A day in the life at Shaws
Drop-off to home time, condensed.
How we learn at Shaws
Every day is a play-based adventure
Let them play
How learning through play actually works, in practice.
Inside Lorong Chuan
A tour of our newest campus, pool included.
Shaws Talks · Ask the Expert
Longer conversations
Our directors and principals on the topics parents raise most.
Building resilience in challenging times
With Liane Shaw, Group Director.
Easing back into preschool
With Imeelia Ismail-Tan, Head of Schools.
Keeping your child safe at school
With Kit M Mak, Cluster Principal.
The serious business of play
Why play is the most productive thing a preschooler does.
Preparing K2 for primary school
What readiness really means, and how we build it.
The foundations of success
The skills that matter most in the early years.
Ask Me Anything
Short answers to common questions
Why enrol at Shaws?
Why confidence has a lasting effect
Why sport matters for preschoolers
Why choose play-based learning?
Can play help with reading and writing?
What are executive functions?
How is sport related to learning?
What’s in a play-based curriculum?
What to look for while you watch
Any preschool can film a tidy classroom. What is worth your attention in these clips is the ordinary behaviour in the background, because that is the part nobody can stage for a camera.
Are the children absorbed?
In a room that is working, most children are busy with something at any given moment and nobody is drifting. Watch how long a child stays with one activity. Long attention on something they chose is the single best sign of a well-set-up environment.
How do the adults speak to them?
Look for teachers crouched down at eye level, using names, asking questions and then waiting for the answer. Watch what happens when a child is upset or will not cooperate, because that moment tells you more about a school than any tidy display.
Whose work is on the walls?
Thirty near-identical crafts were made to an adult's instructions. Work that is varied, imperfect and individual came from the children, and that is what you want to see.
Is there evidence of mess?
Paint, sand, water and dough leave traces. A spotless room in the middle of a morning usually means not very much is happening in it.
Video only takes you so far, which is why we would rather you came and stood in the room. A tour takes about 45 minutes on a normal weekday morning, and you are welcome to bring your child.
Better in person
Video only gets you so far
Come and stand in a classroom while it’s in use. It takes about an hour.