Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTC) are an opportunity for preschools to strengthen parent relationships.
A strong partnership between teachers and parents can make a significant impact on your children’s learning journey and experiences in their early childhood years and beyond.
PTCs are usually held up to twice a year (mid-year and end-of-the-year) by most preschools in Singapore. They are brief meetings but are one of the best avenues to find out more about your children’s development in the childcare centre.
Before you attend the PTC, it would be good to have a chat with your children. Find out what they like and dislike about their preschool. What do they think about the daily activities in the childcare centre, their teachers as well as their classmates?
In addition, discuss with your spouse the few specific areas you would like to address with the teacher.
Since each PTC is allocated a specific amount of time, it would be important to raise the most pressing points. Jotting the questions down will help so that you won’t forget about asking them during the PTC.
Top 8 Questions to Ask During PTC in Singapore
To help you prepare for your children’s childcare PTC, the following are the top questions pertaining to your child’s progress based on the major child development domains – social-emotional, language, cognitive and physical domains.
The Fundamental Questions
1. How is my child adjusting to the childcare?
This is the most basic question to start the PTC going and especially so if your child has been enrolled in the childcare for a short while.
The teacher would be able to give you a glimpse of how your child adapts to the daily routine in the childcare and any concerns you would need to take note of.
2. How has my child progressed over the year?
The teacher would be able to give you a quick overview of how your child has progressed over the year concerning his/her academic and social-emotional development.
At this point, it would be good to share about your child’s strengths and weaknesses and to hear them from the teacher’s perspective. The goal is that you and the teacher could come up with steps to continue to support your child’s learning and development.
Questions Related to Social-Emotional Issues
3. How is my child developing relationships within the childcare?
This is a good opportunity to learn how your child behaves in the childcare and if he/she has positive relationships with the teachers and peers. This will lead to the question of who your child usually mixes with and whether he/she works well independently or in a group setting.
It is also a good time to find out if there are any social issues that your child may be facing so that appropriate help could be looked into.
4. How does my child resolve conflict with peers?
There will bound to be conflicts as young children interact with one another. However, what is more important for parents to know is how they resolve disagreements with their peers.
Armed with this knowledge, you could then come up with strategies to teach your child to manage emotions and conflicts as they learn to develop healthy friendships with their peers.
5. What happens when my child encounters a challenging task?
Having a good knowledge of how your child behaves when he/she stumbles over a task and what the teacher does to help and calm him/her will enable you to use the same method to respond to your child when placed in a similar situation at home.
A consistent approach will be more effective in guiding your child to face any future challenges.
Questions Related to Academic Issues
6. How does my child perform in class?
In most preschools in Singapore, children are assessed based on a certain set of rubrics to track their progress in the different domains.
During the PTC, the teacher would also review your child’s portfolio with you and this is a good time for you to clarify and ask any questions you may have on the teacher’s assessment of your child.
Some preschools digitalise the children’s work and upload them in soft copies to be sent to the parents.
In Little Footprints Preschool, the LittleLives app is used to keep track of the students’ learning progress. Through this app, parents are regularly updated on their children’s learning journey, as well as their portfolio collection at the end of each semester.
7. What is my child’s learning style?
There are four main types of learning styles and the teacher would be able to observe which learning style is most preferred by your child.
With this knowledge, you can tap on your child’s strengths while at the same time, continuing to offer a variety of experiences to help your child develop new strengths and interests outside of school hours.
8. How can I help support my child’s learning at home?
Strong parent-teacher partnerships are important to support the development and well-being of children in preschools.
Before you leave the PTC, show the teacher that you are willing to work with the preschool to support your child’s learning at home.
Be receptive to the teacher’s suggestions and work hand-in-hand with the teacher to provide the best learning experience your child can have in his/her early years.
Schedule a visit with us
A good preschool emphasises strong parent-school partnerships through regular communication and a commitment to work consistently to support your child in his/her learning and development.
Learn more about the care and learning experiences your child will enjoy in Little Footprints Preschool by having a chat with our teachers.
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