How to choose a kindergarten in China

To many children’s parents, choosing a proper kindergarten is a challenging task. If you live in China now and plan to choose a suitable kindergarten for your child, please review the following suggestions:

1. Learn about the access to school for foreign children in your place of residence.

In China, there are three main channels for foreign children to attend kindergartens: a local kindergarten, the international department of a local school, or an independent school for children of foreign nationals. At present, most of the provinces, cities and autonomous regions in China have set up schools for children of foreign nationals. Most of these schools are in Shanghai and Beijing.

2. Learn about the enrollment requirements and application process of the kindergartens where you live.

Kindergarten will generally require you to provide valid identification and a residence certificate of the child and so on. Different regions may have varied admission policies. It is recommended that you consult the kindergarten in advance to see if your child meets the application requirements.

3. Verify the qualifications of kindergarten.

You can log on the official website of the education committee where you live to check the list of approved kindergartens. You can also go to the website of the school for detailed information.

4. Make a choice based on your needs.

Different schools may have different curriculum settings and teaching styles, so you need to consider your child's growth environment and personality characteristics. Besides, you can also choose full-time, half-day, boarding, hour-reckoned and other different forms of schooling.

5. Take children to experience the kindergarten environment in advance.

If you have a favorite kindergarten, you can take your child there to experience it in advance, and observe whether the child can adapt to the teaching and living environment, as the basis of choice.

6. Before entering the kindergarten, the school will generally arrange a simple interview, and some schools may have corresponding tests.

7. In China, pre-school education is not compulsory. Therefore, no matter what kind of kindergarten you choose, you need to pay some tuition according to the requirements.