Committee of Supply 2024 debate, Day 6: Sun Xueling on supporting parents in giving every child a good start
Childminders, or what some may know as “nannies”, were more common in Singapore in the 1970s and 1980s. Some childminders look after a few children in their own homes while others go to a family’s home to look after the child. They are less common now as parents may be unsure of where to look for trusted childminders or may find childminding relatively more expensive compared with other caregiving options, such as infant care centres. Last year, during a work visit to Denmark, France and the UK, Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling learnt that these countries have put in place requirements such as background checks on the childminders, as well as financial support to parents such as subsidies to make childminding more accessible to parents. She told Parliament on Wednesday (Mar 6) that the Government will work with service providers to launch a three-year pilot in the second half of this year to provide affordable and reliable infant childminding services. Under the pilot, each childminder will be allowed to care for up to three infants at any one time at their homes or at a community space. Community spaces, such as community centres, will be in areas of high infant care demand. Parents also have more flexibility to discuss their care preferences and requirements with the childminder. To ensure that infant childminding services are affordable, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) will provide funding to appointed operators to keep the out-of-pocket expenses affordable for parents who use the service for their infants during typical working hours on weekdays. The aim is to make parents’ expenses for childminding services similar to what a median-income family pays for infant care at Anchor Operators, said Ms Sun. The Government will also extend the usage of the Child Development Account to further defray the cost of childminding under the pilot. As safety is a key consideration for parents, ECDA will conduct background checks on operators and childminders and require operators to meet certain service requirements. They must assess the suitability and homes of the childminders, put in place guidelines for child-safe practices and responsibilities of childminders, disclose the childminders’ profile to parents, establish processes for incident management and ensure that childminders undergo required training in areas such as basic infant care, first aid training and food safety and hygiene. ECDA will also work with operators to co-develop industry standards to ensure baseline service standards and help to uplift the childminding sector. Ms Sun said the pilot will be a way to assess if parents are open to such an idea. It has engaged parents, childminders and childminding operators and will continue such engagements and announce more details in the second half of 2024. Turning to support for children with developmental needs, Ms Sun said the Government will be introducing an EIPIC-Care pilot for caregivers of children who are two to three years old. During the six-month training programme, caregivers will learn from the professionals through group workshops and individual coaching sessions on how to support their child’s development at home. ECDA plans to launch the EIPIC-Care pilot in the second half of 2024. For children who require more support, the number of Government-funded places for children requiring medium to high levels of early intervention support has been increasing. In 2024, the Government will launch four more early intervention centres and increase the capacity by 1,500 places. Ms Sun stressed that the Government is committed to providing every child with a good start in life. She highlighted the comprehensive approach to make preschools more affordable. “We are committed in supporting our parents and parents-to-be so that they are assured that every child can have a good start in life in Singapore and that they have fair access to opportunities to progress in life,” she said.
Childminders, or what some may know as “nannies”, were more common in Singapore in the 1970s and 1980s. Some childminders look after a few children in their own homes while others go to a family’s home to look after the child. They are less common now as parents may be unsure of where to look for trusted childminders or may find childminding relatively more expensive compared with other caregiving options, such as infant care centres. Last year, during a work visit to Denmark, France and the UK, Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling learnt that these countries have put in place requirements such as background checks on the childminders, as well as financial support to parents such as subsidies to make childminding more accessible to parents. She told Parliament on Wednesday (Mar 6) that the Government will work with service providers to launch a three-year pilot in the second half of this year to provide affordable and reliable infant childminding services. Under the pilot, each childminder will be allowed to care for up to three infants at any one time at their homes or at a community space. Community spaces, such as community centres, will be in areas of high infant care demand. Parents also have more flexibility to discuss their care preferences and requirements with the childminder. To ensure that infant childminding services are affordable, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) will provide funding to appointed operators to keep the out-of-pocket expenses affordable for parents who use the service for their infants during typical working hours on weekdays. The aim is to make parents’ expenses for childminding services similar to what a median-income family pays for infant care at Anchor Operators, said Ms Sun. The Government will also extend the usage of the Child Development Account to further defray the cost of childminding under the pilot. As safety is a key consideration for parents, ECDA will conduct background checks on operators and childminders and require operators to meet certain service requirements. They must assess the suitability and homes of the childminders, put in place guidelines for child-safe practices and responsibilities of childminders, disclose the childminders’ profile to parents, establish processes for incident management and ensure that childminders undergo required training in areas such as basic infant care, first aid training and food safety and hygiene. ECDA will also work with operators to co-develop industry standards to ensure baseline service standards and help to uplift the childminding sector. Ms Sun said the pilot will be a way to assess if parents are open to such an idea. It has engaged parents, childminders and childminding operators and will continue such engagements and announce more details in the second half of 2024. Turning to support for children with developmental needs, Ms Sun said the Government will be introducing an EIPIC-Care pilot for caregivers of children who are two to three years old. During the six-month training programme, caregivers will learn from the professionals through group workshops and individual coaching sessions on how to support their child’s development at home. ECDA plans to launch the EIPIC-Care pilot in the second half of 2024. For children who require more support, the number of Government-funded places for children requiring medium to high levels of early intervention support has been increasing. In 2024, the Government will launch four more early intervention centres and increase the capacity by 1,500 places. Ms Sun stressed that the Government is committed to providing every child with a good start in life. She highlighted the comprehensive approach to make preschools more affordable. “We are committed in supporting our parents and parents-to-be so that they are assured that every child can have a good start in life in Singapore and that they have fair access to opportunities to progress in life,” she said.
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