Nursery in Singapore for my 16 mth old?

[AmbiPambi]

We will be relocating to Singapore within the next 3-4 months and I have been searching for a good nursery for my little one but it is hard to judge from afar. I saw there are quite a few Singapore members and hope you can point me into the right direction.

I am looking for a Montessori nursery, with well-trained Western staff and mostly western expatriate children but possibly Mandarin lessons. Can anyone help?

I thought there is one opposite Tanglin Mall, up on a hill and then another one on Bukit Timah Road where the enclosure for Picotin (restaurant) is, but I'm not sure.

Where did you send your children and why? Help is very much appreciated.

Hi, We will be movinf to singapore this December, i have 2 kids, my daughter will b going in Jan. to Tanglin trust school, but i'm searching for a nursery for my 2.3 years old son, i checked Odessey and it looks nice but i'm not sure if they have any available places..
can anyone plz recommend good nurseries, or recommend Odessey at the Forth Avenue?
i so appreciate any help
thk u alot

We put our son in the Loewen gardens preschool thinking it would be a nice small family school. Even though the teachers are nice and friendly, we have been very disappointed with the way how the school is run. A lot of sudden changes in management, last minute fees increase and very inflexible rules for reimbursing the deposit gave us the impression that the school is very money oriented. The premisses are small and in need of some works and the program offered is relatively short. I would not recommend to working parents. For us this school is nothing more than an average over priced expat oriented school.

We were very disappointed by the lack of real academic program in year 3 and 1. It is another very over expensive average school where the focus is on money and not the children. The only plus is the relatively good Mandarin lessons, but in other topics, the program is almost 2 years backwards compared to any school in England. There is a high turnover of teachers and parents which shows that the school is just a temporary choice before getting a place in other better preschools.

I'm looking for a nursery for my 2 year old, would like some recent reviews. My shortlisted ones (based purely on their websites or reviews on net) ars

Blue House
swallows and Amazon
raintrees
Eton house Robertson walk
Odyssey

Any info on them will be highly appreciated

Adore adore adore blue house, my dad went there after a bad expense at a local nursery. Run by a British lady with kids, she's an ex nanny and well known advisor in the world of Reggio emilia, a philosophy that I love. Definitely get in touch / visit.

Dd, not dad!!!

Thanks for your feedback. Did you live close to the nursery. I'm not in Singapore currently and I'm having a hard time trying to see how this will work commute wise. Ideally I would like to be walking distance to nursery, don't intend to drive a car. Any insight?

In 32C of heat and 90% humidity, people are rarely within walking distance of anything. I was 10 minutes drive (lived off bukit timah near 6th avenue) but there are taxis which a cheap and plentiful (except when it rains!) and the school has a bus that a lot of kids use. Mine took the bus to school from age 3 and loved it.

Tbh, if you get a car with your expat package in singapore, it's pretty normal for the husband to taxi or mrt to work and let the wife have the car for school runs, shopping etc. would this be a possibility?

The Childrens Place on Kay Siang Rd is lovely, both my kids went there. Its a really nurturing place, fantastic teachers, bit outdoor space and down the end of a no-through road so its very quiet and in an old black-and-white house.
I know a teacher at Raintrees who is lovely and a friend sent her child there and loved it.

BIG outdoor space.

Now this has made me think, getting a car is a possible option but both me and hubby wanted to try to be car free for atleast the first 6 months. I'm not too keen on putting a 2 yr on a school bus or relying on taxi for school run.

Well ideally we find a nice spacious condo and a beautiful child friendly international nursery near DD school(Dover Court), is that too much too ask?

Papooshka, i already put Children Palace on my list based on your recommendation. any input on Pat's schoolhouse and Eton? Their location seems more convenient.

Basically I'm looking for a nursery that has an international feel, not necessarily British(I'm not British) but a mix of natonalities of students and teachers.

You will always have a mix of nationalities at nursery in Singapore, regardless of which one you choose. I think there were 8 nationalities in dd2s class of 12 at blue house but even her previous local nursery (which don't recommend) had more than 5 nationalities in her class. For big condos, you need to look at old buildings, new ones are tighter on space, although more modern looking of course with new kitchens / bathrooms. Make sure it's not scheduled for demolition (many are) and make sure nothing nearby is scheduled for demotion either. You'll probably left with one or two choices..... It's easy!

Have you looked at singapore expat wives group on fb? It's a bit like AIBU on speed but in terms of advice on specific condos, it's pretty good.

Oh that's a good point, I have noted it on my things to consider during condo search. Thanks for it, much appreciated.

I am on that group, just too shy to ask :)

Sorry no I don't know anyone who went to Pats. Eton House I was put off as its a chain and quite expensive.

Thanks anyway. Appreciate it.