Complaints of Child Abuse or Alleged Abuse by Teachers or Staff at Childcare Centres and Kindergartens

Mr David Ong asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the number of complaints of child abuse or alleged abuse by teachers or staff at childcare centres and kindergartens has been rising over the last two years; (b) how many of such cases are reported each year; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider mandatory installation of CCTVs at all childcare centres.

The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) regularly receives a range of complaints of child mismanagement. Prior to the formation of ECDA, these were directed to MSF and MOE.

All complaints were investigated. The vast majority were found to be cases of miscommunication, misunderstandings or lapses, not wilful negligence or harm. Between 2011 and 2012, there was an average of seven cases per year showing evidence of child mismanagement by teachers. There was no upward trend. Action was taken against the pre-schools and early childhood teachers in question. The numbers show that the vast majority of operators and teachers are mindful of their responsibilities and discharge their duties diligently.

Many considerations go into whether we should install CCTVs in all childcare centres. CCTVs can be useful to screen visitors for security reasons,

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or serve as verification when the facts of an incident are disputed. However, we should take care to ensure trust and partnership between teachers and parents. Regardless of the presence of CCTVs, the values and professional conduct of all caregivers, including parents and teachers, are of utmost importance to the proper supervision and holistic development of our children.

ECDA will continue to review how standards and practices in our pre-school system can be further strengthened in areas, such as regulation, teacher training and support, physical design of centres and deployment of technology.