Hi, my name is Julia Robson, I work for Kids 1st Bowesfield​, part of the Busy Bees group. I have been working there for over 3 years in a Senior role ​with the under 2 year olds, but I have been working with children for over 16 years ​in total. I have recently been appointed SENCo in the setting, which I have found very rewarding.

When I heard about Busy Bees' Talent Exchange Programme (TEP 2017), I jumped at the chance of taking part in such a unique opportunity ​and experiencing something I would never normally get the chance to do​. When I was informed that I had been accepted, I literally screamed out in excitement. I could not believe it and when I was told how many people actually applied, I felt very honoured and privileged to be able to showcase my experience and knowledge on this amazing opportunity. When the ​departure day actually arrived, I was incredibly nervous and anxious, especially leaving my daughter as I have never been away from her for so long and been so far away, but I was also very excited to start this amazing new adventure. 

I can't believe we have been here a week now - it has gone incredibly fast. It has been amazing to see all the different sights and cultures in Singapore. Our Busy Bees Asia colleagues have been incredibly kind showing us lots of different local cuisines from having a Chinese meal when we arrived to having breakfast in Little India, which was very different, but I enjoyed it a great deal. We also had a beautiful river cruise at Clarke Quay where we saw amazing views of Marina Bay at night which was out of this world. I loved it.

On the first working week, the first 2 days were spent at Busy Bees HQ which was extremely interesting and also lovely being able to share different working practices and experiences.

I spent yesterday and today in my new placement where I was assigned to Learning Vision Nanyang Polytechnic. We had a really lovely welcome from all the children and teachers. The children handed us some gifts. We then joined in on their weekly assembly which was really entertaining to watch. It has been a wonderful experience to watch how they incorporate English and Mandarin into their planned lessons in all the age groups throughout the day. It has also been really interesting to see how they ensure parents are constantly kept informed in all matters concerning their child in the school and the rigorous communication methods that are put in place. For example, every class performs for their parents at the end of the term to showcase what they have learnt, or they have Parent Craft Day where the children get to involve their parents in the activities they have done over the term. They also set out a morning session for the parents to come into the school every year to discuss their child's planned curriculum for that year, all of which is amazing to hear about, and I'm looking forward to the days ahead to get to share some of the communication methods we use in our settings and some of my own experiences.