ECDA to launch home-based childminding services pilot in December
Launching on Dec 1, the pilot will see childminders offering infant care services at their homes and eventually at community spaces as well.
A woman and a baby. (File photo: iStock)
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SINGAPORE: Childminders will begin offering infant care services at their homes under a new pilot by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).
Launching on Dec 1, the pilot will run for three years, said the agency in a press release on Thursday (Nov 21).
It will be open to infants who are between two months and 18 months old and are Singapore Citizens.
Three operators – EduNanny by Butler, Kidibliss and NannyPro Care – were appointed to provide the pilot's services, said the agency. They will be engaging childminders to look after the infants.
Interested parents can contact these operators directly to sign up for the programme.
The pilot will eventually include childminders offering infant care at community spaces, such as community centres, as well.
However, it will not include services at parents' homes. This is because childminders would likely only be caring for one child at a time under such a setup, said ECDA.
"This limits the number of infants who can benefit from such caregiving arrangements," it said.
Under the pilot, childminders can care for up to three infants at any one time.
Earlier in the year, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said the pilot would accommodate 500 children in its first year, with this number increasing to 700 subsequently.
AFFORDABLE OPTION FOR PARENTS
According to ECDA, this is part of the government's efforts to offer parents greater assurance during their child's first stage of life.
"The pilot aims to grow childminding services to be an affordable, safe and reliable infant caregiving option for parents," said the agency.
Its services during normal working hours will be subsidised by the government.
These subsidies will be available for care provided in five-hour or 10-hour blocks between 7am and 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," said ECDA.
Parents who only require care for selected days a week will only need to pay for the blocks of hours used, it added.
The five-hour and 10-hour blocks will cost S$16.50 (US$12.30) and S$33 respectively excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST).
According to ECDA, full-time use of the services – where parents subscribe to 10-hour blocks for five days per week for four weeks – would cost S$719.40 a month, inclusive of GST.
This is lower than the typical cost of childminding services today, said the agency.
MSF previously reported that parents who choose private childminding services – typically by home-based nannies – pay anywhere from S$1,200 to S$2,800 a month.
The subsidies are only available for up to 10 hours a day during weekdays to ensure that childminders can balance their work, personal commitments and needs, said ECDA.
"If parents require more than 10 hours or if they require childminding services outside of 7am to 7pm on weekdays, they can make separate arrangements with the operators directly based on their regular rates, outside the pilot," it added.
Parents can also tap on their Child Development Account funds to further defray their expenses for childminding services, it said.
ENSURING INFANTS' SAFETY AND WELL-BEING
Appointed operators and their childminders will have to adhere to certain service requirements and industry standards.
"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," said the agency.
Some of the requirements and standards include submitting potential childminders' details to ECDA for background checks as well as ensuring that childminders have received mandatory training and are certified as medically fit to work with infants.
Operators found to have breached these will be penalised and may be removed from the pilot.
Childminders who are found unsuitable for infant care may also be removed from the pilot and barred from working in the early childhood sector.
Service requirements and industry standards for the pilot
For the pilot, operators will have to adhere to these service requirements:
- Childminders' homes and community spaces must be clean, safe and conducive for infants, and outfitted with necessary amenities such as baby cots and play areas.
- Before they are deployed, childminders must undergo mandatory training on infant first aid, food safety and preparation, and how to care for infants.
- Operators must submit potential childminders' details to ECDA for background checks before their deployment.
Childminders and operators will also have to adhere to the following industry standards:
- 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 or platforms to facilitate communications between parents and childminders, and childminders should ensure that parents are updated about their infant's well-being.
Before providing services, operators will be required to establish agreements with parents that include clear incident management protocols to ensure that all disputes, feedback and incidents are handled in a timely, fair and transparent manner, said ECDA.
Parents may also reach out to ECDA for serious incidents, it added.
Under the pilot, childminding services will also eventually be provided at community spaces.
"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," said the agency.
As of now, Tampines East CC and Nee Soon East CC have been identified for the pilot.
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, said the agency.
