Cherie Hearts Nurtureloft (Bishan - Sin Ming) (Bishan, Sin Ming)

I guess one will never have thought that the quality of pre-school can be so high these days.

So gone are the days you can spot old-style landed houses with run-down facades and creaky metal staircases – an indication you have stumbled upon a typical childcare centre. This Bishan childcare centre, managed by an early childhood education practitioner for more than a decade, is professionally run and specially designed for a holistic bilingual pre-school education program.

The entrance of CherieHearts Nurtureloft has been converted to a large and cozy lounge area, where parents can rest their tired feet after a day’s work and discuss with the teachers on their child’s performance at school. “Effective two-way communication with parents is a critical component of kids’ development and hence communication transparency is valued greatly”. The secured lounge also serves as a holding area for other visitors so as to minimize potential cross-contamination for the main premises, another deliberate design feature.

Past the health checks, kids are greeted by a huge indoor playground and activity area. Play is a critical education component for pre-schoolers, and unlike most schools with emphasis put on maximizing classroom capacity, a huge free play area has been allocated for the benefit of students. One will also notice the many safety features the school has invested in – rounded edges and corner guards for furniture, customized cushion guards for all pillars and safety mats. Even the entire basic flooring of the huge premises is covered by a special material to partially absorb the impact of accidental falls.

Each classroom for the different ages are impeccable clean and well-equipped. Many of the educational materials have been sourced from overseas, and based on the curriculum theme for each semester, the materials are rotated frequently. For infants, a segregated, colourful and impeccably designed room has been built for them. There are separate areas for relatively immobile infants, a free play activity area, a mock-up living room and a spacious infant gym area. Each has been designed to cater to different development needs and milestones for the young ones.

Kids have it so good nowadays…. Mummy, can I go back to nursery again?