In 2005, Orchid Harbor Educational Institution established kindergartens in Pudong District and Xuhui District, and in 2010, it cooperated with East China Normal University to establish "TMECNU OKiKi" children's educational institution, with a total of four kindergartens, among which Shengshi Nianhua Kindergarten and Longhua Fenggu Kindergarten are municipal first-class kindergartens. Orchid Harbor has been established for a long time and is well-known, and has always been a big hit among private kindergartens, but at the same time, it has been accompanied by voices of skepticism.
According to Orchid Harbour, the teaching staff is made up of educators from Singapore, China and Europe, and the principals have many years of experience in teaching and managing first-class model kindergartens. In addition, a Quality Committee has been set up to ensure the service level of teachers and staff. Foreign teachers come from Europe and the United States, and Chinese teachers graduated from preschool education.
All branches of Orchid Harbour are decorated in the same style, with bright colors, neat and bright, and miniature golf. Longhua Fenggu Garden is small, covering an area of more than 2,000 square meters, including a functional area of small pools and vegetable gardens; Pubei Park is the first private municipal first-class kindergarten in Xuhui District, with a small playground area and amusement equipment such as slides; The garden covers an area of more than 6,000 square meters, with a large playground and a bedroom and toilet for each classroom. Fenggu Garden and Shengshi Nianhua Garden have been built for a long time, and the facilities are somewhat old.
The teaching team of the Orchid Harbour Bilingual Class consists of two Chinese teachers, one English teacher and one childcare worker. The kindergarten claims that its bilingual program is an immersive language environment, with four classes a day, two Chinese and two English classes, accompanied by an English teacher. However, in practice, the language classes are dominated by Chinese teachers, and the degree of integration and participation of foreign teachers is not high, and there is less interaction between Chinese teachers and foreign teachers. In the kindergarten that focuses on bilingual courses, the tuition fee of Orchid Harbor is 9,800 yuan a year, which is in the same gear as the fees of Victoria and EtonHouse, but the whole foreign language teaching environment is not as good as the latter two, and the hardware facilities are average.
After acquiring the Champs-Élysées Kindergarten in Zhangjiang Chunxiao Garden, Orchid Harbour transformed it into a flagship kindergarten and officially opened in 2018. Covering an area of 10,000 square meters, Zhangjiang Chunxiao Garden has a wide lawn that houses an outdoor paddling pool, multi-purpose sports equipment, a sand pit and a plantation. Each class has its own planting area, so children can recognize the plants they are growing. At the same time, the room is equipped with a fresh air purification system, which is divided into functional rooms such as a unified sensory training room, a library, and a special art room.
In addition to the bilingual curriculum, Orchid Harbour's Ethics Program, multicultural exchange activities and free interest classes are the most attractive to parents. Children can join interest groups for free after school in the afternoon, such as roller skating, English, logic, dance, and piano. Parents welcome this and think that it can save the cost of extracurricular registration.
Kindergarten is not only related to early childhood education, but also closely related to kindergarten to primary school. Orchid Harbour provides bridging courses from kindergarten to primary school, and some graduates can be admitted to prestigious schools such as Experimental Primary School and Concord Bilingual Primary School. Due to the emphasis on higher education, children in large classes have less time to play and have heavier learning tasks.
In terms of class size, there are 16 students in the nursery class of Orchid Harbor, and about 20 students in the small, large and intermediate classes. The tuition fee at Orchid Harbour is about 10,000 yuan per month, and it has been rising year after year. Parents can make an appointment to visit the kindergarten when registering, learn about the environment and curriculum, and observe the way kindergarten teachers treat their children. Children are required to have an admission interview, and due to the large reputation of Orchid Harbor and the large number of applicants, the admission rate is not high. The outside world has mixed reviews of Orchid Harbour, and some parents are dissatisfied with the problems of Orchid Harbour not repairing its outdated facilities in a timely manner, conservative teaching methods, and strong commercial atmosphere.
