Why we started Little Banyan
Serena Wong opened Little Banyan after fifteen years in early-childhood classrooms, frustrated by how rushed and crowded so many preschools had become. She wanted to build the opposite: small rooms, familiar faces, real outdoor play and a curriculum that followed children’s curiosity rather than a worksheet.
The name comes from the banyan tree — broad, shading, sending down roots that hold fast while the canopy keeps reaching upward. It’s exactly how we think of the early years: roots of security and belonging, and the freedom to stretch and grow.
Eight years on, we’re four centres strong across Singapore — and Serena still reads stories at Punggol most Fridays.
What you can expect from us
The promises we make to every family — and the things we’ve built our whole preschool around.
Small ratios, familiar faces
Lower-than-required ratios and steady, long-staying educators mean the people caring for your child genuinely know them — not a rotating cast.
Learning through real projects
An inquiry-led, Reggio-influenced approach where children investigate their own questions, so they leave us curious, capable and confident.
A genuinely bilingual day
English and Mandarin woven through play, songs and stories all day — not a thirty-minute lesson — at the age it sticks most naturally.
Outdoors & nature, daily
Roof gardens, edible plots and forest-school corners give children the daily outdoor play that focus, health and happiness depend on.
Parents kept truly in the loop
Daily photos and notes, honest learning snapshots and an open door — so you always know how your child’s day, and growth, are really going.
Ready for Primary 1
A purposeful K2 transition programme builds the reading, number sense and self-management that make the move to primary school a joy, not a jolt.
The people who’ll know your child
Qualified, screened and — just as importantly — warm and long-staying, so the faces stay familiar.
Serena Wong
A trained early-childhood educator who opened Little Banyan after fifteen years in classrooms, determined to build the warm, unhurried preschool she wished her own children had had. Still reads stories at the Punggol centre most Fridays.
Priya Nair
Shapes our inquiry-led, bilingual curriculum and mentors the teaching teams. Reggio-trained, endlessly curious, and the person who turns a child’s odd question into a fortnight-long project.
Michelle Tan
Oversees our infant-care and playgroup rooms and the settling-in of every new little one. Calm, deeply experienced, and the reason so many anxious first-time parents leave the centre smiling.