a little guide to selecting the right pre-school:

pre-school physical environment:

• is it clean, spacious, bright and appealing?
• are there lockers, cubbies or hangers for personal belongings?
• are the toilets and kitchen clean?
• are the school grounds safe and secure?
• are the equipments well maintained and plentiful?
• are the furniture and fittings and toilets child sized?
• no rows and facing the blackboard, ala classroom setting, for the Montessori way

teacher-student relationship, school-student relationship:

• are the children given individual attention?
• what is the ratio of teacher to kids? (for baby c's age group at 18 months, the ideal is 1:4)
• do the teachers and staff have qualifications?
• is there anyone who's trained in CPR and first aid around at all times?
• what are the procedures for emergencies?
• do they administer medication?
• what happens to the children if they fall sick in school?
• do they keep accident reports during school so that the parents know the causes of bruises, etc?
• what discipline methods are employed if there are discipline methods. what punishment for what actions?
• what is the school's program? are the teaching methods by experiencing and doing or are they by lecturing?
• are the materials accessible to the children and stored at their level?
• are they in good condition and regularly cleaned?
• if the child stays in the same school for a period of time, will his/her teacher follow him up to the next levels?
• what are the school fees and the notice for termination?
• do they offer free trials?

other points to note:

• ensure that they do NOT take the child off school grounds during school hours
• do they have fire drills?
• do they take in kids who are not potty trained yet?
• does the child need to be walking yet?
• will they allow a parent to stay for the first few days? or will they guide parents on the separation process?