Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) will introduce new initiatives to improve the affordability and quality of child care services for parents, support the career progression of more early childhood (EC) professionals, and raise the overall quality of the EC sector.”
ECDA is an independent agency under the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). It serves as the regulatory authority for early childhood sector in Singapore. It oversees MOE’s Pre-School Education Branch and MSF’s Child Care Division.
Recently, ECDA proposed new initiatives to make early learning more affordable without comprising the quality of services. The Partner Operator (POP) scheme will support the authorised child care by giving them fund to lower fees at $800 for a full-day childcare. The fee is originally at $900 a month. It will also invest in improving centre quality through acquiring certification under Singapore Pre-School Accreditation Framework (SPARK).
Childcare centres who currently offer about 300 child care places or more are invited to submit their expression of interest to participate in the said scheme. ECDA will evaluate and appoint operators by the end of 2015.
ECDA also aims to enhance the continuing professional development for educators through the Professional Development Programme (PDP). The programme aims to develop EC professionals’ skills by supporting them in participating on new certifiable courses and cash incentives at key milestones.
The proposed ECDA Act will greatly benefit the pupils, their parents and the educators. Children will experience high quality learning at an early stage. Parents will be assured that their kids are having quality education at an affordable rate. Educators will have the chance to pursue continuous professional development.
Singapore has been very active in promoting quality education in every stage of learning, may it be on pre-school, primary school, secondary school, university and so on. The important part in the government initiatives is our willingness to participate. We should value these opportunities to grow and make our organisation better.
Aside from the initiatives from the government, our ICT capabilities also enable us to further enhance the organisation. There are lots of available ICT services and trainings that can improve our productivity and our skills. Organisations should have the interest and enthusiasm to be updated and to keep a high quality service. Learn how ACP can assist you through our list of products and services here.