Primary School

[CUS]

Dear friends

We are moving to Singapore from UK at the end of July. I wonder if you can give me some advice on primary school. I want to find a nice one for my 6 year old boy in terms of good English etc. Any recommendations on accommodation?

I am a working mother. I do not know how long the schools there run everyday, so do I need to find an after-school club to take care of him outside school hours? Is there any child care service during school holiday? My job may require long working hours occasionally, so where can I find such child care sevice to allow me fulfill my job requirement?

Thanks

Julie

[Sandpiper]

Dear CUS,

Good luck with the move, some things to think about:

1. I am not aware of any after school day care for school age expatriate children. I think you should seriously consider a maid. This is a very common, available and affordable option for both working and non working mums here. Choose very carefully and be prepared to pay extra for quality and experience and you should be able to find some-one to run the house for you (including shop and cook) while your son is at school and take care of him after school. As a very rough guide I am happy to be corrected I would budget $500+/month salary plus $500/month other costs including govt levy, trip home after 2 years etc. That is for 6 days a week morning to whenever...as you wish.

There are a lot of after school activities available in Singapore - some on site at the schools, some out...swimming, music lessons, drama, sports, scouts etc. Once again it is not unusual to see maids accompanying children to these activities - by taxi, I have never heard of one that drove.

2. Re schools, I guess the first school a lot of people think of if they are looking for one to match the British system is Tanglin Trust school. My family are happy there. However up to Year 2 incl. the school day finishes at 1.50pm which does leave a longer afternoon to fill than some of the other schools if you are not going to be around. It also starts early 7.50 so the morning can be a rush which might not be what you want if you are also trying to get ready for work or if your son will be staying up later to spend time with you in the evening after work.

There are many good International Schools - I think there is a summary somewhere on this board - they all have different pros and cons and different schools will suit different children. I think the best way to tell is to visit - as early as possible as some have waiting lists.

They all have well organised bus systems to take children between school and home. They travel pretty much all over the island so you could live anywhere, but the further away the longer the bus trip. Expat clusters include around the schools, Holland Village, Orchard, Tanglin, River Valley Road, Clementi and East Coast...

3. Re accomodation, many newcomers to Singapore prefer to start off in condominiums. If you will be working, a family friendly condo will make it easy for your son to have hook up with other children in the afternoon as he feels like it and without too much organising on your behalf. If you are getting a helper who will be supervising him by the pool make sure you can get one who can swim (and really check how well) and send her on a CPR course.

Some condos seem to be more toddlers than older children so you may want to bear that in mind when looking around.

[Lisab]

Hi,
We are in similar circumstances as you. We leave tomorrow for Singapore with our daughter who is almost 6yrs. i looked around at most of the International Schools and found them to be mostly all good for different reasons. I liked Tanglin but they didn't have a place for my daughter and had quite a long waiting list. We decided on the Overseas family school which seemed very friendly, my daughter liked the look of it
and they had a space; hopefully it will work out. We haven't found a property yet but looking at condos, possibly on the East coast as i feel that there may be more going on for her there. we may change our mind.
I will be at home with my daughter at the start anyway but i can understand how difficult it will be to work also. Would love to chat over email

[cus]

Hi,
We are in similar circumstances as you. We leave tomorrow for Singapore with our daughter who is almost 6yrs. i looked around at most of the International Schools and found them to be mostly all good for different reasons. I liked Tanglin but they didn't have a place for my daughter and had quite a long waiting list. We decided on the Overseas family school which seemed very friendly, my daughter liked the look of it
and they had a space; hopefully it will work out. We haven't found a property yet but looking at condos, possibly on the East coast as i feel that there may be more going on for her there. we may change our mind.
I will be at home with my daughter at the start anyway but i can understand how difficult it will be to work also. Would love to chat over email

Thanks for your advise. And good luck with the move. Let's be in touch.

Julie

[cus]

Dear CUS,

Good luck with the move, some things to think about.....

I appreciate your help very much. However, I am not on an expatriate package. I am going to work in a research Institute (near NUS) with a monthly salary of S$5000. The whole package is around S$95k annually if taking account of housing subsidy and other benefit. Is this package reasonable? What kind of life can I afford for my son and me?

Unfortunately, I am not entitle to child educational allowance. My boss suggest local school for my son. I heard about top 30 schools in Singapore. What is your view of these top schools comparing with internatioanl schools? Would you like to recommend one for me?

How long does it take to get a maid?

Thanks

[Sandpiper]

Hi CUS,

I am afraid on the subject of local schooling we are now heading into unfamiliar territory for me! But I will try to point you in the right direction for some better information.

Most of the people I know here are through my children's school - so I have not yet met any expats who send their children to local schools. Forgetting educational philosophy and cultural differences between the local system and and that followed by International Schools...logistically it seems very difficult for expats to get children into local schools, certainly the well regarded ones due to the admittance system - expats have the last priority. You may find the following thread on another board a useful starting point for information and an example of the views on both sides of the argument
http://www.expatsingapore.com/ubb/Forum ... 02103.html
Perhaps the nature of your job or the company you work for could get you a priority at a local school...certainly worth investigating.

The only school I can recommend not because it is the only one! but because it is the only one I have heard recommended is Henry Park primary school. It is in an area where many expats live & I am sure will have a number of expat students and is convenient to NUS. I think it is also close to a range of condos which may suit your budget eg Pandan Valley

There may also be a number of mid price International School as well - especially as your son is only lower primary age...whether you would want to consider those depends on how long you are going to be here. Also as you son is only six, I am sure the local v international argument is different than that for say a 12 year old. And one plus is he could learn Mandarin.

As to whether you will have a good life with your son on your budget that is an impossible question to answer without knowing you your son or what your life is like where you are now....for example if you are moving away from close family how can you put a price on that? I am very loathe to work any figures in case I make a terrible mistake. There are queries on this board from people coming here on a lot less ($2-$4,000/month)

If you can save a little for holidays then there are a lot of places that are close and amazing for you and your son to explore - Australia, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam....Airfares can be very cheap from Singapore.

Re getting a maid - the experienced maids will take longer to get because they do not hang around unemployed so you usually organise a transfer about a month before they leave the old job. I am not sure if you have any awareness of the maid culture at all but in Singapore they can only come from certain countries (most seem from the Philippines or Indonesia) and can come from very rural backgrounds where no knowledge about the way we live can be assumed. I would not recommend you take the cheaper option and bring one in to work for you as their first overseas posting. For example a neighbour's maid took her employers instruction for her 6 year old daughter to be more independent to mean she had to cook her own dinner - gas stove!

Gosh, I could really tread on some toes here but I do want to help. A cheaper option may be for you to get a maid who has only to date worked for a local family. I believe that expats are popular employers as we have a soft touch, pay more and give perks like Sundays and public holidays off (although not always!). If you choose carefully you could get a gem for $350 month. It is a government requirement that they live with you and you cover the living costs so you do need to factor that in. The govt also charges a levy of $295 month...but if you are working I believe you can claim 3 times this as a tax deduction (but please check!). And after 2 years you are required to give a month paid holiday and return trip home.

The upside is that you would not have to do any housework and all your spare time could be spent with your son as you choose plus with a babysitter on hand you would also have a lot more freedom to do things for yourself than perhaps you are used to - even just wander the shops on a Saturday afternoon. Plus if your son is sick and cannot attend school or daycare you do not HAVE to take time off to care for him. The big financial downside would be that there is always the risk that something could go wrong with your maid healthwise; you are required to cover the costs.

Anyway I have as usual gabbered on far to long. Please take everything I have said as a starting point only. I suggest you post a few more queries on the specific issues you want answered.

Good luck

[CUS]

Dear Sandpiper

Thank you so much for your advice. It does help me a lot!

I think I will try local school first. After all, he is only six and my budget is limited.

As for maid, I am still a bit concerned. For a small family like mine, with me working and my son schooling everyday, do I need a live in maid? I do need help for dealing with school holidays and out of school hours if school finish very early. But what will I ask the maid to do everyday when I am away for work and my son is in school? There seems no much house work for such a small family on a day to day basis. How about part time maid and local domestic helper?

Thanks

[Sandpiper]

Hi Julie

I am glad you are getting some more info, I hope it all helps.

Re your specific question on maids - basically it boils down to a question of cost and convenience.

As I said before, the overseas workers are granted a special domestic workers visa on condition they work 100% for and live with the employer.

Therefore for 'legal' temporary or live out help you must use the local market which is more expensive. The average price seems to be $12.50/hour. So 20 hours week of partime help is the same cost of fulltime maid budgetted at the higher end of $1,000 month. Plus you do not have the flexibility you have with a fulltime maid, she may well be working for other employers in the times she is not for you - which may make it difficult to find cover in the event of sickness, holidays, extra time for you at work. Also for good or bad you have a lot of control over a foreign domestic worker and she is on site just in case.

The last thing you would want is an unreliable part timer. However with a local hire your financial commitment is limited to the $12.50/hour (say).

Note that you do not have to pay a $5,000 bond to the government to hire a maid as a previous poster indicated. You pay an insurance company to guarantee to the government that the bond will be paid if something goes wrong (basically your maid absconds on her visa). You can then pay extra to insure yourself from actually repaying the $5000 to the insurance compnay if she does run away. We just paid $350 for bond guarantee, "maid runaway insurance" and the compulsory health insurance for 2 years cover. An agency will cost $100 or so to process the paperwork with the government (MOM or Ministry of Manpower..you can do it yourself) and an extra couple of hundred if you need them to find a maid for you.

One thing that hasn't been addressed is that a live in maid can also come with a lot of emotional commitment...this depends very much on the maid and how you handle her (sob stories about family situation at home, moods etc). In your situation I would be extra careful NOT to cross the boundary between friend and employer if you went the maid route. And make it clear that you will never ever give a salary advance and will fire her if you find out she has been borrowing money elsewhere. We keep a proportion of our maids salary each month as a buffer in case something happens at home (they generally send a large proprtion of their monthly salary to support family in their home country) and she suddenly needs extra. Even though it seems minimal, the monthly wage you pay to a maid is better than they would get in many qualified jobs in their home country. For example there are a number of maids here that are qualified teachers or nurses....but many are not!

As to what work a live in would do, if you get a good one she could do all the household cores: shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing - I mean everything. From making your beds in the morning to putting your clothes back in the closet when they are ironed. Planning your meals, cooking them, and cleaning up. It is up to you how much control you want. Bathrooms and toilets done everyday. So overkill maybe, but this is all very much the norm and if you go the maid route you may as well enjoy it! Note that there are a lot more creepy crawlies in Singapore than the UK so you do need to keep everything clean. Also it does take longer to do anything in this heat, including cleaning and especially ironing.

[Onneb]

Hi,
We are in similar circumstances as you. We leave tomorrow for Singapore with our daughter who is almost 6yrs. i looked around at most of the International Schools and found them to be mostly all good for different reasons. I liked Tanglin but they didn't have a place for my daughter and had quite a long waiting list. We decided on the Overseas family school which seemed very friendly, my daughter liked the look of it
and they had a space; hopefully it will work out. We haven't found a property yet but looking at condos, possibly on the East coast as i feel that there may be more going on for her there. we may change our mind.
I will be at home with my daughter at the start anyway but i can understand how difficult it will be to work also. Would love to chat over email

All the best... I don't think its difficult for you to adapt to Singapore lifestyle, people are friendly there, except for a few black sheeps...
hope your daughter will like the school you choose..

You can e-mail me at [email protected]
I can chat with ya over e-mail...
Gd luck...

[jomac]

Cus
Hi
I am a kiwi who has been in Singapore for 7 years.
International schools
Canadian is a little bit cheaper than some of the others and offer a good programme.

Local schools
Local schools are improving all the time, more innovative and become more child centred.
I think it is probably easier for kids to go to an independant school or school where there are a few other expat kids.
Check it out with the MOE.

If you are looking for a parttime babysitter I had a great Singaporean girl before my helper arrived.
She worked for me for a year and a half.She is a university student and charges 10-12 an hour and will do housework if you want.