More Resources for Preschools and Childcare Centres to Manage Special Needs

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar asked the Minister for Social and Family Development with our preschools and childcare centres becoming more inclusive of children with special needs, whether additional assistance and support will be deployed to our preschool and childcare centres so that our preschool and childcare educators are better able to manage and take care of all the children under their care.

Today, some 350 preschools support about 4,000 children with mild developmental needs through the Government-funded Learning Support and Development Support programmes in preschools. Therapists and specially trained Learning Support Educators (LSEds) provide short-term, targeted developmental interventions for children in these programmes. LSEds also collaborate with the main early childhood educators of the classes in preschools to adapt teaching methods and activities to better engage children with mild development needs in the classroom.

Since 2012, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) have worked with training institutes and educational providers to roll out specialised training. Early childhood educators undertake the Specialist Diploma in Early Childhood Learning Support to become LSEds. Educators can also take up subsidised Continuing Professional Development courses to be equipped with the necessary skills to support children with a range of developmental needs.

Over the next five years, MSF will expand the development support programme to more preschools and build up a pool of 200 LSEds to provide targeted intervention and learning support for children with developmental needs in preschools. This will support more early childhood educators in the care and education for their children.

To better facilitate timely support and intervention, we are also studying how the development support programme can be enhanced to support children with moderate developmental needs within the preschool setting.