Joint Message

by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 

• 

  Professor Tan Cheng Han

  Chairman

• 

  Chan Tee Seng

  Chief Executive Officer

 

NTUC First Campus celebrated our 40th anniversary in 2017. Over the past four decades, we have been partnering working families, making high quality early childhood education accessible to children in every neighbourhood.

We continue to be focused on this mission, building on our strengths and commitment to serve young families even better in the journey ahead.

Growing our network, touching more lives

In 2018, NTUC First Campus will create 2,500 new childcare places, one of the highest rates of growth in our history. These new places will bring the total number of places in My First Skool, The Little Skool-House and The Caterpillar’s Cove to 20,000 by the end of this year. Some of these centres will be My First Skool Early Years Centres (EYCs), a new service model for children aged two months to four years old. This model guarantees a child a place in a nearby partner Ministry of Education Kindergarten in the year he or she turns five.

Leading the way, raising quality

Back in 2015, we introduced a relationships-based curriculum for children aged birth-to-three. This emphasis on relationships as the foundation of learning for young children puts us in good stead to operate EYCs, and ensures high levels of well-being and learning for our youngest children across the network.

We are always making learning more effective and interesting for our children, through curriculum development, partnerships with leading agencies, and through teaching innovation.

We have introduced niche programmes such as “Holistic Education through the ARTS (heARTS)”, “Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)” and “cultural intelligence and bilingualism” in various My First Skool pre-schools.

Our Malay Language programme, which was introduced in two My First Skool centres in 2015, has expanded nearly six-fold and is now offered in 23 centres. Two other centres also offer our Tamil Language programme.

Holistic support for a good head start

Thanks to a multi-disciplinary team that works tirelessly to cater to the social, developmental and financial needs of children from underprivileged families, we were able to meaningfully impact close to 3,000 young lives in 2017, giving them the strong start to life they deserve. KidSTART is a programme piloted by NTUC First Campus with the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). Its aim is to strengthen social support and parent engagement with those most in need. Through KidSTART, we have seen significant success with children’s attendance in school improving notably.

We are also growing our own in-house capabilities with the formation of a team of seven psychologists and therapists, who currently serve around 40 My First Skool centres.

Recognising our best

Today, NTUC First Campus is a 4,000-strong team. We are very proud that our educators swept a multitude of awards in the leadership, teaching and centre categories at the 2017 ECDA Awards, as well as the Outstanding Pre-School Mother Tongue Language Teacher Awards. We are also pleased that My First Skool was voted as Influential Brands’ ‘Top Brand – Pre-School Education’ in 2017.

From 2019, SEED Institute’s role in the training of new pre-school teachers will be absorbed under the larger umbrella of the National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC). This development is a reflection of the Government’s confidence in the work that SEED has delivered over the last 20 years, and its unwavering focus on uplifting the quality of teaching for the early childhood sector in Singapore.

Financial Performance in 2017

For the year ended 31 December 2017, the Group achieved a total revenue and other operating income of $271.3 million, 13.6 percent higher than the previous year. The surplus for the Group after contributions to the Central Co-operative Fund (CCF), the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF), and taxation, was $12.8 million, representing 4.7 per cent of total revenue and operating income.

The Board is recommending a final dividend of 6 cents per share for the financial year ended 31 December 2017.

Sharing our stories through videos

This year, we are presenting our Annual Report in a different manner: through a series of video stories, with our very own staff as storytellers.

We hope these stories capture the essence of what we have been doing over the past year. We invite you to come on this visual journey with us.

Standing Tall, Together

We would like to extend our deepest appreciation to our Board of Directors, the staff of NTUC First Campus, associates from the National Trades Union Congress, NTUC Enterprise, as well as various community and Government partners who have supported us in the past year.

Let us work hand in hand to grow and stand tall together!

Who Are We

NTUC First Campus Co-operative Limited

As a thought and practice leader in the early childhood care and education field, NTUC First Campus Co-operative Limited (NFC) has been partnering working families to fulfil the promise of young children since 1977. We believe that every child, from every background, deserves equal opportunity to enjoy a quality early education for a good start in life.

The NFC portfolio of pre-school brands comprises: My First Skool, The Little Skool-House International, and The Caterpillar’s Cove. We also support the development of the early childhood sector through The SEED Institute, while afterschool by NTUC First Campus provides school-based student care to support working families.

Vision

To be a thought and practice leader in the development and care of young children, partnering working families in every Singapore neighbourhood.

Mission

We partner families to fulfil the promise of each child, by enabling every child to have a good start in life. We give working families peace of mind, by making quality child development and care services accessible.

Sustainable Development Goals

NTUC First Campus believes that education provides a firm foundation for a good head start that each young life can grow and succeed on.

Achieving inclusive and equitable quality education for all – one of the 17 key goals under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – is a fundamental purpose of our existence. NTUC First Campus, as part of NTUC Social Enterprises, is committed to provide inclusive, equitable and quality education for all children in Singapore regardless of their economic or social background.

Business Units

NTUC First Campus Pre-Schools

School-Based Student Care

Training Partner