Average Waiting Time for Differently Abled Children to Enrol in Intervention Programme for Infants and Children

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the current average waiting time for children who are differently abled to be enrolled in the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) upon application; and (b) what are the recommended teacher to child ratios for (i) EIPIC and (ii) preschools who are managing these children.

The current average waiting time for enrolment in an early intervention (EI) centre for the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) is approximately six months. The waiting time in part depends on parents' preferences for specific providers or locations. We are working on expanding the number of EIPIC places over the next few years, which will help bring down the waiting time. We are also rolling out the Development Support Plus programme so that children who have made sufficient progress in EIPIC can transit to receiving EI services in their pre-schools. This will enable more children requiring EIPIC to be served.

Under EIPIC, the teacher to child ratios can vary based on the needs of each child. For children with higher needs, support can be delivered in a one-to-one setting while children with higher functioning could be placed in groups averaging six to eight children. Typically, each group is led by an EI teacher, with at least another EI professional (such as a therapist, psychologist or assistant EI teacher) assisting him/her.

Under the Early Childhood Development Agency's (ECDA) regulations, pre-schools, including those that enrol children with developmental needs, are required to adhere to minimum staff-child ratios for the different age groups. These ratios range from one infant educarer to five infants for infant care, to one early childhood teacher to 25 children for a kindergarten 2 class. Pre-schools may choose to deploy more staff to support classes with children with developmental needs if preferred.

Pre-schools also receive support from EI professionals. For children under specific programmes like the Learning Support, Development Support or Development Support Plus programmes, EI professionals visit the pre-schools to conduct intervention sessions for children within the centres. EI centres also assist pre-schools by sharing with them strategies on how pre-school teachers can better support these children in the classroom. We are currently studying ways to better support children with moderate to severe developmental needs within pre-schools, under the work of the Inclusive Preschool Workgroup.