Best preschools in Singapore: how to choose a preschool by fees, hours, quality and curriculum

The best preschool in Singapore for your child is nearly always one close to home or work, open the hours you need, at a fee you can carry for three or four years. ECDA's own list makes the fee part easy to check. Of the 1,795 preschools that list fees with ECDA, 631 Anchor Operator centres charge at most $610 a month for full-day childcare and the Partner Operator centres at most $650, before GST and subsidies. Other private centres have a median of $1,750 and go up to $4,390. We don't rank schools. This guide shows what you can compare for every centre from ECDA's data, what only a visit tells you, and how to get from a long list to two or three centres worth seeing. Fees below come from ECDA's open data, downloaded on 11 October 2026.

Compare the five kinds of preschool side by side

Every licensed centre in Singapore falls into one of five groups, and the group tells you most of what you need about price. The figures are for a Singapore citizen child, per month, before subsidies and GST. Where a centre lists more than one full-day fee for a level, we took its lowest.

Three things change what you actually pay. GST adds 9% at centres that charge it, so an Anchor Operator's $610 is $664.90; 630 of the 631 Anchor Operator centres are GST-registered, against about half of the other childcare centres. Subsidies then come off, and the amount depends on your income and whether the mother works. Then there are the one-off charges each centre lists with ECDA, such as a registration fee, a deposit and uniforms.

Which kind suits your family

If both of you work full time, you need a childcare centre. Kindergarten hours end around lunchtime or mid-afternoon, which doesn't cover an office day. Anchor and Partner Operator centres are the cheapest full-day option, and nearly all of them open from 7am to 7pm, so they are also the ones with waitlists in new estates.

If your child is 5 or 6 and someone can do a midday pick-up, an MOE Kindergartens place costs $160 a month for a citizen. The programme runs four hours, morning or afternoon. KCare covers the rest of the working day on the same premises, up to $425 a month in 2026 and $435.40 in 2027. Three Anchor Operators run Early Years Centres for babies from 2 months to 4 years whose eligible children are guaranteed a place at a partner MOE Kindergarten, which is worth knowing if you want one route from infancy to K2.

If you want a particular approach, such as a Montessori classroom, Mandarin immersion or an international curriculum, you are mostly looking at the private centres and kindergartens. Read our Montessori preschool guide before you pay extra for a label. The name of the method matters less than the teacher in the room.

For babies, see our guide to infant care, and for 18 months to 3 years, pre-nursery and playgroup.

Curriculum types compared

MOE's Nurturing Early Learners (NEL) framework sets the learning goals for every preschool in Singapore, across five learning areas, and asks teachers to engage children through purposeful play. Each centre then wraps its own approach around it. ECDA names HighScope, Montessori and Reggio Emilia as examples and suggests picking one whose philosophy fits your family. These labels aren't regulated here, so any centre can use them; what you see in the room tells you more.

If a second language matters, our guide to Mandarin preschools in Singapore explains what bilingual means in class hours. For the Montessori label, read our Montessori preschool guide before paying extra.

Shortlist by town in our preschool directory

Start with where you'll do the drop-off. Our preschool directory lists every centre that files fees with ECDA, by town, with the fee for citizens, PRs and others at each level and the date the centre last updated it. The towns with the most centres are Tampines (127), Bedok (107), Sengkang (99), Woodlands (95), Jurong West (92), Punggol (87), Yishun (86) and Hougang (82). Central areas have far fewer: Bukit Timah has 51 and Novena 30.

On a town page you can filter by level, so a parent of a 2-year-old sees only centres with a playgroup class. Open a centre and you'll find:

• The full-day and half-day fee for each level, split by citizen, PR and others
• Its weekday hours, and whether it offers extended hours or transport
• Whether it is an Anchor or Partner Operator, and whether it charges GST
• Its other charges, such as the registration fee, deposit and insurance
• The food it serves and the second languages it offers
• Its licence class and when the licence was issued
• The date it last updated its fees, so you know when to ask for a current quote

Pick three to five centres within a short walk or drive. More than that and the visits blur together.

Which class your child joins

Levels go by calendar year. ECDA puts a child in Pre-Nursery in the year they turn 3, then Nursery at 4, K1 at 5 and K2 at 6, while playgroup takes children from 18 months until they turn 3 and infant care covers 2 to 18 months.

Take a child born in March 2023. She turns 4 in 2027, so she starts Nursery that January, two months before her birthday. Count the same way if you're timing a move or a new sibling. K2 is the last year before Primary 1, and P1 registration runs from June to August of that K2 year. Some routes, like volunteering at a school, start a year earlier, so read our P1 registration guide while your child is in K1.

How preschool quality is judged in Singapore

ECDA licenses every preschool that regularly cares for 5 or more children under 7, and three official signals tell you how a centre is doing: its licence tenure, its SPARK accreditation and the staff-to-child ratio it must keep.

Licence tenure

ECDA issues licences of 6, 12, 24 or 36 months, and a longer licence means a better record of meeting the rules. Every new preschool starts on a default 12-month licence. The centre must display its licence where you can see it when you visit, and you can check the tenure in the LifeSG app's Preschool Search. ECDA also makes unannounced visits.

ECDA adds that a longer licence is not the only thing to consider, so visit and talk to the principal as well.

SPARK accreditation

SPARK, the Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework, is optional. A centre needs a licence tenure of at least 24 months to apply, and ECDA's officers then visit to check its self-appraisal through observations and interviews. There are two tiers: Certification, and Commendation for centres with strong practice in teaching and learning, leadership, curriculum and pedagogy. As of 30 September 2026, 843 preschools held Certification and 145 held Commendation. A centre without SPARK isn't unsafe; it may simply not have applied.

Staff-to-child ratios

ECDA's Code of Practice sets the minimum number of qualified teachers per class. Programme hours typically run from 9am to 5pm; in the early and late hours, 7am to 9am and 5pm to 7pm, one staff member may look after more children. Outdoors, there must always be at least 2 adults, one of them a qualified teacher.

Teachers also need the right certification for the age group: a teacher's licence, called a LON, shows which ages they can teach, and only Preschool Educators certified at L2 can teach up to K2. Since 1 July 2024, ECDA has required every preschool to install CCTV cameras; centres need not keep more than 30 days of footage.

What the fee list cannot tell you

ECDA's data answers price, hours and level. It says nothing about the things that decide whether your child is happy there. You have to see those yourself.

The teachers and how long they stay

Ask how long the class teacher has been at the centre, and how many teachers left in the past year. A centre with a settled team usually has calmer rooms. Ask the teacher-to-child ratio for your child's level, and who covers when a teacher is on leave.

What an ordinary day looks like

Ask for the timetable from drop-off to pick-up: outdoor time, meals, naps, screen time and how long children sit at tables. ECDA's curriculum frameworks set out what children should learn at each age, so the difference between centres shows up in how the day is run. If language matters to you, ask how many hours a day are in Mandarin, Malay or Tamil and who teaches them. Families who want more Chinese at home often add a Chinese enrichment class or a reading and phonics programme instead of choosing the centre for it.

How they settle a new child

Ask how the first two weeks work, whether you can stay at the start, and what they do with a child who cries every morning. A centre with a clear plan for this has done it hundreds of times.

Safety and communication

Every centre in the directory is licensed by ECDA. On the visit, look at the gate, the toilets, the nap area and the kitchen. Ask how they tell you about a fall or a fever, and whether you get daily updates through an app or only at pick-up.

Questions to ask on a preschool visit

Take this checklist on your tour and ask every centre the same questions, so you can compare answers that evening.

Watch the children more than the brochure. Do they look busy and relaxed? Do teachers kneel to talk to them? Is the room loud in a happy way or a chaotic one? Bring your child if you can, because how they react tells you a lot.

Registering and getting off the waitlist

ECDA's Preschool Search on the LifeSG app or website finds licensed centres near your home, your workplace or a grandparent's flat, and from there you deal with each centre directly. ECDA also lists upcoming preschools by area, which helps if you have bought a new flat in an estate still being built.

Popular Anchor and Partner Operator centres in young estates fill up early, so register interest at more than one centre, often a year ahead. Ask each one how its waitlist works, whether siblings get priority and when you'll hear back. Our childcare centres in Singapore guide covers enrolment and starting days in more detail.

Work out what you'll pay after subsidies

The directory fee is only the start. Put it into our childcare subsidy calculator, which works out the Basic Subsidy and any Additional Subsidy from your household income and whether the mother is working. If you've been quoted a fee by an Anchor or Partner Operator centre, the preschool fee cap checker tells you whether it is within the cap once GST is added. For MOE Kindergartens and Anchor Operator kindergartens, the KiFAS calculator works out the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme.

MOE has said the income limits for preschool subsidies will rise from 1 January 2027, with details to come from MSF, so check the calculator again before you enrol for 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the best preschool in Singapore?

There's no official ranking, and ECDA doesn't publish inspection scores. The best one for your child is usually a licensed centre near home, open your hours, at a fee you can afford, with teachers who have stayed. Use our preschool directory to compare fees in your town, then visit two or three.

Are Anchor Operator preschools cheaper?

Yes, for full-day care. ECDA caps their fee at $610 a month for full-day childcare and $1,235 for infant care, before GST. Partner Operators are capped at $650 and $1,290. Most other private centres charge more, with a median of $1,750 for full-day childcare.

What is the difference between childcare and kindergarten?

A childcare centre runs full days, usually from 7am to 7pm, and many also take babies from 2 months in an infant care class. Kindergartens run shorter sessions for children from about 3 to 6; MOE Kindergartens take K1 and K2 children for four hours, with KCare on site for the rest of the day.

What does SPARK certified mean?

SPARK, the Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework, is ECDA's optional quality accreditation. Centres with a licence of at least 24 months can apply, and ECDA validates them on site. There are two tiers, Certification and Commendation; it's a good sign, but still visit the class your child will join.

What does a preschool's licence tenure mean?

ECDA gives licences of 6, 12, 24 or 36 months. A 36-month licence means the centre consistently meets the rules; 6 or 12 months can mean closer monitoring, though every new centre starts at 12 months.

What staff-to-child ratio should a preschool have?

ECDA's minimums in programme hours are 1 teacher to 8 playgroup children, 12 in Pre-Nursery, 15 in Nursery, 20 in K1 and 25 in K2, and 1 staff member to 5 babies in infant care.

How early should I register for a preschool?

For an Anchor or Partner Operator centre in a busy estate, register interest about a year before you need the place, at more than one centre. Private centres and kindergartens often have shorter waits. Ask each centre how long its waitlist is for your child's level.