INNOVATING
FOR
EXCELLENCE

Innovation and technology are key to delivering high-quality pre-school education to the children and families we serve. NTUC First Campus (NFC) embraced digitalisation and adopted a future-ready mindset to redesign the way we work. This has helped us improve productivity and collaboration between departments. In keeping with our people-centric approach to nurturing employees, we strengthened our staff’s skill sets and capabilities on the digital front, to ensure that we stay ahead of the curve. This has earned us numerous accolades in 2021.

Pilot Launch of SkoolNet2

Tan Zi Minh, English Teacher at Little Skool-House At-OCBC-Tampines, takes a photo of a child engaged in an activity.

In 2021, NFC piloted SkoolNet 2 (SN2), an integrated platform accessible via computers, tablets and mobile phones, which enables parents to stay updated on their child’s activities at school through the posts uploaded by teachers. They can also pay school fees and sign up for enrichment classes for their child. At the same time, SN2 empowers our employees to work more efficiently, and channel more time and resources to new initiatives that create value for our children. The platform was launched across 22 My First Skool (MFS) and all 20 Little Skool-House (LSH) pre-school centres in 2021, and will be rolled out to the remaining MFS centres in 2022.

Sabah-zia Mohamed Suhaimi Abdul

Assistant Director,
My First Skool Business Centre

SN2 has certainly benefitted MFS Business Centre. Previously, there were three different platforms that my team had to use to retrieve information, but with SN2, we are able to view everything in one place. Having an integrated and seamless platform creates visibility to see which stage of the enrollment journey the parent is at, and what needs to be done, increasing our efficiency.

SN2 is a platform that promotes sustainability and helps our teachers work more efficiently. Everything is paperless – from the details of the children and their parents, to the portfolios and observations of the children. Everything you need is all in one place.

Tan Zi Minh

English Teacher,
Little Skool-House At-OCBC-Tampines

The Parent App is very useful. I am able to get updates about my children on what they are doing in school and view their photos through the App.

Bee Teng

Parent of Jing Hong and Jing Ye from
Little Skool-House At-OCBC-Tampines

HR Asia Awards

Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2021
& WeCare: HR Asia Most Caring Companies Award 202l

Chan Su Yee, Chief Executive Officer at NTUC First Campus, receives HR Asia Awards – Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2021 & WeCare: HR Asia Most Caring Companies Award 2021.

NFC has built a team of engaged and driven early childhood professionals and corporate professionals by prioritising their well-being and providing ample opportunities for them to learn and innovate. For the third consecutive year, NFC was awarded one of the “Best Companies to Work for in Asia” at the HR Asia Awards. This award is an endorsement of NFC’s employee-centric policies and is a recognition of NFC being an organisation that creates purposeful job opportunities and encourages continual learning.

In addition, NFC was conferred the ‘WeCare: HR Asia Most Caring Companies Award 2021’, an accolade awarded to companies that demonstrated exemplary efforts in creating a culture of empathy and care within their organisation. These two factors were vital for employee engagement amid the COVID-19 pandemic. NFC is the only early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Singapore to receive this award.

In 2021, NFC improved the well-being, job satisfaction and productivity of pre-school educators through initiatives such as the adoption of technological solutions to help educators with administrative tasks and providing vocal lessons and self-care workshops for our educators. Every MFS pre-school centre now has a dedicated Teacher Resource space for employees to rest and prepare their lessons during time set aside from teaching.

Chan Su Yee

Chief Executive Officer,
NTUC First Campus

We are very grateful and honoured to have received HR Asia’s ‘Best Companies to Work For’ award for the third year. This is a testament to NFC’s ‘People First’ commitment, a value that is embraced across the organisation. Our leadership team and I place great importance on engaging our over 5,000 staff. This is done through a variety of ways, both virtual and physical, such as centre visits, townhalls and smaller group interactions. This ensures that all members of our team are aligned to our organisation’s vision and goals. More importantly, it is also an opportunity for us to listen and take in feedback on how we can all move forward more effectively as one First Campus team.

I made a mid-career switch from being a banking executive to an early childhood educator in 2010. NFC is the second early childhood care and education operator I have worked at, and I have not looked back since. In just two years after joining NFC, I grew from a deputy centre lead to a principal, and I am grateful to NFC for nurturing me. My bosses also show care and concern in small ways, such as checking in on me every day to ensure that I have my meals on time after learning that I have a history of gastric pain. I also resonate deeply with NFC’s social mission of giving back to the community.

Tok Su Ling

Principal,
My First Skool
(Block 684A Choa Chu Kang Crescent)

Sandra Thong

Senior Executive,
My First Skool
(Business Unit)

I feel appreciated when my bosses send me wellness packages, such as bento, flowers and ice-cream. They are also very flexible and understanding of each employee’s unique circumstance. For example, employees with children could come in later if they need to send their children to school. My bosses are also easy to speak to. Whenever I encounter an issue at work, they will readily offer me support. They are also open to feedback.

ECDA Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Development

Teacher Teo Ming Ai is reading a book to the children.

Teacher Nur’Aqilah Binte Abdul Malek is interacting with children in class.

Teacher Sharifah Mastura Syed Daud is getting the children to roleplay in class.

Principal Sabirah Binte Mohamed Idris is conducting a small-group activity with the children.

“The Move & Groove” Project helps reduce children’s anxiety during transitions between activities.

Organised by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), the ECDA Awards recognise the exemplary early childhood leaders, teachers and educarers, and centres that have excelled in teaching and learning, and in their innovative practices.

A recognition of NFC’s commitment to excellence in early childhood care and education, and our educators’ innovation and professionalism, NFC was accorded six awards at the 2021 ECDA Awards held virtually on 27 November 2021. The winners were selected from more than 300 nominees.

Outstanding Early Childhood Leader

Pearlyn Tan Pei Ling
My First Skool (997 Buangkok Crescent)

Promising Early Childhood Leader

Sabirah Binte Mohamed Idris
My First Skool (80 Marine Parade Road)

Outstanding Early Childhood Educarer

Nur’Aqilah Binte Abdul Malek
Little Skool-House (On-The-Green)

Promising Early Childhood Educarer

Sharifah Mastura Syed Daud
My First Skool (80 Marine Parade Road)

Promising Early Childhood Educarer

Teo Ming Ai
My First Skool (997 Buangkok Crescent)

Early Childhood Innovation

‘The Move & Groove’ Project
Wendy Ong Kwee Lan, My First Skool (140 Serangoon North)

Outstanding Pre-school Mother Tongue Language
Teacher Awards 2021

Two NFC Mother Tongue Language teachers received the Outstanding and Merit awards at the 2021 Outstanding Pre-school Mother Tongue Language Teacher Awards held virtually on 28 August 2021.

Jointly presented by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL), the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee (MLLPC), and the Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee (TLLPC), the awards recognise pre-school teachers for nurturing a passion for Mother Tongue languages among pre-school children and making learning the language engaging.

At the awards, Dr Connie Lum, renowned early childhood educator and NFC’s Director of Mother Tongue Language Curriculum and Professional Development, also shared her insights on the topic of “Leveraging the Five Senses in Developing Skills to Learn Chinese Language”.

Outstanding Award Winner

Liao Sulian
My First Skool (219 Toa Payoh)

Merit Award Winner

Lim Wen Zhi
My First Skool (209 Ang Mo Kio)

Pre-school Chinese Language Storytelling Aids
Competition Awards 2021

Xie Ying Ying, Chinese teacher from My First Skool, won first prize in the Pre-school Chinese Language Storytelling Aids Competition Awards 2021.

Teachers from My First Skool clinched the third prize in the Pre-school Chinese Language Storytelling Aids Competition Awards 2021.

At the 2021 Pre-school Chinese Language Storytelling Aids Competition Awards, Xie Yingying, Chinese teacher at MFS (2 Punggol Drive), clinched the winning entry for her tree-like figure with six doors of a different colour each.

Organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning, the competition aims to encourage teachers to develop creative storytelling aids and teaching methods to stimulate children’s interest in listening to and telling stories. Selected from close to 300 entries received between March and April in 2021, NFC also clinched the third prize and three commendation prizes.

Razinah Abdul Salim, English Teacher at My First Skool at 80 Marine Parade Road, is teaching children in class.

Bringing NFC’s Evidence-Based Relationships-Based Curriculum Approach to a Wider Audience

Razinah Abdul Salim, English Teacher at My First Skool at 80 Marine Parade Road, is teaching children in class.

Dr Marjory Ebbeck, NFC’s Senior Academic Advisor, and Emeritus Professor of Early Childhood Education, University of South Australia, and her team published a research paper in the Early Childhood Research Journal in 2021, based on an ongoing study about the effects of the Relationships-Based Curriculum (RBC).

Primary Caregiving is a care arrangement that is fundamental to the RBC. As the concept of Primary Caregiving is still uncommon in Singapore, the paper examined parents’ views and understanding of ‘Primary Caregiving’, which is defined as “a model or system of caring for children in groups whereby each caregiver or teacher (primary caregiver) within a larger group is assigned primary responsibility for a specific group of children”. The research found that all parents surveyed were satisfied with ‘Primary Caregiving’ as it successfully met their children’s needs, supported safe and secure relationships, and improved the communication between home and school.

NFC’s SPARK Achievements

Ang Peck Qi, English Lead Teacher at My First Skool at 51 Fernvale Link, is guiding a child during an outdoor painting activity.

pre-school centres are SPARK-certified

pre-school centres have attained SPARK Certification (Commendation)

In 2021, 148 of our pre-school centres have achieved SPARK Certification. In addition, 7 MFS centres were recognised for their excellence with SPARK Certification (Commendation) awards, bringing our total number of commendation centres to 31.

Ang Peck Qi, English Lead Teacher at My First Skool at 51 Fernvale Link, is guiding a child during an outdoor painting activity.

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