Aa
Read Write Inc Phonics
Children learn the pure sounds first, then blend them to read, moving through the Speed Sounds at their own pace. Decoding, not guessing.
Preschool · Ages 18 months to 6 years
Preschool in Alexandra for Ages 18 Months to 6 Years
ECDA-licensed kindergarten with Read Write Inc phonics, Singapore Maths and learning shaped around each child.
Where we areFragrance Empire BuildingBeside ARC · 456 Alexandra RoadNear Labrador Park MRT (CC27)
ECDA-licensed kindergartenNursery & Kindergarten1:6 educator ratio
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
6 domainsEvery child's progress, reflected on every term.
Read Write Inc
Structured phonics
Early reading taught sound by sound, in sequence.
Singapore Maths
Strong number sense
Concrete, then pictorial, then abstract.
Individual Learning Plan
Shaped around your child
Rewritten by their teacher every six weeks.
Mandarin
Mandarin every day
Mandarin-speaking teachers, in play and activity.
The Agora difference
Ready for the primary years, and still asking questions.
School readiness should not mean trading curiosity for worksheets. Phonics and maths are taught in sequence every morning. Inquiry, clay, recycling and robotics sit in the same day. Children leave able to decode a book, and still willing to ask what happens next.
Early literacyMaths confidenceIndependenceCommunicationCuriosityConfidence for Primary 1
The curriculum
What Your Child Learns
Six strands, taught by educators who know your child. Phonics and maths run in sequence every morning. Inquiry and Mandarin run through the day.
12
Singapore Maths
Concrete, then pictorial, then abstract. Children hold the quantity before they write the symbol, so the understanding holds when the work gets harder.
中
Mandarin
Mandarin runs through the day. Our Mandarin-speaking teachers use it with the children in play and in activity. That is daily exposure and use, rather than full bilingual immersion.
✦
Inquiry and Projects
Reggio-informed atelier work: clay, loose parts, recycling and robotics. Children question, investigate and revisit ideas in depth, guided by their teachers.
❝
Language and Communication
Speaking, listening and putting ideas into their own words. Children talk through what they tried with a partner before anyone marks anything.
P1
School Readiness
Comprehension, number sense, focus, self-management and social competence: the markers that decide how the first year of primary school really goes.
Everything a child does is reflected on through six developmental domains every term: cognition, language, social, emotional, physical and creative.
Individual Learning Plan
Learning Shaped Around Your Child
Every child has an Individual Learning Plan across six developmental domains. It is built from what a teacher watched your child actually do, in their own words, and their teacher rewrites it every six weeks.
1
Observe
Teachers write down what your child actually did, in their own words.
2
Plan
After four to six weeks of watching, a plan is written around what your child needs next.
3
Teach
Their teacher adapts what they teach to those goals, across all six domains.
4
Review
Every six weeks the plan is reread, and you get an update against it.
5
Adjust
Goals move with what your child is ready for, not with their birthday.
What you see, and when
Every dayA note from your child's teacher.
FortnightlyA newsletter from the room.
Every six weeksThe plan is rewritten, and you get an update against it.
At six monthsA parent and teacher meeting, sat down together.
At year endA full written report.
AA generic report card
–A grade per subject, once or twice a year.
–Tells you where your child placed against the class.
–The same target for thirty different children.
–You read it. It ends there.
BThe Agora Individual Learning Plan
✓Six domains, reflected on every term from real observation.
✓Names what your child needs next, and the teacher adapts to get them there.
✓One plan, shaped to one child's pace, without comparison.
✓Rewritten every six weeks, with a meeting at six months and a report at year end.
Phonics
Read Write Inc Phonics
Read Write Inc is a structured synthetic phonics programme. It is oral-first and multisensory, and it is the opposite of rote learning. This is how a child gets from a sound to a book.
1
Pure sounds first
Children learn the sounds the letters make, not the letter names. Said out loud, before anything is written down.
2
Blending the sounds
They push those sounds together to read a whole word, so reading is decoded rather than guessed from the picture.
3
Speed Sounds, at their pace
Children move through the Speed Sounds when they are ready for the next one, not when the calendar says so.
4
Real books, early
They read real books early because they can, not because they have memorised them.
Phonics is taught in sequence every morning, alongside Singapore Maths. Where your child is up to sits in their Individual Learning Plan.
A typical day
A Day at Agora Preschool
The day has a deliberate shape, and what happens inside each block follows the children. Each block runs until the work is done, rather than until a bell goes.
Morning
Core learning
Arrival and settling, from 7.30am
Read Write Inc phonics and early literacy
Singapore Maths and numeracy
STEAM, performing arts and sports
Midday
Inquiry and Mandarin
Inquiry in the atelier: clay, recycling, robotics
Mandarin with Mandarin-speaking teachers
Outdoor exploration in the garden
Snack, meals and rest, handled consistently
Afternoon
Projects and extensions
Weekly projects, carried on across the week
More Mandarin, woven through activity
Focused learning linked to each child's plan
Core day ends at 2pm pick-up
Core day runs from 7.30am drop-off to 2pm pick-up, and an afternoon extension adds either two or four hours. Come on a weekday morning and we will walk you through a real one.
Inside the rooms
Learning You Can See
Real mornings at Fragrance Empire Building, on one floor beside ARC: classrooms, three makerspace workshops, two multi-function studios, a library with a netted mezzanine, and a terrace of nearly 7,000 square feet looking out over Sentosa.
Story time · the library
Books they chooseParent reviews
What Parents Say
★★★★★ 4.9 from 139 Google reviews. Their words, not ours.
“
Claire and her team gave my son as much time as he needed to feel safe and confident. They met him where he was emotionally, and that made all the difference.
Robert T. · Preschool parent
“
They have taken the time to truly understand his emotional and learning needs, tailoring their approach to ensure he feels safe, valued and capable.
R. H. · parent of a neurodivergent child
“
She went above and beyond by inviting me to spend a full normal school day with my daughter, allowing us to get a real feel for the teaching style, environment and teacher-child interactions.
gunjan c. · Preschool parent
“
The learning plan reviews are the thing. I always leave knowing exactly what she's working on, and why.
K2 parent · Telok Blangah
In short
Why Families Choose Agora
1
Strong foundations
Read Write Inc phonics and Singapore Maths, taught in sequence every morning.
2
Learning that adapts
An Individual Learning Plan per child, rewritten by their teacher every six weeks.
3
Curiosity still matters
Clay, recycling and robotics sit in the same day as phonics, not instead of it.
4
Mandarin every day
Mandarin-speaking teachers use it with the children in play and in activity.
5
Ready for what comes next
Comprehension, number sense, focus and the confidence to walk into Primary 1.
6
Real relationships
A 1:6 educator-to-child ratio, and educators who know the children they teach.
Children can stay within one coherent Agora setting from six months right through preschool, on a single floor at Fragrance Empire Building.
The people
Meet the People Teaching Them
Parents choose people, not only a curriculum. Our Head of Early Years is Claire Michael, an ECDA-certified Inclusion Officer, and she is the person you would speak to before your child starts.
CM
“Instead of asking what a child should know at a certain age, we ask: what does this child need next?”
Claire Michael · Head of Early Years · ECDA-certified Inclusion Officer
They know each child
Every plan is built from written observations of what your child actually did, in their teacher's own words.
Trained on the practice
New teachers complete the Agora Training Plan before they run a room, so the approach holds even if a teacher changes.
They talk to you
A note home every day, a newsletter every fortnight, and a proper conversation every six weeks.
A Child First Aider is on site whenever we are open, and only the people you name in writing can collect your child.
Find us
Preschool in Alexandra
Preschool and full-day childcare on one floor at Fragrance Empire Building, beside ARC and a short walk from Labrador Park MRT.
Fragrance Empire Building#01-03, 456 Alexandra RoadSingapore 119962
LandmarkBeside ARC, straight in from street level.
Nearest MRTLabrador Park (CC27), on the Circle Line.
Phone+65 6252 5585, weekdays.
Book a Free VisitGetting here
By trainLabrador Park station, CC27. Come up to street level and walk towards ARC. We are the building beside it, at #01-03. If you reach ARC you have gone one building too far.
By carSet your map to Fragrance Empire Building, Singapore 119962. That postcode belongs to the building itself. Tell us you are driving when you book and your confirmation will include the entrance to use and where to park.
Open in Google MapsBefore you ask
The questions parents ask first.
What ages does Agora Preschool accept? +
Eighteen months to six years, through Nursery and Kindergarten, right up to primary school. Children can stay within one Agora setting from six months onwards.
What are the Preschool operating hours? +
The core day runs from 7.30am drop-off to 2pm pick-up, five days a week. An afternoon extension adds either two or four hours. Exact start and finish times differ by programme, so we will confirm yours when you visit.
What does a normal day look like? +
Mornings are core learning: Read Write Inc phonics and literacy, Singapore Maths, then STEAM, performing arts and sports. Midday is inquiry in the atelier, Mandarin and outdoor exploration, with snack, meals and rest handled consistently. Afternoons are weekly projects and focused learning linked to each child's plan. Each block runs until the work is done.
How does the Individual Learning Plan work? +
Every child has one, covering six developmental domains: cognition, language, social, emotional, physical and creative. It is written after four to six weeks of watching how your child actually works, from their teacher's own written observations. Their teacher rereads and rewrites it every six weeks, and you get an update against it each cycle.
How does Read Write Inc phonics work? +
Children learn the pure sounds the letters make rather than the letter names, then blend those sounds together to read a whole word. They move through the Speed Sounds at their own pace, so reading is decoded rather than guessed. It is oral-first and multisensory, and it runs every morning.
How is Mandarin taught? +
Mandarin runs through the day. Our Mandarin-speaking teachers use it with the children in play and in activity, so they hear it and use it constantly. That is daily exposure and use, rather than full bilingual immersion.
How do you prepare children for primary school? +
Readiness here means a child who can decode text, handle numbers confidently, sit with a hard problem and ask for help when they need it. We build comprehension, number sense, focus, self-management and social competence, and track them against the Individual Learning Plan, so nothing is a surprise on a report.
How do teachers communicate progress to parents? +
A note from your child's teacher every day, a newsletter every fortnight, an update against the learning plan every six weeks, a parent and teacher meeting at the six-month mark, and a full written report at year end.
Can I visit the preschool before deciding? +
Please come. A weekday morning, when the rooms are full, tells you most of what you need. You will watch a class in progress and meet the teachers who would have your child. The discovery visit is free and there is no obligation. Bring your hardest question and we will answer it straight.
Where is Agora Preschool located? +
Fragrance Empire Building, #01-03, 456 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119962. We are beside ARC and a short walk from Labrador Park MRT (CC27) on the Circle Line. Reach us on +65 6252 5585 on weekdays.
Visit · Fragrance Empire Building, Alexandra Road
Book a Free Preschool Visit
Come and see a normal school day, meet the educators who would have your child, and experience the space before you decide. Watch a Read Write Inc session and a clay table run side by side. The visit is free and there is no obligation.
Tell us when suits
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
.png)
Visit us
Fragrance Empire Building, #01-03, 456 Alexandra Road, S119962Labrador Park MRT (CC27) · beside ARC