How to choose a private kindergarten for your child?

When children reach the age to go to kindergarten, many mothers, in order not to let their children lose at the starting line, will choose the best kindergarten. So how should you choose a kindergarten?

Private kindergartens are abbreviated as "private kindergartens". They are different from public kindergartens that belong to public institutions and are privately operated. Private kindergartens have diverse teaching methods, but the tuition fees are much higher than public kindergartens. When choosing a private kindergarten, Mommy has listed 6 major points to observe. Parents are advised to keep their eyes open when choosing!

Public and private kindergartens, first understand the difference

Public kindergarten, whose full name is public nursery school, is "established by a public institution". Since it belongs to the resources of a government unit, the annual cost is about 40,000 to 50,000 yuan, and the admission method is registration and lottery. Generally, the "municipal", "national", "township", "village", etc. that we see in the brochures are all public kindergartens.

Private kindergartens, whose full name is private nursery school, are privately run by the public as the name suggests. They charge high fees but have diverse teaching methods. The full American English classes, half-American, Montessori, Waldorf, or theme-based talent courses, character education schools, etc. that you often hear about are all private kindergartens.

Differences in fee charging between public and private kindergartens

Both public and private kindergartens register every six months. The fees and differences are as follows:

Public kindergarten: Registration fee once every six months, including tuition and agency fees.

Private kindergartens: Registration fee once every six months, including tuition and fees, agency fees, monthly fees, late fees, etc. must be paid every month.

How to choose a private kindergarten

1. Government case filing

When parents choose a kindergarten, the first thing they need to do is to confirm whether the kindergarten is registered by the government. According to statistics from the Ministry of Education's National Education Department and the Statistics Bureau, the number of cram schools has grown by 1,200 in the past five years, but the number of kindergartens has decreased by 301. In response to this phenomenon, the Jingjuan Foundation held a press conference and asked, "Where do all the children go to school?" and issued a report showing that the proportion of cram school operators in Taipei City and New Taipei City operating kindergartens illegally is as high as 60%! Parents must pay attention and don't let your children go to schools that are on the edge of the law!

2. Teacher-Student Ratio

According to the Child Care Act, the upper limit of the teacher-student ratio is 1:15, and the ideal is 1:8, which means that one teacher can take care of a maximum of 15 students. Exceeding this ratio means the teacher is too overloaded and some students may be neglected.

3. Classroom Floor

For children aged 4-6, the ideal classroom floor is 1-2 floors, and the highest is 3 floors. It is not safe if it is too high or located in the basement.

4. Size of indoor and outdoor activity space

The ideal indoor activity space for each child should be 1.5-2 square meters, and the outdoor activity space should be 2-4 square meters, which is roughly equivalent to the range of 2-4 standard double beds.

5. Teacher Turnover Rate

A kindergarten with a high turnover rate will inevitably make people suspect whether there are problems within it, so the teacher turnover rate is also one of the criteria for evaluating whether a kindergarten is suitable. However, some kindergartens may have more frequent staff turnover due to the addition of classes or other reasons, so parents are advised to observe more objectively!

6. Teaching style and philosophy

To find out whether the style of the kindergarten is suitable for your child, you can search online, ask friends or talk directly with the teacher to get relevant information. When visiting the kindergarten, you can also ask the teacher for the course schedule, see the course content, or directly watch the interaction between teachers and students. Many kindergartens that focus on teaching in American English also ask about the background of the "foreign teachers" to ensure the quality of your child's learning and personal safety!