Lower fees at more pre-schools from Jan 2026 as more centres join partner operator scheme
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Madam Norliza Amin (left), Kidz Meadow’s head of operations and quality assurance, and Madam Siti Shahidah Samat, a centre leader at Kidz Meadow Childcare and Development Centre (Yew Tee).
PHOTO: KIDZ MEADOW
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- More preschool will lower their fees from 2026, under the expanded partner operator scheme.
- Five new operators will join the scheme, bringing the number of centres offering reduced fees to 380.
- Full-day childcare fees will be capped at $650 at partner operator centres to ease the financial burden for parents.
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SINGAPORE – More parents can expect to pay lower pre-school fees from January 2026 as more centres join a government-funded scheme to keep early childhood education affordable.
Under the partner operator scheme, pre-schools get government funding to keep fees low and have to adhere to a fee cap.
More than 34,000 Singaporean children are expected to benefit from this scheme in 2026, compared with 27,000 in the current term
Partner operators under the scheme’s new term can charge up to $650 in monthly fee for full-day childcare service, down from $680 currently.
Five new operators will be added: Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-Chi Foundation (Singapore), Eshkol Valley, Global EduHub Singapore, Little Dolphins & Greenery, and Little Kinder Montessori.
A total of 380 pre-school centres run by 33 operators have been appointed to the new five-year partner operator term that runs from Jan 1, 2026, to Dec 31, 2030.
This is an increase of 49 centres from the current term, with more centres meeting the quality benchmarks for appointment, said the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) on Oct 31.
The agency said it is expanding the number of partner operator centres for the new term to increase access to affordable and quality pre-schools. ECDA added that the operators comprise a mix of commercial and not-for-profit types with centres in various locations.
The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) had previously announced
Excluding goods and services tax, full-day childcare fee caps will be reduced by $30 to $610 for anchor operator centres and $650 for partner operator centres. On top of this, families may get further basic and means-tested subsidies.
Anchor operators receive more funding than partner operators, allowing them to have lower fee caps.
Both anchor and partner operator schemes require operators to adhere to fee caps and meet quality standards such as the Spark certification, which is awarded to centres with strong processes in teaching and learning, as well as curriculum, leadership and pedagogy.
Current partner operators include Busy Bees, Star Learners and Carpe Diem.
Mr Chee Shi Jing, 33, has two sons aged one and four years old enrolled in Artemis Preskool @ Tampines, which will be joining the partner operator scheme for the first time in 2026.
This means that the account director and his wife, an executive assistant, will pay a total of $1,900 for their two children, instead of the current $2,700.
Mr Chee said the lower fees are welcome, and that he will consider putting the significant savings into daily expenses such as groceries, swimming lessons and investments for the children.
Mr Chee Shi Jing with his wife, Ms Ang Shao Jun, and their two children, Kaius, four, and Kaleb, one.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF CHEE SHI JING
The addition of new centres to the partner operator scheme is also good news for pre-school staff.
Madam Siti Shahidah Samat, 37, a centre leader at Kidz Meadow Childcare and Development Centre (Yew Tee) for the last five years, is happy that the centre will come on board in 2026.
Eight of Kidz Meadow’s 10 centres are currently on the scheme, with its Yew Tee and Pasir Ris branches joining next year.
Madam Norliza Amin, 52, Kidz Meadow’s head of operations and quality assurance, said that with the new funding, teachers can look forward to higher salaries and enhanced benefits, as well as professional development.
The centre also wants to recruit more teachers, as well as teacher aides to support teachers and free up their time for planning lessons and training. Other plans include training teachers to help kids with developmental needs, installing air-conditioning at all 10 centres and refurbishing play areas.
With lower fees, Madam Norliza said the school is expecting more demand from families, and may consider expanding its capacity.
She said: “We are looking forward to going for more courses and having more staff join our centres, and also a better retention rate of our staff.”
Mrs Jessica Chan, a centre leader at Artemis Preskool @ Tampines, said the funding will go into introducing more information technology in class and training teachers to use IT to engage the children.
She said the lower fees will reduce the financial burden on parents and help the pre-school retain the children, allowing them to grow in a familiar and consistent environment.
Mrs Chan said the pre-school will continue its yearly curriculum meetings with parents to share about the school’s programmes and reassure them that the quality of services will be maintained as the school becomes a partner operator.
“We’re opening the doors of quality pre-school to a lot more families from different backgrounds. Hopefully, we’ll see more inquiries coming in,” she added.
