\n<\/p>\n
Besides Hong Wen, LPLC ran student care centres at seven other primary schools \u2013 Anchor Green, Jing Shan, Kranji, Punggol Cove, Waterway, Westwood and White Sands.<\/p>\n
It also provided Kindergarten Care for Ministry of Education (MOE) kindergartens in six of these primary schools.<\/p>\n
LPLC’s services were terminated by MOE due to contractual breaches. The student care operator is under investigation by the Ministry of Manpower and the police over unpaid staff salaries and double deductions from parents’ GIRO accounts.<\/p>\n
The centre director also became uncontactable.<\/p>\n
MOE said the operational issues at LPLC meant there was insufficient manpower to support student care centre operations and that teachers would take over care duties.<\/p>\n
The ministry is working towards appointing a replacement operator as soon as possible, but a timeline has not been specified.<\/p>\n
Mr Lee received a call from school leaders on Feb 14, informing him of the termination and asking him to spread the word to other people in the 1,500-strong parent support group.<\/p>\n
Soon after, concerned parents began reaching out to him. A new group chat was created the next morning to gather parent volunteers.<\/p>\n
The parents began discussing ways they could support the centre, from distributing lunch to organising activities to keep students engaged after school.<\/p>\n
On Chinese New Year eve, the school informed the parents that it needed support during the 1pm to 3pm window \u2013 the first two hours after dismissal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The school shared with us that we need to give teachers some breathing space because it’s an additional responsibility for them,” said Mr Lee, whose son is a Primary 5 student at Hong Wen School.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The planning stretched into the Chinese New Year period, as parents worked out schedules and organised a daily roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the school reopened on Feb 19, six parents were on hand to help.<\/span><\/p>\n Their duties included arranging tables and chairs in a classroom for lunch, setting up a separate space for the day’s activity and later guiding the students through it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Coordinating the effort was initially challenging, said Ms Stephanie Lim, who heads the parent support group’s recess programme. After-school care was a new territory for many parents, including herself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “But as the days go by and we are more familiar with what needs to be done, it’s getting easier \u2026 Also because we have a very strong partnership with school,” said Ms Lim, whose daughter is a Primary 2 student.<\/span><\/p>\n Some parents were already involved in a recess programme where they conduct craft and game sessions in the canteen for students during their breaks.<\/p>\n As the parent support group works closely with school leaders on events, the parents did not need a licence to assist during the interim period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n