Student Care Centres in Singapore are multifaceted. They cater to the physical, emotional, moral, social, and intellectual needs of children aged 7 – 12 years. The arrangement supports working parents because they have a safe environment to learn and rest from morning to evening.
The Education Ministry and Ministry for Social Family Development manage student care centres. They monitor the Student Care Centre’s activities, from educational to afterschool care in Singapore. Some student care centres are even open on Saturdays.
The Singapore Student Care Centre has several benefits:
It gives children a safe environment away from home. When a child gets to school-going age, parents usually worry about their safety when they are in other people’s hands. MOE has structures to ensure that Student Care Centres are secure and safe for children.
Children get to rest as they wait for their parents.
Student Care Centres have rest areas to nap after classes, especially for younger children.
So, when parents pick up their children in the evening, they are well-rested and not grumpy.
Academic support. Some afterschool student care students attend other schools and only go to the centre when they leave.
The centre has academic staff that can provide additional support with their homework and the challenges they face in school.
Students participate in enrichment classes. Some of the activities include music, art, and sports.
Children can develop new skills or enhance them during the extra hours they spend in student care in Singapore.
Improvement of social skills. Students get to interact with others from other schools and settings. They get to learn how to make friends and interact with children who don’t attend their schools. They learn to share and become well-rounded students.
The centres are strategically located close to schools. One of the conditions given by MOE for Singapore’s student care centres is easy accessibility and affordability. This is because the cost can easily impede parents who cannot afford to spend so much on afterschool care services.
Parents can also assess the value of students’ time in afterschool care in Singapore. It is easy for parents to determine if they are getting value for money, especially if the alternative is for the child to return home after regular classes.
Student care centres offer various services, depending on the child’s age. Younger children have play and nap times. So, facilities are in place to meet these needs. Older children get additional academic support from the teachers. The care is individualized, depending on the child’s needs.
Some centres open early and close late. These student care centres offer special support to parents who need to get to work early or leave late. They indirectly help to improve productivity in workplaces. Parents are also saved from making the tough decision of one parent giving up their careers because the children return from school early.
Students have much to learn if they end up in one of the better student care centres with extensive facilities. These are opportunities for character development and self-enrichment. The structured services ensure reliability, and parents get to know what their children are doing at any given time.
