Q: Any Tips?
Kellie: Here are my 5Cs on Choosing the Right School:
Child-Focus: assess your child’s learner profile. What sort of learner is him / her; is your child an inquiry based learner? Does your child learn best through experiential learning? What is the teacher and student ratio?
Community: Does the school embrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity? This is important especially if you want your child to be broad-minded and have friends of different races, nationality and religion.
Curriculum: Does the school have accreditations? For example, Tanglin Trust School is inspected and accredited every three years by Ofsted British Schools Overseas (BSO).
Caring environment: Does the school offer good pastoral care to students? This is important as all children need tools to cope, especially when they are distressed.
Co-curricular activities: make sure the school offer a wide range of co-curricular activities and clubs that fit your child’s aptitude and interest.
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