Our schools

Aspirations for our schools

We want our schools to:

• Care for our students, studying and knowing their needs, interests and strengths, and motivate them to learn and grow.
• Ensure all students acquire strong fundamentals of literacy and numeracy and are developed holistically – in character, knowledge and critical competencies.
• Create a positive school experience for our students, making them confident and lifelong learners.
• Have caring and competent teachers who are steadfast in their mission to impact lives.
• Work closely with parents and the community to bring out the best in our students.
• Provides opportunities to all students, regardless of family circumstances.

Developing our schools

Resourcing our schools to offer customised programmes

We resource our schools to offer customised programmes such as Holistic Assessment, Values in Action and Programme for Active Learning to meet the needs of students. Different schools also offer a variety of programmes to develop the varied interests and abilities of their students.

Raising the professional standards of teachers across the system

Teaching is a calling; it is about touching lives. Many teachers go beyond their call of duty and go the extra mile for their students.

We now have about 32,000 education officers, an increase of 4,000 from five years ago, and 2,200 Allied Educators under the Allied Educator Scheme that was started in 2009.

Since the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST) was started in 2011, almost 300 learning communities have been established for teachers to learn from each other within and across schools. These learning communities provide platforms for teachers to learn from experienced practitioners, partners and one another and expand their repertoire of methods to enrich their students’ learning.

Encouraging learning and innovation across schools

Our schools share best practices through many platforms. Educators and school staff come together regularly to learn about good efforts and innovations in our schools. They also collaborate with one another to develop programmes that facilitate students’ learning.

MOE ExCEL Fest is one such platform. It is a biennial event that features exciting and innovative practices in schools. Schools and teachers come together to share and showcase ideas that work. It is also an occasion that encourages learning communities to be formed, where teachers can continue to network with one another and engage with new ideas collaboratively.

Promoting partnerships between school and community

Parents play a key role in partnering schools in supporting the holistic development of our students, and encouraging them to learn and grow according to their strengths, interests and personalities.  We will best succeed in developing our students to their fullest with the support and cooperation of their parents.

Our community and industry partners complement schools' efforts in providing rich learning experiences for our students to discover and pursue their strengths and interests, for example through supporting them in their applied learning programmes and providing opportunities for volunteering and serving the community.

Together, our schools, parents and the community are integral to nurturing students who are well-rounded, passionate lifelong learners, imbued with strong values, skills and dispositions that prepare them to learn for life.

Learn about the different types of schools.