Having a healthy work-life balance means spending time as a family on a regular basis.

The event saw 35 exhibition booths and 56 concurrent sessions put up by not just kindergartens, but also government agencies offering programmes and services relating to the kindergarten sector. "The Kindergarten Learning Forum was my first big event since moving to the Pre-School Education Branch," says Carol. "I see the potential for it to grow as big as MOE ExCEL Fest, which was my last big event when I was with MOE's Organisation Review Branch."

Behind the scenes of MOE's Pre-School Education Branch

While the Kindergarten Learning Forum happens only once a year, Carol's other work is always ongoing. For example, she is involved in the development of quality assurance and accreditation in kindergartens, and has the opportunity to do classroom observations in kindergartens to see what kindergarteners go through in a typical day. The classroom observations are then used to refine the quality assurance tool and enhance the development process.

Carol also manages various pre-school education grants and ensures that they are used appropriately. She works with MOE's Corporate Communications Division on media-related matters on pre-school education. Another aspect of her job is facilitating the recruitment of teachers into the Pre-school Education Branch. where teachers are offered an opportunity to learn about policy making at MOE headquarters. Besides pre-school education, Carol also has other portfolios outside her branch such as taking part in an inter-divisional team that examined how MOE could better partner parents in the education of children.

Carol shares her parenting experiences of Nicole (left) and Gillian with an informal parenting group that she initiated at MOE.

It takes a village ...

In the various positions Carol has held in MOE since 1999, she has been an Assistant Director at the Development Planning Branch, where she was involved in planning the construction, upgrading and merging of schools. She was also an Assistant Director at the Organisation and Systems Review Branch, where she was involved in fostering a culture and spirit of learning and innovation in MOE.

As a mother of two, it's no surprise that her latest passion is parenting itself. "I truly believe that it takes a village to raise a child," elaborates Carol. She is a strong advocate of providing parents with the right tools so that they do not have to "grope in the dark, or feel alone". Such parenting knowledge complements her current work at MOE.

In fact, Ms Loi initiated an informal support group for parents in MOE a few years ago. The parents keep in touch with one another online, and try to meet once a month over lunch to share experiences concerning the brining up of their children. "Children don't come with a manual," she says, so the informal group helps to provide useful tips and strategies, and also for discussing articles that they may have read. "With the Internet, there is sometimes information overload for parents!"

Carol and her colleagues from the Pre-school Education Branch will be putting up a booth at the MOE ExCEL Fest 2010 on 6 March 2010 at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Visit the booth to find out more about MOE's role in pre-school education, and have a look at the 80 other school exhibits too!