Leading The Way

NTUC First Campus’s (NFC) constant pursuit of excellence in the early childhood sector has led it to innovate its pedagogy and enhance its teaching practices. NFC’s educators and preschools have continually been conferred accolades for their ability and dedication to create a meaningful preschool experience for their children.

These Chinese Language books produced by NTUC First Campus have been used by preschools since 2022.

Original Chinese Language Books On Local Festivals

NFC is one of the first preschool operators in Singapore to produce original, high-quality Chinese Language books with a “local flavour”, specially tailored for children in Singapore. Currently, most Chinese Language books read by preschool children in Singapore are imported from China or Taiwan. Such books contain words not commonly used in Singapore’s local context.

By addressing this issue, NFC’s Chinese Language books help children at My First Skool preschool centres to pick up the language easily. The words, dialogue and events depicted in the books are relatable to the children, as they reflect their daily lives in Singapore. Produced by a team of Chinese Language specialists at NFC’s Child Development Department, the latest series of books published in 2021 introduce how Singapore’s colourful and vibrant festivals such as Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali are celebrated in the country. These books help its children appreciate the different cultures in Singapore in the Chinese Language at a young age. Currently, there is a lack of Chinese Language books in the market that promote multiculturalism in Singapore.

Dr Connie Lum

Director of the Mother Tongue Language Curriculum and Professional Development, NTUC First Campus

“NFC believes the best way for children to learn the Chinese Language is through ‘Living Chinese’. Hence, we created books, songs and learning moments for our children to learn and use the language in their daily lives. Our focus is to make the lessons fun, interactive as well as relevant and applicable to their daily lives. We do this through the constructive use of play-based learning materials and by encouraging conversations between our children and their teachers and peers.”

Ni Xuejing

Chinese Lead Teacher,
My First Skool at 51 Fernvale Link

“As the Chinese Language books are very localised with stories which our children can easily understand and speak about, they have been very effective in helping me teach the language to our children in class.”

Eileen Goh

Mother of two sons enrolled at My First Skool at 51 Fernvale Link

“My sons have shown a deep appreciation and interest in the Chinese Language since they started school at My First Skool. They have been asking me a lot of questions about the language, and even break into dance and action learnt in their classes.”

NFC’s Research On The Global Stage

In 2022, 12 NFC staff presented their research findings at international conferences such as the PECERA Annual Conference, OMEP World Assembly and Conference in Greece, and the NAEYC Annual Conference in Washington DC, United States.

NFC is the only preschool operator in Singapore to showcase its research and practices at key global early childhood conferences.

Cynthia Tan (right), Curriculum Specialist at NFC’s Child Development Department, presented her research on ‘A mixed methods study on infants’ experiences of involvement in infant care centres in Singapore’ at the PECERA Annual Conference, which was conducted virtually in July 2022.

Dr Connie Lum (left) and Ban Lee Chin, Director and Assistant Director of the Mother Tongue Language Curriculum and Professional Development at NFC respectively, presented their research on ‘Using Picture Book as a medium on Emotion Management for Preschool children aged 5-6: An Action Research’ at the OMEP World Assembly and Conference in Greece, in July 2022.

Rita Lim (right), Learning Support Manager at NFC’s Child Support Services Department, and Dr Xie Huichao from the National Institute of Education, presented their research on ‘Evaluation of Tiered Supports for Children from Low-income Families: Experience of Children and Families in Singapore’ at the Division of Early Childhood Conference in Chicago, United States, in September 2022.

HR Asia Awards

For the fourth consecutive year, NFC was awarded one of the ‘Best Companies to Work for in Asia’ at the HR Asia Awards. This award is evidence of NFC’s commitment to its staff, and acknowledgement of NFC as a company that fosters meaningful roles and promotes continual learning.

In addition, NFC was conferred the ‘WeCare: HR Asia Most Caring Companies Award 2022’, an accolade awarded to companies that demonstrated exemplary efforts in creating a culture of empathy and care. NFC is the only recipient of this award in Singapore’s early childhood industry.

NTUC First Campus representatives at the HR Asia Awards Ceremony.

ECDA Awards For Excellence In Early Childhood Development

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

NFC was accorded seven awards at the 2022 ECDA Awards held virtually on 29 October 2022. The winners were selected from more than 300 nominees.

Outstanding Early
Childhood Leader

Ainul Farhana Binti Mohamed Bathurudin
My First Skool (2 Punggol Drive)

Promising Early
Childhood Leader

Ruzita Binte Zainuddin
My First Skool (Blk 612 Yishun)

Outstanding Early Years
Educator

Nur Azlin Binte Ramlan
My First Skool (505 Yung An Road)

Promising Early Years
Educator

Li Wanyi
Little Skool-House (At-Downtown-East)

Outstanding Preschool
Educator

Zhou Jie
Little Skool-House (On-The-Green)

Outstanding Centre for
Teaching & Learning

My First Skool (51 Fernvale Link)

Early Childhood Innovation

Merit
Outdoor Learning about Pangolins & Otters!
My First Skool (Blk 180B Boon Lay)

Outstanding Preschool Mother Tongue Language Teacher Awards 2022

Two NFC Mother Tongue Language teachers received the Outstanding and Merit awards at the 2022 Outstanding Preschool Mother Tongue Language Teacher Awards held at the Republic Cultural Centre in Republic Polytechnic on 27 August 2022. The award recipients were selected from a total of 139 nominations.

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 preschool teachers for nurturing a passion for Mother Tongue languages among preschool children and making learning the language engaging.

Outstanding Award

Lu Xiaoyan

My First Skool
(Blk 111 McNair Road)

Merit Award

Jia Qian

Little Skool-House
(At-Outram)

Preschool Chinese Language Storytelling Aids Competition Awards

Chinese teachers Yang Zizheng, Li Yun and Li Hongxing from My First Skool at Blk 197D Boon Lay clinched the third prize at the 2022 Preschool Chinese Language Storytelling Aids Competition on 9 July 2022.

Chinese teachers Yang Zizheng, Li Yun and Li Hongxing from My First Skool at Blk 197D Boon Lay created a storytelling aid to help the children learn about water based on their interest in rain. Chronicling the story of a water droplet whose dream was to look at the sea, children learn about science, technology, art and Chinese language through the many engaging sections of the storytelling aid. This storytelling aid bagged the third prize at the 2022 Preschool Chinese Language Storytelling Aids Competition on July 9. 

Another four teams from My First Skool and a team from Little Skool-House also received Commendation Awards for their storytelling aids. There were a total of 300 entries submitted for the competition.

National Preschool Teaching Aid Competition

Organised by the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language, the National Preschool Teaching Aid Competition aims to encourage early childhood educators, students, parents and members of the public in Singapore to design creative picture book storyboards as teaching aids for teaching and learning Chinese Language, to nurture a love for learning Chinese among children. Four NFC educators received awards for their winning entries.

Xia Yuejing

My First Skool
(Blk 507A Wellington Circle)

Cheng Sisi

My First Skool
(Blk 507A Wellington Circle)

Song Yoke Fong

My First Skool
(Blk 507A Wellington Circle)

Zhang Xiaolin

My First Skool
(6 New Punggol Road)

NFC’s SPARK Achievements

In 2022, 158 of our preschool centres have achieved SPARK Certification. In addition, 38 preschool centres were recognised for their excellence with SPARK Certification (Commendation) awards.

158
preschool centres are SPARK-certified


38
preschool centres have attained SPARK Certification (Commendation)


Children at My First Skool at 6 New Punggol Road feeding a giraffe made with recycled materials in class.

17 Staff Recognised At Singapore National Co-operative Federation’s Inaugural Co-operative Movement Night

17 staff from NTUC First Campus were recognised for their outstanding contributions to the society at Singapore National Co-operative Federation’s inaugural Co-op Movement Night on 3 June 2022.

Centred on the theme ‘Women Make Magic’, the Singapore National Co-operative Federation’s (SNCF) inaugural Co-op Movement Night on 3 June 2022 commemorated and celebrated female co-operators in Singapore, many of whom were outstanding individuals who have contributed selflessly to the movement, cared for others, and exhibited several of the co-operative values.

Among the 56 awardees were 17 NFC employees who were recognised for doing their part to enable bright futures for children and their families.

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