Primary 1 Checklist Singapore 2027: What to Download, Buy, and How Much Pocket Money to Give

If your child is starting Primary One next year, I see you.

The enrolment exercise for next year’s batch is almost done, so if you are a K2 parent, this is probably the moment it starts to feel real. What do I prepare? What do I buy? What am I supposed to already know?

I sat down with my co-founder Mervyn for the first episode of Toshi Talks to go through exactly this. My daughter is eight months into Primary One now, and Mervyn’s eldest is already in Primary Two, so between the two of us, we have been through the P1 lead up twice. Here is what we actually did, minus the guessing.

First, download these three apps

The moment your child’s school is confirmed, the first thing to do is download Parents Gateway. It is the official school to parent and MOE to parent communication channel, and it is where you will get your orientation dates, what to buy for school, and eventually the slides from orientation itself, so you do not need to scramble taking photos on the day.

You will likely also end up with SLS (Student Learning Space) and Class Dojo, which is more teacher to parent. Fair warning, it can feel a little confusing at first because teachers on Class Dojo will sometimes point you back to Parents Gateway for the same information. Give yourself a few weeks to get used to which platform is for what.

One more thing worth knowing too - in the months leading up to school starting, messages from the school will come in quite sporadically. If you go a week or two without hearing anything, that is completely normal. You are not being missed out on.

How many uniforms do you actually need

This was one of the questions I asked around the most before school started, because everyone seems to buy a different amount.

Mervyn’s rule of thumb, and it has held up for two years for him now: two sets of formal uniform and two sets of PE uniform (physical education). Most schools have PE only two days a week, so there is a natural gap for washing and drying in between.

For me, I had two sets of formal uniform and four sets PE uniform, and that’s because my daughter can wear PE uniform to school even on non-PE days. This sounds like a common trend across all schools given the hot weather in Singapore, but it is probably worth checking early with the school or other parents who have children already attending the school.

Hold off on the smart watch

If you are thinking about getting your child a smart watch before school starts, wait.

Different schools have different policies on smart watches, and some only allow them to be used during recess, often tied to cashless payment and some schools don't even have that as a payment option. Before you spend on one, especially something like an Apple Watch that needs a telco plan, find out what your specific school allows once term actually begins.

You might also decide you would rather your child learn to handle physical cash first, which is what both of us ended up doing.

How much pocket money is actually reasonable

Mervyn's first instinct was that $2 a day should be enough, but soon he realised that was cutting it a little close. A bowl of noodles alone is minimally $1.60 or $.1.80, so $2 does not leave much room for anything.

So between our two families, we landed on $3 - $5 a day. The point was never really about how much she needed to spend. It was more about building the habit of saving, and giving her a little room to make her own small decisions, like an occasional trip to the bookshop. Every parent will face the bookshop thing eventually, so you might as well expect it.

One tip that has worked well: limit drink purchases to once a week if you already have milk or juice at home. It does not always land, kids will always find school snacks more exciting than the exact same drink at home, but it is worth setting the expectation early anyway.

Don’t forget the MOE school calendar

Also, if your child is not in Primary One yet, travel as much as you want while school holidays are not dictating your calendar! Once your eldest starts school, you are locked into the same term dates as everyone else, and the good flight deals outside of those dates disappear fast.

MOE usually releases the school term calendar around seven to eight months in advance, so it is worth checking early and planning around it. One thing to note is that it will not show you specific exam dates, like PSLE oral days, when some students have home based learning instead. Keep an eye out for those separately once the term starts.

If you are staring down the P1 checklist right now feeling like there is too much to figure out, take a breath. Most of it is more manageable than it looks once you know what actually matters.

We talked through a lot more on the podcast, including the whole saga of parent WhatsApp groups and whether it is okay to leave one. To watch the full episode, click here - Toshi Talks, Episode 1.

Also, if you want a place to keep track of routines, spelling practice, and your child’s school calendar in one spot, that is exactly what we built Toshi for. Check it out at heytoshi.com.

Written by Rae, co-founder of Toshi