At Skool4Kidz, we believe that continuous training for teachers is critical to ensure the consistent delivery of quality care and education for the young children at our centres. On 3 July, all 13 centres were closed for some 250 members of the staff and teachers to attend a day-long training together with colleagues from three other brands in the Crestar Education Group.
The Group’s centralised training programme held at the Singapore EXPO Max Atria was aptly themed “Building a Strong Foundation for Continuous Learning”, as it is aligned with the Crestar mission of promoting lifelong learning. It was the first time that staff from ELFA, Kinderland, NurtureStars and Skool4Kidz had attended a combined centralised training programme, which allowed them to learn and share together.
The teachers and principals began the morning attending a talk on “Keys to Positive Communication” presented by Mr James Siew, Director of Training Vision Institute Pte Ltd.
All the staff subsequently attended four different workshop sessions that provided professional development opportunities for them to learn about new research and findings on the best teaching methodologies, tools and resources for classroom delivery and more.
Cluster Heads, 36 Senior Principals, Principals, Vice Principals and Seniors Teachers attended the workshop on “Creating Self-directed Learning Environment”, a seven-hour English session that included designing quality, developmentally-appropriate learning environments for children 4 – 6 years. The Chinese teachers attended the “Picture book learning” session to brush up on using picture prompts to help stimulate thinking and promote oral and aural Chinese language skills.
Both English and Chinese teachers attended the seven-hour “Music and Creative Expression for Infant and Toddlers” session, in which they learned a broad set of skills to use music as a tool to communicate with and engage children in back-and-forth interactions, through fun and creative ways.
Cooks and cleaners, too, had the opportunity to pick up basic knowledge on hygiene and safety, so that they can support and sometimes assist teachers in daily routines and care for infants and toddlers. The seven-hour bilingual workshop “Strategies in Attending to Infant and Toddlers During Routine Care” funded by the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) was especially important for them as they interact often with the children.
“It was time well-spent interacting and sharing ideas with fellow colleagues, as well as from other EC brands in the family,” said Ms Vasandy, Senior Principal of Skool4Kidz. “There was learning and sharing for and from all in a fun atmosphere with a lot of opportunities for teamwork and bonding.”
Besides this centralised learning platform, Skool4Kidz staff also have to attend regular professional development programmes designed to ensure that their skills and knowledge are constantly upgraded through quality training, both in-house and external, to help them grow and reach their fullest potential. Because at Skool4Kidz, continuous learning is one of the core values we live by.
Teachers working their dance moves during the morning session of Music & Movement training.
One of the objectives of the Centralised Training Day was to allow sibling brands to share and learn from one another.
A first, where all four Early Childhood brands of Crestar Education Group came together for a fruitful day of learning, together.
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