Parents Want Future-Ready Kids.
Show Them You Deliver.
Today’s parents don’t just want childcare. They want a preschool that prepares their child for the future. FIRST Rating helps preschools demonstrate their commitment to developing future-ready children.
What Parents Are Watching Out For
Parents today know that the world is changing fast and becoming more competitive. The traditional ROTE learning isn't enough to set their children up for future success. Research from OECD to World Bank all point to the same: Future jobs, challenges, and social environments require adaptability, resource management skills, and resilience — parents are taking note of these facts & are demanding more from schools.
87%
of jobs today's preschoolers will hold don't yet exist. Parents worry if their kids are trained to be ready for these future jobs.
Age 5
is now the critical window when executive functions are forming most rapidly. Parents want their kids to master these skills now to be adaptable tomorrow.
3–5×
higher lifetime returns from investing in early non-cognitive skills vs later intervention. Parents want to be certain that their kids are getting these skills NOW not later.
The Struggle to Differentiate & Stand Out
Challenge for Preschools
Most preschools today focus on facilities, teacher qualifications, and literacy outcomes. None of these will convince parents that the they are ready to lead their kids to the future. Preschools are set up for new challenges in trying to adjust & meet these new parental expectations
How Do You Even Start With Future Ready Skills
Even schools with strong intentions aren't accustomed to teaching kids about Future-Ready skills. Schools need a structured framework to adopt the right curriculum, tools & approach to Future-Readying kids.
How Do You Even Tell Parents You Future Ready Kids
Schools today rely on good academic performance to show parents that they are effective. As parents feel academic excellence isn't enough & want more to Future Ready kids, schools need a way to show parents they can or they are doing it.
Parents have no way to compare what schools do
Preschools will begin to realize that parents prioritize Future-readying kids and will begin claiming they do so - with or without basis. Preschools will struggle to differentiate and show parents they are the real deal.
FIRST Rating.
The Certificate Preschools Need to be FIRST.
Parents want preschools who teach their kids the Future-Ready skills they need tomorrow. FIRST is the world's first certification system that evaluates and certifies a preschool for helping kids learn the skills needed to be Future-Ready. With FIRST, parents know you have the framework, approach & science to Future-Ready their kids. FIRST certification measures if a preschool is ready & effective in helping kids master the following 4 Future-Ready domains or skills.
Resilience Thinking
Is the preschool teaching kids to bounce back from setbacks, learn from mistakes, and adjust their behaviour? Research shows that self-regulation and cognitive flexibility — developed early — are strong predictors of health, financial stability, and wellbeing across a lifetime (Moffitt et al., 2011).
Financial Literacy
Even at age 4–6, children can grasp trade-offs, delayed rewards, and the difference between needs and wants. Is the preschool teaching kids important money management lessons. These early experiences build judgment that extends into every kind of life decision — not just financial ones (OECD/INFE, 2015).
Parent–School Alignment
Skills only stick when they're reinforced at home. Does the preschool implement systems or methods that enables parents to support learning at home. The landmark EPPE study found that the home learning environment is one of the strongest predictors of a child's cognitive and social development. FIRST measures whether schools actively build this bridge.
Collaborative Skills
Collaboration is listed by the World Economic Forum as a top future workforce skill — yet it can only be developed through doing, not instruction. FIRST assesses whether preschools create structured opportunities for children to genuinely practise cooperation and perspective-taking.
Steps to Earn a
FIRST Rating
FIRST is independently assessed, not self-reported. Our structured evaluation process translates research into an honest, measurable score.
02 Evaluation
Trained FIRST assessors will visit the school & observe actual implementation of approaches or curriculum to cover the 4 domains
03 Certification
Upon reviewing & scoring the school's completeness as well as readiness for the 4 domains. schools which meet the minimum threshold will be certified. The certification is renewed annually.
01 Application
The school submits an application requesting to be certified. The application form will require brief details about its approach to covering the 4 domains.
Creator of FIRST Rating
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