PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON PROPOSED EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CENTRES REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Public Consultation on Proposed Early Childhood Development Centres Regulatory Framework – Summary of Key Feedback and Responses

The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) invited members of the public to provide feedback on the proposed early childhood development centres (ECDC) regulatory framework via the REACH portal from 2 to 31 July 2015. The proposed ECDC regulatory framework seeks to raise the quality of early childhood (EC) care and education by harmonising the regulatory frameworks for kindergartens and child care centres.

2. At the close of the four-week public consultation exercise, we received 35 written comments from operators, parents, EC professionals, and industry partners. We held three Townhall briefings involving 750 representatives from pre-school operators. To hear from parents, we organised a focus group session with 14 representatives from pre-school parent support groups. We engaged industry partners, such as the Education Services Union (ESU). We also gathered feedback from online forums and media articles.

 Key Feedback Received

3. Most of the feedback expressed support for the objectives of the proposed ECDC regulatory framework. There was wide recognition of the need to have a framework to protect the safety and well-being of our children, and the interests of parents. At the same time, some operators had concerns about the potential administrative burden, and the necessity of some requirements and enforcement powers given to ECDA. For example, the power to impose financial penalties if regulatory requirements are not met. On the other hand, some parents thought that the proposed fines and financial penalties may not deter larger better resourced operators, and suggested stricter punitive measures.

ECDA’s Responses

4. The proposed ECDC regulatory framework seeks to strike a fair balance between the interests of our stakeholders, and to protect our children who are under the care of these centres. One example is how we will retain and harmonise most of the regulatory requirements currently found in the Education Act and Child Care Centres Act, as they still serve the interest of our children and their parents. But we will de-criminalise a number of existing offences which are not serious enough to warrant criminal prosecution. This allows us to preserve a range of enforcement measures that may be imposed for regulatory breaches. We have and will continue to be reasonable and proportionate in imposing these measures.

5. We are also mindful that there should be sufficient time and support for operators to adjust and transit smoothly into the new ECDC regulatory framework. Most respondents supported the proposed 18-month transition period before new requirements are applied to existing centres. We will continue to conduct active outreach through briefings and regulatory visits, to ensure that centres are well-prepared for the new regulatory framework.

6. Please refer to Annex A for our responses to the specific feedback.

7. We thank all stakeholders and members of the public for participating in this public consultation exercise. It has helped us develop a greater understanding of your priorities and concerns. We look forward to refining the framework in response to the constructive feedback given, so as to raise the quality of the sector as a whole in partnership with our stakeholders.

INTRODUCTION
 
            The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) invites the public to give feedback on the proposed early childhood development centres (ECDCs) regulatory framework. 
 
BACKGROUND
 
2          A key priority of the Government is to raise the quality, accessibility and affordability of early childhood (EC) care and education services, so as to give every child a good start. In this regard, the Government intends to introduce a new Early Childhood Development Centres Bill (ECDC Bill) towards the end of 2015. 
 
3          The proposed ECDC Bill, when enacted, will raise the quality of the EC sector, and benefit parents and their children, operators and EC professionals:

• Parents/children: Parents will have greater assurance of the quality of ECDCs, and their children’s well-being and safety in ECDCs. 
• Operators of child care centres (CCCs) and kindergartens: Operators will benefit from clearer and more consistent requirements, regardless of the type of EC services they provide. 
• EC professionals: As with the operators, EC professionals will benefit from the convenience of a single registration system, and will gain greater recognition as professionals in the sector.

 
4          Currently, CCCs and kindergartens are regulated under the Child Care Centres Act (CCCA) (1988) and the Education Act (EA) (1985) respectively, with different regulatory requirements for CCCs and kindergartens. Under the proposed ECDC Bill, the regulation of CCCs and kindergartens will be harmonised, and these centres will be collectively regulated as ECDCs. 
 
5          The proposed ECDC regulatory framework is the result of a year-long review and deliberation by ECDA. Feedback from our sector partners who were involved in earlier focus group discussions has been taken into consideration in developing the proposals outlined in the public consultation paper. 
 
MAIN FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED ECDC REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
 
6          The proposed ECDC regulatory framework seeks to:
 

• raise centre quality and ensure more consistent standards across ECDCs through licensing;
• ensure the quality of persons involved in the care and education of children and the management of ECDCs;
• enhance the accountability of ECDCs, and ECDA’s enforcement and supervisory powers to uphold standards; 
• ensure better management during service disruption; and
• facilitate a smooth transition from the existing frameworks under the CCCA and EA to the new framework under the Early Childhood Development Centres Act.

 
Please refer to the public consultation paper attached below for details on the proposals. 
 
QUESTIONS
 
7          We welcome your feedback and comments. You may consider the following questions in providing your comments:
 

• Which proposals are you supportive of, and why? 
• What are your concerns with the proposals? What should we clarify on?
•  Is there any proposal which should be added to, modified or taken out of the proposed ECDC regulatory framework, and why? What are the alternatives which we should consider?
• How may we support you in the transition to the new regulatory framework?

 
You may wish to use the form attached below to submit your feedback.
 
FEEDBACK CHANNELS
 
8          Please send your feedback to this email address consultation@ecda.gov.sg with the subject heading “Consultation on the Early Childhood Development Centres Regulatory Framework” and preferably in Word document (.doc) format. This will enable us to receive your feedback earlier. Alternatively, you may fax your feedback to (65) 6735 9221 or mail it to:
 
Attn: Policy and Corporate Development Department (ECDC Regulatory Framework)
Early Childhood Development Agency
51 Cuppage Centre #08-01
Singapore 229469
 
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES
 
9          We will carefully consider all feedback before finalising the proposals under the ECDC Bill. While we are unable to separately address and respond to every piece of feedback we receive, we will provide a summary of the key areas of the feedback received and our responses once this consultation has come to an end. All feedback is provided to us in confidence. We will not disclose the identity of the person(s) providing the feedback in the summary document. 
 
10        Thank you for your interest in this public consultation exercise. We look forward to hearing from you.
 
Early Childhood Development Agency
2 July 2015