The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) of Singapore has today announced the 1 December 2024 launch of a new pilot to provide childminding services for infants, and this pilot service will run for three years.
An ECDA media release said that this pilot programme “aims to grow childminding services to be an affordable, safe and reliable infant caregiving option for parents” in Singapore.
It added: “This is part of the Government’s commitment under Forward Singapore to offer parents with greater assurance in the first stage of their child’s life.”
Childminding operators and pilot service model
The ECDA has appointed three operators to provide infant childminding services under the pilot programme. These operators are:
- EduNanny by Butler
- Kidibliss
- NannyPro Care
These operators will engage childminders to look after infants. Each childminder will care for one to three (at the most) infants at any one time.
This limit on the number of babies per minder will allow the childminders to provide more attention to infants; accommodate parents’ caregiving preferences; and forge stronger bonds with the family.
Singapore citizen infants aged 2-18 months are eligible to participate in the pilot. Parents can directly contact the appointed operators to sign up for services under the pilot.
The childminders will provide services at their homes or community spaces (e.g., community centres/clubs (CC)). The provision of childminding services at community spaces is a new model that ECDA is trialling, to increase parents’ access to services in convenient locations.
The ECDA media release said: “We have identified spaces at Tampines East CC and Nee Soon East CC for a start. Parents can expect to register their infants for childminding in these community spaces in the first half of 2025. ECDA will also work with operators to secure more spaces in locations where there is higher demand for infant care services.”
On its Instagram account, Tampines East CC posted today: “Big news for busy parents: ECDA is shaking things up with a brilliant new idea — childminding services in community spaces!”
Imagine running errands, hitting a yoga class, or just grabbing a coffee, all [the] while knowing your little one is in safe hands nearby. The first pilot site [is] at Tampines East CC, where infant care services are set to roll out by [the] first half of 2025. Convenient? Check. Localised? Check. Life-changing? Absolutely! Get ready to enjoy the perks of parenting with a little extra help!
Tampines East CC on Instagram
Childminding services to be more affordable
Childminding services under the ECDA pilot will be made more affordable through the provision of Singapore Government subsidies for services during typical working hours.
● The subsidies will be available for the consumption of services in 5-hour or 10-hour blocks between 7am to 7pm from Mondays to Fridays, excluding public holidays.
● Depending on their caregiving needs, parents have the flexibility to choose the number of days a week they require infant childminding services, and blocks of hours for each day. Parents who only require care for selected days a week will only need to pay for the blocks of hours used.
● The 5-hour and 10-hour blocks will cost SGD 16.50 and SGD 33 (before GST) respectively. This means that parents would pay SGD 719.40 per month for full-time use of the services (i.e., 10-hour block for five days a week for four weeks, with GST), which is lower than the typical cost of childminding services at present. Additionally, parents can tap on Child Development Account (CDA) monies to further defray their expenses for childminding services.
Ensuring the safety and well-being of infants
The safety and well-being of infants under the pilot programme is of utmost importance. The ECDA has prioritised the safety of infants through service requirements and worked with operators to develop industry service standards expected of all operators and childminders.
Once appointed, operators and their childminders must adhere to both the service requirements and industry standards. Operators found to have breached these will be penalised and may be removed from the pilot.
Childminders found to be unsuitable to care for infants may be removed from the pilot or barred from working in the early childhood sector.
As part of service requirements, operators must adhere to the following:
- Childminders’ homes and community spaces must be clean, safe and conducive for infants, and outfitted with the necessary amenities, e.g., baby cots, play areas.
- Before they are deployed, childminders must undergo mandatory training on infant first-aid, food safety and preparation, as well as how to care for infants.
- Operators must submit potential childminders’ details to the ECDA for background checks prior to deployment.
As part of industry standards, operators and childminders must adhere to the following:
- Childminders must be certified medically fit to work with infants by a medical practitioner.
- Childminders must ensure that infants receive adequate supervision and are constantly monitored.
- Operators should have a set of child-safe policies and procedures to guide childminders, including a workflow to investigate and manage incidents.
- Operators should establish channels/platforms to facilitate communications between parents and childminders, and childminders should ensure that parents are updated about their infant’s well-being.
