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Considerations When Choosing A Preschool

13 January 2023

Guillaume Vidal

Preschools provide daycare and educational services to children in their early development stages. Most parents are excited about taking their kids to preschools. However, they do not have a criterion to use when choosing an appropriate facility for their kids. The piece below proposes measures parents can use when comparing the various preschools.  

Convenience

The thumb rule is that the facility must be conveniently located. Its physical location should be close to your home. This way, you do not struggle to take your child to the facility. Some preschools organise transport to and from the facility. This option guarantees convenience since parents do not have to worry about wasting work hours as they take their kids to the centre. 

Staffing 

Who takes care of your child at the facility? Assess the facilitators' credentials to know whether they have the training and accreditation needed to offer early childhood education services. Besides academic credentials, check whether the trainers have continuous professional development training that enables them to deliver the curriculum. If your child has an early childhood disorder or disability, assess whether the facilitators have any experience in dealing with similar kids. If they do, conduct a brief interview to establish their competence. For instance, how do they identify the child's needs? How do they guarantee the child's comfort as they interact with other kids? How does the facilitator identify the child's medical needs? 

Besides the facilitators, examine the expertise of non-teaching staff, such as the catering team. For example, check the quality of meals served at the facility and the hygiene standards observed in the kitchen. After all, you would not want your child to develop an illness or allergy after eating bad food. Assess the facility's management. For example, what measures does the administration take to ensure the childcare givers abide by the regulations? Most facilities conduct regular audits to ensure the facilitators adhere to established guidelines.

Parent-Teacher Relationships

As a parent, you would want to be involved in your child's education journey. Therefore, assess the preschool's approach toward parent-teacher relationships. Ideally, parents should receive regular reports detailing their child's progress. This way, you know what your child learns at the facility and their comprehension of the various modules. The preschool should also organise one-on-one parent-teacher sessions where parties can discuss how to help the student. For instance, they could discuss how to handle indiscipline and boost the child's artistic skills or confidence. Such conversations go a long way in ensuring a good learner. 

For more information, contact a preschool like 123KIDS Early Learning Centre.

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