At the Ministry of Education (MOE) Schools Work Plan Seminar on 16 September 2026, Education Minister Desmond Lee announced two shifts — reimagining learning through learner-centred teaching and purposeful feedback, and redesigning classrooms to give teachers the time and space for it — to be piloted in six named schools, three primary and three secondary, from January 2027 according to MOE’s same-day press release. Ancourage Academy teaches Primary and Secondary students at its Bishan and Woodlands centres, and this guide sets out, in MOE’s own words, what the pilots are, which families they touch first, and what they do not change. For the subjects where classroom practice matters most at home, see our primary English programmes and secondary English programmes.
Ancourage Academy's P5 English Tuition classes run in small groups of 3 to 6; book a trial class (usually $18) to start with a diagnostic of where your child stands.
This is a news explainer, not a forecast. Where MOE has said something, it is quoted and linked. Where MOE has not said something — which other schools will follow, or when — this guide says so and stops there.
What Did MOE Announce at the 2026 Work Plan Seminar?
MOE announced two shifts — "First, we must reimagine learning. Second, we must redesign our classrooms to support these new ways of learning" — plus a national roll-out of a teacher platform called Teacher Workspace.
The Schools Work Plan Seminar is MOE’s annual gathering of school leaders and teachers. According to the MOE press release of 16 September 2026, it "brings together around 1,900 school leaders and teachers", and the 2026 edition was "anchored by the theme ‘Growing Holistically, Teaching Purposefully’".
In the Minister’s speech, the two shifts are stated plainly: "First, we must reimagine learning. Second, we must redesign our classrooms to support these new ways of learning." The first shift is about how children learn in lessons. The second is about the conditions that make that possible — space, teacher time, class size and technology.
For parents, the useful split is between the half you might see (lessons, feedback, possibly class size) and the half that happens behind the staffroom door (teacher duties and systems). This article spends most of its length on the first half.
Which Six Schools Are in the Pilot, and When Does It Start?
The six pilot schools are St. Anthony’s Canossian, Woodgrove and Zhangde Primary Schools, and Commonwealth, Deyi and Jurongville Secondary Schools; the start date of January 2027 comes from MOE’s press release, not the speech.
The speech names the schools — "We will pilot these moves in six schools: St. Anthony’s Canossian, Woodgrove and Zhangde Primary Schools, as well as Commonwealth, Deyi and Jurongville Secondary Schools" — but gives no start date. The press release supplies it: "Three primary and three secondary schools will pilot the two shifts from January 2027." Woodgrove Primary is in Woodlands, a short trip from our Woodlands centre.
The table below separates each measure by scope, timing and which of the two MOE documents says it.
| Measure | Scope | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learner-centred teaching approaches (inquiry-based and collaborative learning) | Six pilot schools | From January 2027 | Speech names the schools; press release gives the date |
| More purposeful feedback (review of marking practices) | Six pilot schools; MOE review | From January 2027 (pilot) | Speech and press release |
| Flexible use of school spaces | Explored in the pilot | No separate date given | Speech and press release |
| Smaller classes "where useful" | Being explored; no schools or class sizes named | No date given | Speech and press release |
| Teachers focusing on two of three non-teaching responsibilities | A study, not a pilot | No date given | Speech and press release |
| Teacher Workspace platform | All MOE schools | "by next year" (speech); "by 2027" (press release) | Speech and press release |
Note what the table does not contain: any change to the PSLE, the national examinations or the school syllabuses. Neither document announces one.
What Does "Learner-Centred Teaching" Mean in MOE’s Own Words?
MOE defines learner-centred teaching by example — "inquiry-based and collaborative learning" — and says students in the pilot will "apply their subject knowledge; tackle authentic, open-ended problems; and take greater ownership of their learning".
The phrase can sound like a move away from content. MOE says the opposite. The speech is explicit: "strong subject and domain knowledge, remain important. But our students must also learn to synthesise and apply that knowledge". Later it repeats the point as a principle: "our students must continue to build strong knowledge in their subjects."
The speech gives two classroom examples that show what this looks like in practice:
- Primary Science, applied. At Telok Kurau Primary School, "students applied Science concepts to redesign the school’s outdoor garden shed into a better learning environment", working in teams to collect and analyse data before deciding on a solution.
- Secondary Mathematics, reasoned aloud. At Greendale Secondary School, "Secondary One students used Mathematics to solve Formula One racing challenges. Instead of simply applying formulas on paper, students tested different claims, worked through the problem, and explained their reasoning to one another."
- The teacher’s role shifts. The speech describes tomorrow’s classrooms this way: "Teachers will facilitate more discussions, observe how students think and collaborate, give timely feedback, and adapt teaching to their needs."
The speech also says "We are revising our curriculum to emphasise this". It does not say which subjects, which levels or when, and this guide does not guess. The skill described — explaining your reasoning, not just reaching the answer — is already what open-ended questions in upper primary and secondary Mathematics reward, which is why our P5 Mathematics and Sec 3 E-Maths lessons ask students to talk through their method.
What Is "Purposeful Feedback", and Will Marking Change?
MOE is reviewing marking practices to help teachers decide which "forms of marking" best support learning, how peer and self-assessment can help, and how technology can "augment the feedback process" — a review, not a new marking rule.
The speech lists three questions the review will answer: "first, what form of marking best supports students’ learning; second, how using different forms of feedback, including peer and self-assessment, can help our students take greater ownership of learning; and third, how feedback processes can be appropriately augmented by technology."
The press release frames it as "providing clearer guidance to teachers on the forms of marking that best support students’ learning". In plain terms: not every piece of work needs the same kind of marking, and some feedback may come from classmates or from the child checking their own work.
What a parent in a pilot school might therefore notice is a difference in the shape of feedback on returned work — though MOE has not said what that shape will be. Nothing in either document changes how school weighted assessments or year-end examinations are weighted; our guide to weighted assessments and EOY exams explains how those are built today.
On the technology side, the speech points to tools already in the Student Learning Space, including the "AI-enabled Data Assistant in SLS", which helps teachers "identify common gaps and strengths in a class almost instantaneously". Our parent guide to SLS AI features and our explainer on MOE’s Four Learns AI framework cover what those tools do and the safeguards around them.
Will Classes Get Smaller?
Not as a rule: MOE will "explore the use of smaller classes where useful", following its existing needs-based approach, and has named no schools, class sizes or dates for any change.
This is the line most likely to be misread. The press release says MOE "will explore whether more students can benefit from smaller classes, where more teacher attention for each student can make the greatest difference to teaching and learning." That is an exploration inside the pilot, not an announcement.
The speech gives the existing reference points. Since 2006, MOE has "kept Primary 1 and 2 form classes at around 30 students"; for the Learning Support Programme "class size is about eight to ten"; and at Crest and Spectra Secondary Schools "the typical class size is 20". Under Full Subject-Based Banding, the speech adds, "the size of subject classes can vary".
The Minister was also candid about the trade-off: "Smaller classes do not automatically mean less working load. Smaller classes may mean teachers take on more teaching, as they do in some other countries." That candour is a signal to read the exploration as careful and conditional.
What Might Families at the Six Pilot Schools Notice from January 2027?
MOE has described the direction, not a timetable of classroom changes, so pilot-school families should expect gradual, school-specific adjustments — MOE says each school will explore "models and approaches suited to their needs and operating contexts".
Based only on what MOE has published, these are the areas where a change could become visible to a child or parent:
- More applied, group-based tasks in lessons — the inquiry-based and collaborative learning named in both documents.
- A different mix of feedback — including the peer and self-assessment the speech mentions.
- Rearranged classrooms — the press release mentions "classrooms with mobile and modular furniture that can be easily reconfigured" and "spaces that support both whole-class and small-group learning".
- Possibly smaller classes for some lessons — only where the exploration finds it useful; nothing is promised.
MOE also says it will measure the pilot: it will "examine students’ experiences" and "assess whether the changes translate into stronger learning outcomes". The speech’s own caution is worth keeping in mind: "This is a complex pilot, so we will proceed carefully."
If your child attends one of the six schools, the school itself is the right source for specifics. MOE says it "will keep schools updated and share what we learn".
What Stays the Same: PSLE, the SEC and the Syllabuses
Neither the speech nor the press release announces any change to the PSLE, the national examinations, subject syllabuses or promotion rules; the pilots change how lessons are taught and supported, not what is examined.
The examination landscape your child faces is set by changes announced separately. The SEC replaces the O-Level and N-Level from 2027, as our guide to the SEC exam in 2027 explains. Changes to PSLE Mathematics and Science syllabuses take effect in 2026, covered in our PSLE 2026 syllabus changes guide. The Work Plan Seminar announcements sit on top of those, not in place of them.
The one forward-looking line is the speech’s "We are revising our curriculum to emphasise this". Until MOE publishes what that revision covers, the syllabuses your child is working to today are the ones that count.
The Teacher-Side Changes: Teacher Workspace and the Two-of-Three Study
Teacher Workspace, a single platform for teachers’ data, tools and workflows, reaches all MOE schools by 2027; separately, MOE is only "studying the possibility" of letting teachers focus on two of three non-teaching duties.
The speech says "We have piloted Teacher Workspace in around 20 schools" and that MOE "will roll out Teacher Workspace to all our MOE schools by next year." The press release puts it as "by 2027". The one parent-facing detail is that teachers will be able to "communicate more easily with parents and partners".
The duties change is a study. The press release describes "studying the possibility of allowing teachers to focus on two of three responsibilities beyond classroom teaching – Form Teachership, CCAs, and Committee work". Nothing has been decided about which teachers, which schools or when.
How Should Parents Outside the Pilot Schools Read This?
For the great majority of families, nothing changes in January 2027 because of these pilots; MOE says it will study the six schools "before considering how the new approaches can be applied more widely across schools".
MOE has not said which schools might follow or when. What parents can take from the announcement is the direction of travel: more applying and explaining, feedback that asks the child to do some of the checking, and classrooms built for group work as well as whole-class teaching.
Those are habits a child can build now, at any school. At Ancourage Academy, lessons in P5 English and Sec 3 English ask students to explain why an answer is right, not only what it is, and to check their own work before a tutor does. A trial class (usually $18) is the simplest way to see how that works for your child.
Common Questions About the MOE Work Plan Seminar 2026 Pilots
Which schools are in the MOE 2027 pilot?
Six schools: St. Anthony’s Canossian Primary, Woodgrove Primary and Zhangde Primary, and Commonwealth Secondary, Deyi Secondary and Jurongville Secondary. Minister Desmond Lee named them in his speech at the Schools Work Plan Seminar on 16 September 2026, and MOE’s press release confirms the same list.
When does the learner-centred teaching and feedback pilot start?
January 2027. MOE’s press release of 16 September 2026 says the three primary and three secondary schools "will pilot the two shifts from January 2027". The Minister’s speech itself gives no start date. MOE has not published an end date or said when results will be shared.
Will my child’s PSLE or SEC exam change because of this?
Neither the speech nor the press release announces any change to the PSLE, the SEC or subject syllabuses. The pilots concern how lessons are taught, how feedback is given and how teachers’ time is used. The speech does say MOE is "revising our curriculum" to emphasise learner-centred teaching, without giving details.
Is MOE reducing class sizes?
Not as an announced policy. MOE will "explore the use of smaller classes where useful", in line with its needs-based approach, and has named no schools, sizes or dates. Current reference points cited by the Minister include Primary 1 and 2 form classes of around 30 students since 2006.
Are teachers being limited to two of Form Teachership, CCAs and committee work?
No decision has been made. MOE’s press release describes "studying the possibility" of letting teachers focus on two of these three responsibilities, "taking into account the school’s needs, and each teacher’s strengths and interests". It is a study, not part of the named pilot measures, and has no date.