This year, R.E.A.L Kids celebrates 30 years of providing quality early childhood education in Malaysia. As such, Kiddy123 took the opportunity to interview R.E.A.L Kids’ General Manager (Early Childhood Care & Education), Ms Rachel Leow, to learn what is behind their success.
Kiddy123: R.E.A.L Kids has come a long way since your first preschool in Subang Jaya in 1986. 30 years of providing quality early childhood education in Malaysia is a record that is hard to beat. Looking back, what does it mean to you personally?
Rachel Leow: I feel that it is indeed a significant milestone for R.E.A.L Kids to have surpassed 30 years and the tremendous growth achieved over the years is a source of great pride and motivation for us. From our humble beginnings, our longevity and success has even seen ex-students enrolling their children at R.E.A.L Kids today. To me, there is no greater trust or validation of our quality than that.
Kiddy123: With more than 30 centres and 5,000 students, R.E.A.L Kids is undoubtedly the largest owner-operated kindergarten group in Malaysia. What has been behind R.E.A.L Kids’ success in not only surviving for 30 years in this very competitive industry but surviving at the top as a premium kindergarten?
Rachel Leow: Firstly, being an ‘owner-operated’ preschool chain enables us to provide our customers with greater quality assurance as it allows us to control and maintain high standards of teaching and lesson delivery across all our centres.
Secondly, as pioneers of Multiple Intelligences-based preschools, we had to design and produce our own range of unique Multiple Intelligences (M.I.) textbooks and engaging activities, courtesy of our in-house team of dedicated curriculum development specialists. Having this luxury of an in-house team has allowed us to ensure that our quality of syllabus and teaching delivery is up-to-mark and always consistent with current trends. Last but not least, R.E.A.L Kids has always offered a fun learning environment with premium amenities such as swimming pools, computer labs and special M.I. rooms.
Kiddy123: R.E.A.L Kids certainly has an advantage over other kindergartens in having your own team of curriculum development specialists to help you realise your educational philosophy and achieve your goals. Can you tell us more about R.E.A.L Kids’ core educational philosophy?
Rachel Leow: The essence of R.E.A.L is built on its name, an acronym which stands for ‘Results Enhancing through Active Learning’. In other words, R.E.A.L is about transformation. Our name bears testament to the belief that learning never stops but is instead a lifelong process. Students are not just taught what to learn but ‘how’. In our schools, it is not just about textbooks and learning in the classroom. Instead, we balance classroom lessons with character-building and extracurricular activities to foster a deep interest and love towards learning.
Kiddy123: In 2002, R.E.A.L Kids was the first kindergarten in Malaysia to be accredited with ISO 9001:2000. This accreditation means that R.E.A.L Kids has a quality management system in place, and that R.E.A.L Kids has demonstrated your ability to consistently provide the services that meets the requirements of your customers, i.e. your students’ parents. What would be the main areas that R.E.A.L Kids has consistently provided excellent services, and what areas have you further improved on to enhance customer satisfaction?
Rachel Leow: We have consistently provided excellent services in terms of our comprehensive preschool curriculum that is delivered by well-trained teachers who not only teach; but truly care for children’s welfare, development and growth. To further enhance customer satisfaction and experience, we have added value to our range of facilities and extracurricular activities on offer. This enables us to always provide something extra and different to our valued students. Examples of this include R.E.A.L Kids’ many unique activities such as LEGO and Culinary Art; as well as Taekwondo, Swimming and Gymnastics. Dedicated facilities and even qualified coaches are on hand to conduct lessons safely and effectively.
Kiddy123: Finally, we see the windmill in almost every R.E.A.L Kids kindergarten that we visit. Could you tell us why R.E.A.L Kids chose the windmill as your signature piece?
Rachel Leow: Apart from representing ‘green technology’, the parts of the windmill each signify R.E.A.L’s 5C core values, which guide us through our mission towards realising our vision. Symbolically, the four ‘sails’ on the windmill represent Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking and Creativity while the main tower structure represents Character, which is our first and foremost core value that binds all the rest together.