childcare

Licensed childminding services

Committee of Supply debate, Ministry of Social and Family Development, 6 March 2024.

Parents who are engaged in shift work often require childminding support outside of childcare centres’ operating hours, which are typically from 7am to 7pm. Many of these parents are from the lower income groups, for whom shift work is more common.

The Forward Singapore report said that childminding service options will be expanded.

Could the Minister share further updates on this programme, including how many families have benefited from it so far?

Can MSF look into subsidising wages for childminders in order to attract more to join this scheme?

In order to scale up the service to benefit more parents, could MSF take the lead to roll out this programme islandwide?

What are the current efforts in promoting this service to parents, and can it be integrated into KidSTART, ComLink and related programmes for the low income?

Child Protection Policies in preschools

Many parents are concerned about the safety of their young children after several high profile incidents at Kinderland preschool centres. On 18 September 2023 in Parliament, I asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Early Childhood Development Agency will require all preschools to adopt a Child Protection Policy and provide a template to all preschools to customise it to their own needs. A Child Protection Policy will articulate the minimum standards laid out in government regulations and may also include additional safeguarding commitments that are tailored to the school’s unique circumstances.

I also highlighted that a Child Protection Policy not only protects children, but also teachers and schools from unwarranted accusations by students and parents, by setting clear boundaries for all parties in their interactions with each other.

In response, Minister of State (Social and Family Development) Sun Xueling held up three sets of regulations and policy documents totalling over 200 pages that govern early childhood development to protect children, and explained that it is not for a lack of policies (that the incidents happened) but what is important is how well they are executed on the ground.

I appreciate Ms Sun bringing all those regulations to Parliament to illustrate her point that another policy is not necessary. I was not asking for yet another addendum to the hundreds of pages of regulations that preschools are already subject to.

A school’s Child Protection Policy can encapsulate all the existing regulations in a liveable and breathable format. It could be published on the school’s website for all stakeholders to read. At the same time, it could be customised to the school’s unique needs. For example, the Singapore American School’s Child Safeguarding Commitment prohibits teachers from giving students rides alone in their car, or accepting social media friend requests from students until after they graduate from high school.

Most companies have a Data Protection Policy to protect their customers’ personal data, despite the existence of the Personal Data Protection Act and regulations. Why not do the same to enhance the safety of our children?

Here was my full question:

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) will require all preschools to adopt a Child Protection Policy (CPP); (b) whether ECDA provides to all preschools a template of a CPP that can be customised to each preschool’s needs; and (c) whether ECDA ensures that all preschool principals, administrators and teachers are aware of and trained to adhere to the behaviour and guidance provided in section 33 of the Early Childhood Development Centres Regulations 2018.

This is the exchange I had with the Minister of State in Parliament:

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied): Sir, I would like to ask my question again because it was not fully answered and I also have one supplementary question.

Can ECDA require all preschools to adopt a child protection policy and provide a template to all preschools to customise to their own needs? A child protection policy will articulate the minimum standards laid out in Government regulations and may also include additional safeguarding commitments that are tailored to the school’s unique circumstances. It will help all stakeholders to live and breathe child safety, as Minister of State Sun has said just now.

My supplementary question is: is the Minister of State aware that a child protection policy not only protects children but also protects teachers and schools from unwarranted accusations by parents and students by setting clearer boundaries for all parties in their interactions with each other?

Ms Sun Xueling: I thank the Member for his questions. I would like to reiterate that in my main response, I had talked about the multi-layered safeguards that we have in place, that we have built up over the years in order to ensure child safety. I have with me here three sets of documents that govern early childhood development as well as the various policies that are in place to protect our children. This is the ECDC Act that I mentioned, 65 pages. We have the regulations, 66 pages. We have a Code of Practice; this is in its second edition, 75 pages.

All these are policies which we constantly review, which we constantly engage industry and operators on. It is not for a lack of policies. We can have all the policies under the sun, in the world. But what is important is how well it is being executed on the ground.

So, I fully recognise and understand where the Member is coming from. We are all on the same page. We want to protect our children as best as possible and we believe that the best way to do this is, to have multi-layered safeguards. Therefore, ECDA will look at these policies, rely on these levers, to make sure that operators, centres, educators are doing what they should do to ensure child safety. At the same time, operators need to know and truly breathe child safety in their policies and SOPs. Centre leaders and educators have to take their responsibilities seriously.

On the Member’s question as to how we can ensure that not only our children’s safety is being taken care of but also that we have policies in place for our educators, that is precisely why we have mandated CCTV installation so that when there is feedback, that there are unfortunate incidents in the childcare centres, that we then have evidence to support investigations and be able to give a comprehensive response to parents should they have concerns about their child’s safety in preschools.

Source: Singapore Parliament Reports (Hansard)

Supply of childcare and student care (MSF)

The government also needs to invest more resources into improving the supply, accessibility, affordability and quality of student care. Childcare needs do not suddenly change when a child enters Primary One; parents still need to work and the child is still unable to care for himself. Student care should be seen as a natural extension of childcare. This will help both parents to remain in the workforce and reduce the demand for foreign maids, while providing a safe and nurturing environment for the children.

My speech in Parliament during the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

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Childcare is one of the biggest concerns of parents with young children. Many still face long waiting lists when registering their children and may end up having to settle for more expensive centres situated further from their homes. For this reason, I am looking forward to the 200 new childcare centres that are in the pipeline over the next 5 years.

While a lot of focus is on childcare, and rightly so, the government also needs to invest more resources into improving the supply, accessibility, affordability and quality of student care.

Childcare needs do not suddenly change when a child enters Primary One; parents still need to work and the child is still unable to care for himself. Student care should be seen as a natural extension of childcare. This will help both parents to remain in the workforce and reduce the demand for foreign maids, while providing a safe and nurturing environment for the children.

I would like to suggest that student care be brought under the purview of the Early Childhood Development Agency, so that the government can better regulate and promote the sector.

I welcome the government’s move to increase the number of school-based student care centres (SCCs). However, SCCs should not only be set up within schools, as parents with children attending different schools will have to rush to multiple locations to pick up their kids after work before the 7pm closing time.

Some of the new SCCs should be located in housing estates and near MRT stations, to make them more accessible. The government should also provide subsidies for student care, in addition to the ComCare fee assistance for the low-income, just like it does for childcare, as this will ease the financial burdens on many middle-income families.

Childcare leave

Would the Government therefore consider granting parents about two additional days of Government-paid childcare leave for each child under the age of three? This will not only help parents of younger children, but also give greater benefits to parents who choose to have more children. In order to make our childcare leave scheme more effective and equitable, can the Government give all parents of Singaporean children, including single parents, equal childcare leave benefits?

This is a ‘cut’ I delivered in Parliament on 7 March 2013 during the Committee of Supply debate for the Prime Minister’s Office.

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Currently parents of Singaporean children under age seven are entitled to six days of paid childcare leave .

Younger children tend to fall ill more frequently than older children, particularly when they first start attending childcare. One bout of HFMD, which requires the child to stay at home for at least a week, can wipe out an entire childcare leave entitlement for the year. While the law provides for six days of unpaid infant care leave for children under two, the fact that it is unpaid renders it of little value to most employees.

Furthermore, whether a parent has one or three children under age seven, his or her paid childcare leave entitlement is the same.

Next, unmarried single parents are entitled to only two days of childcare leave, and employers are not reimbursed for this. It is ironic that single parents have fewer childcare leave benefits, even though they probably need them more than married couples because they have no spouse to share the childcare load with.

In order to make our childcare leave scheme more effective and equitable, can the Government give all parents of Singaporean children, including single parents, equal childcare leave benefits?