Preschool visit checklist for owners and area managers (free)

This preschool checklist helps you see one centre the way parents see it: at drop-off, on the phone, in the classroom and in the fee list. The visit takes about 20 minutes plus drop-off. Print it and tick it after you leave the gate.

Child protection follows the authorities' own rules and inspections. This list covers what parents notice and write about, and does not replace them.

Before you go: every review counts at a preschool

In our library of 1,637 preschools and childcare centres in Malaysia with 10 or more Google ratings (October 2026), the median rating is 4.9, and the median centre holds just 22 ratings. With so few, each review weighs more. Of their 34,379 Google reviews published October 2024 to September 2026, owners replied to 23% of the 1 and 2 star ones.

• Read every Google review of the centre from the past year, newest first.
• Note repeat complaints: teachers changing often, messages left unanswered, fees above the open-day quote.
• Note reviews from parents who visited but did not enrol, and what put them off.
• Check the hours, phone and photos on Google against the centre.
• Compare the centre with your others in the free rating check.

Arrive at drop-off, like a parent

Come on an ordinary weekday, not an open day or a concert. A centre looks its best when every teacher is on show.

• Arrive at drop-off time and watch the gate for 10 minutes.
• Check a teacher greets each child and parent by name.
• Check where parents stop, how long they wait and who takes the child in.
• Check the centre opens at the time it tells parents.

Communication: parents notice silence first

Parents judge a centre by how fast it replies, long before they judge the syllabus.

• Message the centre's number as a new parent, and time the reply.
• Call during the day, and note whether someone answers.
• Ask how parents hear about the child's day: activities, meals and any problem.
• Ask how a parent's complaint is recorded and answered, and by whom.
• Ask how parents hear about a teacher change before it happens.

Teachers: the reason parents stay or move

• Ask how many teachers left this year, and who covered their classes.
• Check each class has a teacher parents know by name.
• Watch one class for 10 minutes: are teachers with the children or on their phones?
• Ask which teachers are new, and who supports them.
• Ask how the day's programme mixes play, reading and rest.

Cleanliness parents can see

• Check classrooms, floors and toys.
• Check toilets and sinks at child height.
• Check the eating area, and the kitchen if meals are cooked on site.
• Check each child has their own nap mat and bedding.

Fees: the open-day quote must match the bill

Parents who never enrol write reviews too, often about a fee that changed between the open day and the first invoice.

• Ask for the fee list as a new parent would, and check it is in writing.
• Check it shows every charge: registration, materials, meals, transit and childcare.
• Compare the fee list with recent invoices for the same programme.
• Check parents get notice before fees go up.

Close the visit with the principal

• Ask for the last three parent complaints, and compare them with the reviews.
• Check no one offers parents a gift for a five-star review (Google bans rewards for reviews).
• Agree three things to fix before you leave.

After the visit

Write the three fixes down with a name and a date beside each. Come back in two weeks at drop-off, and message the centre again as a parent. If slow replies or teacher changes show up at a second centre, look at staffing across the group, not one principal.

The branch visit checklist explains the method for every trade. Before a fee rise, use the price increase notice. For how we read every centre's reviews, see preschool groups.

Questions owners ask

What should be on a preschool checklist?

The checks parents complain about: teachers who keep changing, messages left unanswered, fees above what was quoted, and a centre that looks different on an ordinary day. Add the centre's own repeat complaints from its reviews over the past year. The list above takes about 20 minutes plus drop-off.

When should I visit each centre?

On an ordinary weekday at drop-off, and come back two weeks later to check the three fixes. In our library, preschool reviews peak in July and from November to January, around enrolment and year-end concerts. Visit every centre before those months.

Why do parents move their child to another preschool?

Reviews point to teachers who keep changing, messages that go unanswered and fees above the quote. Parents who move often say the new centre keeps them better informed. Read why parents move their child to another preschool. Highground reads what parents write about each of your centres and your rivals, and tells you which centre to fix.

Counted from 1,637 preschools and childcare centres in Malaysia with 10 or more Google ratings and their 34,379 Google reviews published October 2024 to September 2026, in our library on 22 October 2026.