In the late 1970s, the Ministry of Social Affairs asked National Trades Union Congress to take over the few childcare centres it was operating. NTUC subsidised these centres through fund-raising activities until established a cooperative in 1992 and they became a part of it. From its humble roots, NTUC First Campus Co-operative Limited grew the early childhood care and education (childcare) industry.

It now manages 38 centres with a total intake of more than 4,000 children and trains about 1,000 childcare educators each year, 90% of whom are employed by other childcare centres.

Working women who do not have the luxury of parents or parents-in-law to help them look after their children no longer fret about it. They have childcare centres to turn to. And, NTUC First Campus Co-operative Limited has 38 centres islandwide that offer this service. Besides, there are also many private operated centres, whose teachers are likely to have been trained by the cooperative, though they charge higher fees.

The early childhood care and education industry has come a long way since NTUC played 'nanny' to the handful of childcare centres run by the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1977. NTUC did not just accept the task because it was asked to do so by a government ministry. It did so because there was a social role it could play. By providing childcare, NTUC would be encouraging more women to return to or remain in the workforce.

However, there were differences to be sorted out. The ministry's centres were meant for the lower income group. While also committed to help this group. NTUC had to serve the needs of a wider spectrum of the population.

The Ministry's centres were just places where children were looked after while their mothers were at work and only the older children were given some form of kindergarten lessons to prepare them for primary one. NTUC upgraded all the centres, gave more attention to the calibre of staff and developed an early childhood programme that would benefit the children.

All these could only be achieved if NTUC formed a cooperative that specialised in early childhood care and education, and so it did on 1 April 1992.

Sourcing for the best

Posted recently on NTUC First Campus's website, were recruitment advertisements for a Centre Principal, Teachers, Assistant Teacher and Dramatic Reading Instructors.

The requirements for the Centre Principal included a Diploma/Degree or equivalent in early childhood education or a related discipline and a minimum of two years' relevant supervisory experience in the field, while Teachers and Assistant Teachers must be trained in Early Childhood Education and have a minimum of three GCE 'O' level credits, including English as a first language. Those wanting to join NTUC First Campus as Dramatic Reading Instructors must have at least GCE 'O' levels including a credit in English as a first language, qualification in Speech and Drama and experience in conducting enrichment programmes.

These requirements are necessary because NTUC First Campus staff must be able to teach a curriculum developed by a team of specialists in early childhood, child development and child psychology in Singapore.

NTUC First Campus has even developed several books specially for its pre-schoolers. I have Touched the Moon! By R Chandran, co-founder of Act 3 and Act 3 Drama Academy, who has been involved in works for children on stage, television and radio, as a writer, director and actor since 1979; and Learning is Fun is a four-book series developed by a team of early childhood professionals to help six-year-olds acquire essential learning skills and stimulate their minds and creativity.

In addition, NTUC First Campus offers advice and guidance on workplace childcare, customised training and projects in early childhood development and education through its training and consultancy arm, the Regional Training and Resource Centre in Early Childhood Care and Education for Asia. Lecturers must have a recognised Masters degree in Early Childhood Education, minimum four years of working experience in a pre-school setting and minimum one year of adult teaching experience.

Symbolised by its mascots, the Five Stars - Bright, Caring, Confident, Creative and Healthy - NTUC First Campus believes in promoting the growth of children in all areas of development: physical, social, emotional and cognitive, through experiential learning and an integrated approach. Centre activities encourage creative expression through music, art and drama, hands-on projects, field visits and computer-assisted learning.

In its own words, NTUC First Campus:

With such a set-up, what does the young child gain?

My Day

To illustrate, here's a "diary entry" by a girl attending an NTUC First Campus centre, taken off the cooperative's website:

As the day begins... I step into the centre and am greeted cheerfully by my teachers. The sound of my friends' laughter makes me look forward to another day at the centre, and I say goodbye to my mummy and daddy.

Breakfast is a happy meal to start the day with friends. When I finish, I join my classmates and the younger children in the Family Hall. I enjoy playing with my younger friends. I can be a big sister and help them put blocks together. Sometimes I read to them. My teacher says that I'm very helpful and caring.

A time for exploring, discovering and learning . . . We sit in a group and teacher talks to us and shows us things. Today, we learn about our bones. I didn't know we had so many funny bones in our bones! We ask many questions.

Our teacher reads to us a lot. Sometimes in English, sometimes in Chinese. Teacher uses puppets and sometimes she uses her voice and face. Today, after listening to the story of Where the Wild Things Are, we acted out the story. I was the monster and it was fun! Teacher says we can make our own monster book tomorrow.

A, E, I, O, U. We learn Chinese pronunciation in such a fun way! The actions help us remember the sounds better.

Teacher says mathematics is everywhere... in the 2 cups of flour, 3 eggs and 10 raisins that we put together to bake our gingerbread men. It is also in the stones we found and weighed. Mathematics is also when I stand beside my friends to see who is the tallest and who is the shortest. I am not so tall but not so short either. During computer time, we went into Millie's Math House and compares Little, Middle and Big.

I like the Science Corner best. I didn't know blue and yellow mixed together turns green. Magic! Teach bought us a terrapin today. I wonder if it will bite. Why does its head disappear when I try to pat it? What do I feed it and how can I take care of it?

Bath time is fun too. I know how to bathe myself. I am a big girl, I am.

Lunch time... My favourite meal is chicken and fruits. We help clean the table after lunch. Our teacher says we must learn to be helpful. We must also learn to share chores.

Activities mean a lot of interesting things in the centre. Teacher plays music for us and we pretend to be elephants that go thump... thump... thump. Then we pretend to be butterflies that go flutter... flutter... flutter.

We go outdoors too, to play on the swings and seesaw, play catch and hopscotch, climb the jungle gym, play at the sandpit or at the water trough. Do you know that small pebbles sink but a wooden block floats?

Today, we have art and craft. I am going to paint Mummy and Daddy and myself. My favourite colour is purple.

Afternoon nap... It's time to rest. Teacher tells us a story before we take a nap. I'm feeling sleepy. Yawn...

Free choice activities come after a nap and tea. We can choose to go to any of the exciting learning corners of our classroom. We learn to build with blocks, read a book, play the new board games at the Math Corner or play house and dress up.

We play pretend games a lot. Sometimes I pretend to be Mummy who must go to work and look after the baby and Daddy. Sometimes I pretend to be a doctor, Uncle John. I think I will be a "mummy" doctor when I grow up. But today, I will finish my letter to my aunty at the Language Centre.

Daddy's here... Time to go home. I wish I could stay a while longer. But it's alright. Tomorrow will be here soon. Goodbye teacher, goodbye friends. "Zai jian, see you all tomorrow!"

At NTUC First Campus, "Every Child Counts". You can't go wrong when the foundation is right.