Interview with Simran Kaur, Founder of Stage & Such
November 2, 2009 by Bernard Leong
Filed under Featured, Interviews
Other than the food and beverages industry, education is one of the hot areas in Singapore given it’s aim to become an education hub for the region. How about running a school for kids between six months old and six years old? It may sound impossible, but Simran Kaur, founder of Stage and Such found a niche in the education sector with her company, Stage and Such. We interviewed her on what inspired her to set up Stage & Such, why the company offers services for a niche market and her thoughts on the education industry in Singapore.
BL: Hi Simran thank you for taking time to do this interview. What did you do before setting up Stage and Such?
Simran Kaur: I’ve wanted to own and run a early childhood centre for as long as I can remember. After graduating from NUS Business School, I started working as an assistant teacher at one of the leading international pre-schools in Singapore. I felt that it was necessary for me to be privy to the ins and outs from the bottom up in order to be successfully be able to run my own early childhood institute.
At that point, MCYS was tightening its requirements for teacher qualifications so I began pursuing my Certificate in Pre-school Teaching (CPT) while working. After about 9 months, I was offered a teaching post.
By then, I had quickly come to realize that assistant teachers were involved in and were privy to a host of varied aspects that regular teachers weren’t. We were shuttled between classes on very little or no notice when teachers were on leave and because of that, I had the opportunity to not only work with children of different age groups but also assist teachers who had diverse teaching styles and classroom management techniques.
After about 18 months, I left to pursue my Diploma in Teaching & Leadership full time. During my 2-year course, the extensive practicums coupled with the hands on assignments lent me even more insight into the field.
It was at this time that I also set up Little Angels – a behavioral management consultancy that helps parents deal with their children’s tantrums and other behavioral issues.
When I graduated top of my class and valedictorian in April this year, my lecturer and mentor said to me “If someone with your passion and aptitude for the field doesn’t go out and do something, I would have little hope for the future of early childhood scene in Singapore.” That was my trigger and with a lot of support from my husband and loved ones, I decided that there was no time like now.
BL: What inspired you to set up the Stage and Such?
Simran Kaur: Having completed my education here, I understand the rigorous nature of the school system here. However, I spent a couple of my summer vacations (while at NUS) interning at Canadian & Australian pre-schools in Japan & Thailand. These were real eye-opening experiences for me and possibly the source of my first inspirations (and revelations) that learning could indeed occur without worksheets and stressful spelling tests!
That fueled my desire to bring about a change in the way children learn here and that is also the reason why I went into teaching right after graduation.
BL: Can you briefly tell us about Stage and Such? What does it do?
Simran Kaur: Stage & Such is an exclusive lifestyle type membership for children aged between 6 months and 6 six years. We have a range of classes that develop children’s ability to question, potential to explore and most importantly their aptitude to embrace new and diverse experiences.
Each class is an eclectic mix of music, warmth and creative energy. The mix of classes we offer is deliberate in terms of heightening children’s self-awareness and confidence.
Speech & Drama focuses on developing children’s ability to communicate effectively through the arts.
Yoga serves to counter the hurry-up world of busy parents, school pressures and the generally rushed world our children live in. Techniques for self-health, relaxation and body awareness through a physical activity that’s noncompetitive encourages healthy self-esteem.
Besides its unique ability to touch upon all the right sensorial points, water is a medium that is calming and familiar to young children. Water play serves to build children’s self confidence through orientation in space and increased dexterity and motion through the strengthening of core muscles.
BL: What are the three interesting services that you think that you want new customers to know about Stage and Such?
Simran Kaur: Here are the three interesting services I will recommend to new customers:
- Our unique packages enable members to pick and choose classes ala carte rather than having fixed commitments to a particular type of class or time. This means that a package can be used for any or all of our classes. Sessions are redeemed as you come when you come. Packages have no expiry date and are also transferrable between siblings
- Members or potential members may book classes and/or trials through our digitally integrated “book a class” section on our website. It is a simple and effortless system that enables one to view how many spots are still available and allows for booking up to one hour before the class starts.
- Our dedicated teams of trainers are brilliant at what they do and our small class size of 6 to 8 children lends for intimate sessions with quality learning.
BL: As Stage and Such provides education to children as young as 6 months old, how do you convince parents to bring their kids to your school?
Simran Kaur: Large proportions of today’s parents are well read and understand the benefits of early socialization and exposure to new and diverse experiences to their children.
Since our Babies in Sync and Toddler Delight classes are adult accompanied and designed to foster parent-child bonding and interaction, parents see our classes as ideal opportunities to spend some quality family time.
Of course there are also parents who feel that classes for 6 month olds are unnecessary as their children are too young to benefit from them.
We usually encourage the parents who are skeptical to come for a trial so that our curriculum may speak for itself. Once they see their children bouncing up and down, laughing during the interactive music sessions or squinting to absorb all the new sights, smells and taste during the drama activity they usually don’t require much more convincing!
BL: What facilities that Stage and Such provide for your clients and young children who attend your school?
Simran Kaur: Each session is designed to encompass as many of a child’s 5 senses as possible. This is because young children learn best when engaged in sensorial experiences.
For our speech & drama classes, we rely heavily on open-ended material that allows the older children to improvise according to the plot of the story. This may range from hats to masks and even everyday items such as baskets, rugs and fabric.
For the younger children, the numerous puppets and toys are used to facilitate their early language development and story telling.
Our wide selection of books and craft material fuel role play, drama, story telling and prop creation.
The jacuzzi and pool at the SOHO are ideal for our water play sessions and of course the lively music and sing along sessions conducted by our guitarist is usually the highlight!
Come early 2010, we are also looking at some really exciting upgrades to the curriculum and general look & feel of the studio – no doubt these will provide even more fun learning for our members!
BL: What are the major challenges that you face in setting up such an enterprise?
Simran Kaur: One of the main challenges I faced was putting together a team that shared and supported my vision to create a club type atmosphere for children to have fun, feel safe and “hang out”.
BL: Education is a major industry in Singapore. What do you see are the trends for the growth of this industry in general?
Simran Kaur: In the last decade, technology has altered the face of education. Whether its interactive sessions using multimedia or the use of social media to communicate directly with parents and students, teaching and learning have come a long way from the chalk and blackboard days.
In order for an educational business to flourish in the short to medium term, reaching out to the consumer (parents, students) directly and responding to their needs quickly and efficiently is without doubt, going to be the path moving forward.
Today’s consumer is shrouded with choices and whether the industry like it or not, even schools are brands. The web allows for everyone and anyone to find everything they need and even customize it to their needs. This includes parenting tips, lesson plans and timetables.
How the fraternity responds to these trends is going to be the determining factor for the growth of this industry. Education providers are increasingly going need to create a brand that tells a story. That and an element of customization and flexibility in the programs that are being offered is the next wave for this industry.
BL: What are the three most important traits of an entrepreneur
Simran Kaur:
- Making mistakes and being okay with it!
- Flexibility – don’t be afraid to implement new & original ideas
- Vision – not just knowing it is but more importantly sharing it with your team and clients.
BL: Thank you, Simran for the interview. We wish you and the team in Stage & Such all the best in your endeavours. Do let us know of any new developments and news about your company.
About Simran Kaur: Simran is a leading expert in developing and executing early childhood programs in South East Asia. Her first business venture, a behavioral management consultancy called Little Angels was inspired by the hit reality TV series “Supernanny”. A firm believer that children are inherently good and only misbehave when they are misunderstood, scared or insecure, Simran continues to work closely with families to help them better understand their children and their needs.
Along with these commitments, Simran owns and runs a boutique school catering for various parent-child activities. Located in the heart of Clarke Quay, the unique “book a class online” tool coupled with the flexibility of the programs at Stage & Such is causing quite the stir in the enrichment class scene in Singapore. Referring to their students as “members”, Stage & Such offers a flexible schedule that allows members to customize their timetables
according to their hectic schedules.
An advocate and evangelist of the evolving positive image of child, Simran hopes that her programs will continue to bridge the gap between adult-child communication and expectations so that through them, she may showcase
just how capable children really are.
Related posts:
Comments