Good Start Conference 2026: Five Years of Learning, Love and Community in Singapore’s Early Childhood Sector

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By Lim Ee Tuo, founding organizer of the Good Start Conference

Five Years of Growing Together

This year marks the fifth Good Start Conference, a ground-up Professional Learning Community for early childhood educators in Singapore.

What began as a simple dream has steadily gained traction, and I could not be prouder of what it has become.

Good Start is organised not by professional conference planners, but by passionate people who care deeply about quality care and education in the early childhood sector.

It began with a question:

“Wouldn’t it be good if early childhood practitioners could come together to share their successes and failures, their pain and joy, with one another?”

At the start, it was simply an internal learning day for our own educators. Someone felt it was done well and that it should be opened up so others in the sector could benefit too. We were not sure anyone would come, but we decided to try.

A Professional Learning Community for Early Childhood Educators

That first step was small: about 300 of our educators gathered to learn together. Then it grew to 500. Then 800. And this year, we will welcome about 1,000 educators.

We did not grow because we had fanfare, or a big budget, or a polished machine behind us. We grew because there is a deep hunger in our sector for learning that is honest, practical, and shared in community.

From the beginning, the spirit of Good Start has been simple: presenters freely share their experiences, wisdom, and insights, while fellow early childhood practitioners listen, respond and learn together. Much of what makes the conference possible is carried on goodwill, people giving their time and energy because they believe the sector matters, and because children matter.

Today, Good Start has become one of the largest ground-up Professional Learning Communities in Singapore, bringing early childhood educators together to learn, share and grow.

I am deeply grateful to everyone who embraced this dream and has continued pursuing it, year after year.

But Good Start is not only a Professional Learning Community. It is also a passionate, loving community, a community whose members genuinely care for one another.

Learning Through Relationships and Community

Training without strong relationships can remain merely intellectual. It may increase our knowledge, but it does not necessarily change our lives. When learning happens through connection and genuine human bonds, however, it becomes life-giving and transformative.

Year after year, I see this “magic” whenever educators meet. The warm “Hi!” and “Long time no see!” makes the conference feel like a reunion. There is no political agenda and no performance. We keep things simple so we can keep the conference accessible and affordable, so that as many educators as possible can come and learn.

This year, we are also honoured to welcome our Guest of Honour, Ms Ku Geok Boon, as we come together to strengthen learning and professional development in Singapore’s early childhood sector. We are grateful for her presence, and for the shared commitment to strengthening the early childhood sector through quality, thoughtful learning.

The People Behind Good Start

Behind the conference is a small and deeply dedicated team of organisers. Running Good Start is not part of their formal terms of reference. It is an additional responsibility they willingly carry so that others may come together to connect, contribute and construct new understanding.

They are seldom seen and not publicly acknowledged. They work quietly in the background, taking care of countless details that allow everything to happen.

I want to pause and say to every one of them: Thank you.

And to everyone attending the conference, please come with a grateful heart. Every presenter has taken time to prepare a workshop and has come forward to share their wisdom and insights at their own cost. Some have been doing this faithfully since 2022.

Five years on, the dream continue, not because of recognition or reward, but because a community of educators believes that we become better when we learn from, care for, and walk alongside one another.

Wow. What a journey it has been.

To everyone who has made it possible: thank you.

See you at the conference.

It is a good start. Registration is still open! We look forward to your https://whova.com/portal/registration/d-hMES@OwiV0RaVLuHZJ/