-ecda preschool

If you're shopping around for a preschool in Singapore, then you've very likely heard of SPARK. Preschools aren't shy about proclaiming that they're SPARK-certified when it's applicable, after all.

But what does that really mean for you and your little one beyond a preschool's marketing materials? Here, we'll show you the significance of SPARK for your child's education by explaining the advantages of choosing an ECDA preschool with the certification.

What is SPARK?

SPARK is the acronym for the Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework. Implemented by the ECDA or Early Childhood Development Agency, it's designed to help Singaporean preschools raise their service quality.

When a preschool applies for SPARK certification, it's essentially submitting to an assessment of whether or not it meets the ECDA's standards for quality early education. If it doesn't pass, it doesn't get certification.

What are SPARK's core values?

Understanding the core values underpinning SPARK may help you figure out why SPARK certification is advantageous for parents. According to the ECDA, SPARK is all about ensuring the following:

  • Child our Focus - The value tying together all of the others, this guides preschools into offering the best environment for children's development.
  • Leadership with Vision - SPARK encourages preschool leaders to keep up with the latest trends and developments in the early-education industry while inspiring the rest of the team.
  • Professionalism with Impact - Dedicated and trained teachers are valued highly in the framework, as are ones with consistently positive impact on the children in their care.
  • Innovation with Purpose - The ECDA calls on preschools to stay relevant as well as innovative when improvements can be made to teaching approaches and systems.
  • Partnership for Growth - Preschools are called to build strong, collaborative relationships with parents and the community to better support children's development.

What are the benefits of a SPARK-certified preschool?

So, now that you know what the ECDA expects of preschools that want to be SPARK-certified, you can already see its benefits. Here are the most important ones for parents and children:

1. Assurance of quality

SPARK is all about making preschools meet a standard for the educational experience. If a preschool has the certification, you can be confident that the preschool at least meets the minimum quality the ECDA mandates for this.

That means you no longer have to play a guessing game over whether or not preschools can provide what your child needs to thrive. It takes a lot of the uncertainty out of your preschool selection.

2. Updated quality assessment

One of the best things about SPARK certification is that it isn't permanent. Preschools have to renew it by getting assessed every 6 years.

So, if a preschool happens to let its standards fall during that time, it will lose the certification. This helps parents ensure that preschools are doing what they can to keep up quality even after passing the first evaluation.

3. For commendations, a tip on excellence

 This benefit relates specifically to the ECDA preschools that have commendation-level SPARK certification. This is a higher level of accreditation that means the preschool has gone far above the SPARK certification's baseline standards.

With only 144 commendations against 909 certifications as of 3 June 2024, commendations clearly indicate the cream of the crop for Singaporean preschools right now. That's why they can be useful for finding the absolute-best options for your child.

In sum: why you should choose a SPARK-certified centre

Ultimately, the key advantage of SPARK certification for parents is that it makes choosing preschools easier. With universally relevant criteria for the assessment, it aids you in checking which centres can provide what children need to thrive in their early education.

Through this, you can more easily find centres that have quality teaching and learning approaches as well as better-quality education and care for your child.