The Pros and Cons of School Based Student Care and Stamford Scholars Student Care

It’s the time of the year again. Primary 1 registration was concluded some time back and parents are awaiting anxiously for the Orientation Day. For most schools, this day seemed to be some time in early to mid Nov.

This is the peak season for us as we encounter numerous enquiries for our student care vacancies in 2019.

Some parents are shopping around, in case they are unable to get a slot in the almost always oversubscribed student care centres within the primary schools.

School based student care centres are often unable to confirm if they have a slot for your child until Orientation Day.

It is generally believed that lower income families are given priority.

Here, we discuss the pros and cons of enrolling your child into a school based student care centre vs one of the Stamford Scholars student care centres:

Pros of enrolling into a school based student care:

1. They are (normally) cheaper than us.
2. Less logistical issues – nothing can beat walking down a few flights of stairs to your student care classroom.
3. More outdoor play
4. Less academic stress as academic programs are generally not allowed – good for parents who wold like their children to have better academic-play balance.
5. Mandatory nap / rest time

Cons:

1. Bigger teachers to students ratio (1:25-40 normally)
2. Same environment before and after school – your child will see the same faces.
3. Absence of academic programs for weaker students, hence students who are weak in academics will usually end up seeking tuition externally, outside of student care.
4. No option for other enrichment programs
5. Meals are usually catered from the school canteen. Students might find it of limited variety.
6. Most school based student care centre close st 6.30pm, which is earlier than private student care centres. As working parents, some might have difficulty reaching in time.

Pros of enrolling into a Stamford Scholars student care centre:

1. Free pick up by foot or by bus (from selected primary schools). We don’t charge extra.
2. Smaller teachers to students ratio (1:10-15) means more attention for your child
3. Our total students intake per centre is small (~15-40), it means once your child is enrolled with us, we will know both you and your child well, really well. 😀
4. Some kids might welcome a change of environment from the school
5. Opportunity to mix with a variety of students from other schools as well
6. Tuition is available for weaker students who require academic assistance
7. More academic emphasis
8. Our meals are normally catered from external vendors or directly cooked and served from our kitchen, offering variety from the school canteen food.
9. We close at 7pm. For parents who are slightly late (just slightly ok!), we can still “eyeball” for a bit. In this sense, we are more flexible than school based student care centres.

Cons:

1. We are slightly more expensive.
2. If your child has after school activities that end later than the normal school dismissal timings, we are only able to pick up from selected primary schools.
3. Nap time is available on request and can be catered for. We don’t set a mandatory time/period as most parents prefer their children to skip nap time and sleep early at night.
4. Lack of outdoor facilities – we bring students to public outdoor places as we don’t have our own internally.

Where we are the same:

1. We provide student care financial assistance to low income families. Find out more.

And here it is, our brutally honest review of us and our friendly school based competitors.