during the debate on the Ministry of Social and Family Development\u2019s (MSF) budget<\/span><\/a> in March, started earlier in April.<\/p>\nMinister of State for Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming gave this update at the Early Childhood Learning Communities (ECLC) appointment ceremony on April 22 at the National Gallery Singapore.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese efforts are about supporting educators \u2013 yourselves \u2013 in your daily work, and ensuring you can continue to grow and thrive under the right conditions within the profession,\u201d said Mr Goh, adding that the Government welcomes feedback from the sector.<\/p>\n
Ms Annabel Ho, a senior Chinese language teacher at My First Skool at Block 375 Clementi Avenue 4, told The Straits Times that she hopes more technology can be used to ease teachers\u2019 workloads.<\/p>\n
Ms Ho said artificial intelligence can generate fresh ideas for lessons, while daily health checks on children \u2013 which typically take much time \u2013 could be automated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would lighten everyday tasks, allowing teachers to focus on thoughtful interaction,\u201d said Ms Ho, who has worked about five years at the centre.<\/p>\n
Dr Cynthia Lim, who heads the early childhood education programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, hopes teachers will be given \u201ctime out\u201d in their work schedule. Dr Lim, who taught at private and public pre-schools for over a decade, said teachers can use this time to recalibrate or prepare lesson materials.<\/p>\n
Mr Goh said MSF is working with the sector to strengthen the adoption of non-contact time, or letting pre-school teachers have time away from supervising children to do other work such as lesson plans and engaging parents.<\/p>\n\n\nMinister of State for Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming speaks at the Early Childhood Learning Communities appointment ceremony at National Gallery on April 22.<\/p>\n
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
This practice is currently not mandated for all pre-schools in Singapore. <\/p>\n
In a parliamentary reply in April, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said ECDA does not have data on the average daily non-contact time for educators in pre-schools.<\/p>\n
Pre-school teachers are constantly on their toes throughout the day to ensure the children\u2019s safety and development, so such a practice would benefit their well-being, said Ms Nirmala Thevi Vijayarengan, centre leader of PCF Sparkletots @ Ulu Pandan Block 24.<\/p>\n
PCF Sparkletots Preschool chief operating officer Marini Khamis said they have been progressively implementing non-contact time, and it has been more \u201cconsistently structured\u201d since 2025.<\/p>\n
Ms Khamis said: \u201cBy enabling key tasks to be completed within working hours, this reduces the need for after-hours work and allows educators to focus more purposefully on their interactions with children.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Shaws Preschool Group, teachers get at least two hours\u2019 non-contact time two to three times per week, said Ms Imeelia Ismail, head of schools at the private pre-school.<\/p>\n
Teachers take turns to look after classes during non-contact time, though this may be challenging to arrange when staff go on leave or fall ill, said Ms Imeelia.<\/p>\n
But she said the school still tries as much as possible to ensure the teachers\u2019 non-contact time, noting: \u201cA lot of quality work that educators put in happens behind the scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Lim, Ms Imeelia and Ms Nirmala are part of the ECLC, a programme where senior and lead educators share knowledge with their peers in different domains, such as language and literacy and outdoor learning.<\/p>\n
Educators who join the two-year programme are known as Pedagogists and Specialists in Teaching and Learning, or PASTELs, and are nurtured as leaders in the field.<\/p>\n
ECLC started in 2022 and has supported 145 PASTELs across its first two cycles. <\/p>\n
At the ceremony on April 22, 110 participants were appointed for the third round, and two new domains \u2013 play-based learning and numeracy \u2013 were added.<\/p>\n
Pre-school educators in Singapore are now a 28,000-strong workforce, having grown 20 per cent from 2021. During MSF\u2019s budget debate, Mr Goh\u00a0said the workforce will grow by another 3,500 educators by 2030 to meet sector needs, and that attracting and retaining quality educators remains a priority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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