Improving Sick Bay Facilities in Preschools to Allow Them to Safe-keep Sick Children Until End of School Day

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider providing support to improve the sick bay facilities in all preschools to allow preschools to keep sick children until the end of the school day.

The health and well-being of the child is of utmost importance to any parent. It is in the interest of children who are unwell to receive comfort and attention from their parents, and for the parents to decide on the appropriate medical attention needed.

The Early Childhood Development Centres Act and Regulations require all preschools to have a designated area that is enclosed and separate from other teaching spaces to serve as a sick bay for children who become unwell during the course of the day. Preschools will place these unwell children in the sick bay and notify their parents or guardians.

Like other sick bays, sick bays in preschools are temporary places to isolate unwell individuals before proper attention to their condition can be given. The provision of sick bays at preschools allows children to rest, while parents or guardians make arrangements to pick up their child and seek medical attention as needed. This practice helps to safeguard the health and safety of sick children, while minimising the risk of infection to other children in our preschools. This is all the more relevant in current times due to the high transmissibility of the COVID-19 virus.

Keeping an unwell child in the sick bay for a prolonged period could affect the child, both in terms of physical comfort and also emotionally. Children in the sick bay must also be monitored closely by staff at all times, and preschools will have to redeploy staff from their primary duties to care for the sick child. This could compromise on the care and education for other children at the preschool.

Preschool staff also do not have the relevant training to provide nursing care or attend to the medical needs of sick children on a prolonged basis. It is thus important for parents or guardians to pick up their sick children as soon as possible and ensure they receive the medical attention as required.

Nevertheless, we recognise the challenges working parents face during such situations. Each working parent of a Singaporean child below seven years old is eligible for six days of paid childcare leave per year. This is in addition to parents' annual leave provisions. Parents can tap on these leave provisions to bring their sick child to see a doctor and care for them at home subsequently. We urge employers to be empathetic and provide flexibility to their employees with young children during such exigencies. The Government will continue to work with tripartite partners to encourage and support employers to implement family-friendly measures, such as flexible work arrangements, so that working parents can balance their work alongside their family responsibilities.