Put simply, the teacher-infant/child ratio refers to a measure of the number of children for whom each child care provider is responsible. For example, if each caregiver cares for 5 infants, the ratio is 1 to 5. It is one of the first few questions that every parent will ask about when searching for a preschool for their children.
While we all vaguely know how important teacher-infant ratio is, many of us do not know why exactly it is important. Today, we explore the reasons as to why teacher-child ratios matter particularly in childcare centres.
Safety Concerns
As parents, we know how difficult it may be to care for just one child. We almost always worry that we might neglect their care and he or she may get hurt or injure themselves throughout the day. This is the same for teachers! It is even more challenging for them, having to safely care for the well-being of a group of toddlers or young children.
Close supervision is required to help prevent children from getting hurt, and it is difficult and even dangerous if the teacher-child ratio is large! This is especially so for children, as this age group requires almost constant attention. Therefore, a childcare centre with a smaller teacher-child ratio might be at lower risk of injuries and accidents, as teachers are able to sufficiently supervise your child!
At our childcare centres in Tampines and Taman Jurong, the teachers and educarers spend lots of time attending to each and every child, ensuring that he/she is taken care of properly. In addition, the well-trained and qualified caregivers/teachers are responsive to children. They plan and carry out an organized, fun-filled and professional routine care for your children.
Greater Quality Care
When a childcare centre has a good teacher-child ratio, there will be an adequate number of teachers.
This also means that the workload of each teacher is shared, and that they would most probably have the capacity and bandwidth to implement a curriculum that is of high quality. Simply managing a class is different from teaching a curriculum. When teachers have a manageable class size, they would be able to move from struggling to manage a classroom to efficiently teach it.
A great curriculum is essential to help your children learn, grow, and develop well!
Being one of the popular preschools in Tampines and Taman Jurong, we at Genesis Childcare 1989 take pride in our curriculum. From English, Chinese to Music, Arts and Outdoor Play, we use a sensory play system to introduce different forms of learning to teach our children and enable them to practise the skills that they have learnt.
Bonding and Relationships
Since teachers spend most of their time with your child at school, they are considered a secondary caregiver. It is well researched that children thrive when they have good and strong relationships and ties with their caregivers.
If a teacher is caring for too many children at once, it is impossible for them to develop strong and lasting relationships with all of them.
Greater Learning Outcomes
Young children are stimulated and learn well through sensory play, otherwise known as any type of play that involves any of the senses. It is widely studied that sensory play is important and essential for children to learn more about the world around them in a natural and exciting way.
If a class is too large, teachers are unable to provide undivided attention to children who are engaging in sensory play. This is not only dangerous, but it also means that your little ones may not be benefitting from sensory play to learn motor, cognitive, as well as social skills that are otherwise essential for his or her growth!
The Bottom-line: Does Size Matter?
The short answer is, yes, size does matter! Smaller class sizes essentially increase the personal guidance that your child receives from a teacher. However, do keep in mind that the effectiveness and quality of an childcare centre and its curriculum also largely depends on the ability of the teachers to teach as well as to provide the required level of attention to children at an childcare centre!
At Nurture Infant House Tampines and Genesis Childcare 1989, we believe that our teachers play a vital role in nurturing and scaffolding the children to reach their fullest potential.
All our teachers are professionally certified and carefully selected based on their professional qualifications and experience.
In addition, we have a small teacher-infant ratio of 1:3 to provide undivided attention and care to your little one so that they can benefit the most out of our comprehensive curriculum.
One final tip, before you scurry on to find the childcare centre that has the smallest teacher-child ratio, make sure you take into consideration your child’s needs and personality so that you can cater to them when making a choice too!
If you are looking for a childcare in Tampines, why not consider registering with us for a complimentary trial class?
Get to discover the attentiveness that your child will experience with our loving teachers.
We at Genesis Childcare 1989 has had more than 30 years of experience in caring for your beloved children.
Click here to learn more about our childcare centre!
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Genesis Childcare 1989 (Tampines)
Blk 433, Tampines Street 43, #01-63 (S) 520433
Tel: +65 9666 4141
Genesis Childcare 1989 (Taman Jurong)
Blk 153, Yung Ho Road, #01-41 (S) 610153
Tel: +65 9666 4141
Nurture Infant House (Tampines)
(2 to 18 months Infants)
Blk 433, Tampines Street 43, #01-61 (S) 520433
Tel: +65 9666 4141
Thanks!
Note:
For parents living in the east of Singapore and are looking for a childcare in Tampines, Genesis Childcare Tampines has had 31 years of experience in caring for your little ones. It is definitely one of the leading Tampines childcare centres!
Similarly, for parents living in the east of Singapore and are looking for an infant care centre in Tampines or a Tampines preschool, Nurture Infant House is one of the leading Tampines infant care centres with more than a decade of experience in caring for your beloved children.