Lower fees at more pre-schools from Jan 2026 as more centres join partner operator scheme

previously announced

lower childcare fees from January 2026.

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.

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.