CapitaLand-managed SingPost Centre shopping mall is supporting a social enterprise for children with language or learning disabilities by allowing a special needs school to be opened on its premises for heavily discounted lease costs.

School of Concept has been established in the centre and has the capacity to teach 120 children between the ages of eight months to eight years old. The school aims to empower children by teaching literary skills, working with children from less privileged backgrounds and those in need of additional learning support. To further its main cause, the school also reaches out to people with disabilities by offering them jobs within the School of Concept.

The school made the decision to move to the mall following growth beyond its previous location. The new space is bigger and offers three classrooms, allowing a larger intake of students that can also be arranged according to age or need. Classes offer sensory and experiential learning, speech and drama, and arts and craft to build confidence and social skills, a strategy proven to improve outcomes for learners with dyslexia.

From a mall-manager’s perspective the tenancy is a great example of how to attract non-traditional tenancies to a centre to boost foot traffic and community engagement.

Rosie Oliver, an associate at global architecture firm Broadway Malyan which contributed interior design work, said the interesting aspect with this environment is that students arrive via the mall.

“Typically, these are busy, bright spaces, designed to grab attention and entice people. We wanted to contrast that with our design, so that they feel they are entering a safe, welcoming, calm place.”

The establishment of the school within the highly visible mall location has not only brought additional traffic to the mall as families come to drop off and pick up their children; it has also generated a lot of interest from the public for the school itself.

School of Concept founder Mint Lim noted: “The design of the school has turned a lot of heads as people have passed by in the mall. As a result, we have had a higher intake of full fee-paying students, which has allowed us to open our doors to more children that require a subsidised education. The new space has increased the perceived value of the school and the education it provides, raising our profile and credibility amongst parents and the broader education sector.”