A Singapore Where Every Child Can Flourish: Creating Safe Environments

Mr Speaker, Sir, I seek to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn."

Question proposed.

Prof Kenneth Poon.

Mr Speaker, we will celebrate Children's Day soon. Last year also marked the 30th anniversary of Singapore's ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. These occasions invite us to reflect on a simple but profound question: what kind of childhood do we want to create in Singapore?

Having visited many cities, I can say with confidence that Singapore is a wonderful place for children to grow up. We have a strong healthcare and education system and, as we heard at the recent National Day Rally, substantial investments in families and children.

Singapore is a society that places great value on the next generation. I believe our aspiration can go further. Singapore can be a place where every child can flourish. This includes children with disabilities, children from disadvantaged backgrounds and children who may not do well according to conventional markers of success. Flourishing should not be reserved for those who excel academically or fit within our expectations.

I understand flourishing as children growing up in safe and nurturing environments, displaying confidence and adaptability to navigate life's challenges, experiencing meaningful relationships and belonging, and cultivating a sense of purpose through meaningful contribution.

Today, I would like to focus on the first aspect of flourishing – mainly, safety. By safety, I mean more than protection from immediate harm. I mean creating secure environments in which children can grow, form relationships, explore, make mistakes and become who they can be. I will consider this in three ways: safe from harm, safe in relationships and safe to grow.

Safe from harm. Mr Speaker, as we often say, low crime does not mean no crime. Singapore is a safe place for children, but it is not risk-free. Child abuse still occurs.

In reviewing The Straits Times' reports of child abuse cases between March and August this year, among these reports were cases where the alleged perpetrator was someone familiar to the child. This includes adults occupying positions of authority, access or trust. These media cases are not representative of child abuse nationally and should thus not be treated as prevalence data. Nor can we reliably predict who will perpetrate abuse.

The important lesson for us is that children need ready access, across settings in which they live and learn, to trusted adults with whom they can raise concerns about their safety. This is particularly important for young children and children with developmental or communication difficulties who might find it harder to recognise abuse and to describe what has happened or seek help.

I therefore welcome the recent announcement by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura or MUIS) that it will develop a common safeguarding framework across mosques in Singapore and that it will strengthen training for staff and volunteers, clarify reporting and escalation procedures, and help children, parents and educators recognise concerns and seek help.

This is a useful example of how organisations that routinely engage children can approach safeguarding systematically. Can we build on this principle more broadly? Could organisations that routinely work with children adopt a common minimum standard of safeguarding built around three layers of protection?

First, access. Children should know who the trusted adults, in addition to their family members, are, whom they can approach when they feel unsafe, including, where appropriate, someone outside their immediate setting.

Second, capability. Adults who routinely work with children should receive basic safeguarding training to recognise possible signs of abuse, respond appropriately to disclosures, and know when and how concerns should be escalated.

Third, organisational safeguards. Child-facing organisations should have and articulate appropriate policies, reporting and escalation procedures, and safeguards that reduce opportunities for harm.

The aim is not to turn every professional into a child protection specialist, nor to impose identical requirements on very different organisations. It is to rather establish common principles that can be implemented proportionately across different settings. And when concerns are raised, there must be clear referral pathways and sufficient capacity to assess and respond. Safeguarding cannot end with reporting. The ultimate outcome must be that the child is safe and supported.

Safe in relationships. Sir, the second dimension is being safe in relationships.

Bullying matters because its effects need not end when the bullying stops. Longitudinal research shows that victimisation is associated with increased risks of mental health and social difficulties that can persist into adulthood.

I therefore welcome the Ministry of Education's (MOE's) Comprehensive Action Review Against Bullying. Recent Parliamentary discussions have focused very rightly on reporting, disciplinary consistency, victim support, online harms and the needs of children with special educational needs. MOE already monitors reported bullying incidents and is strengthening how schools respond to them. Could the next step be to complement this with systematic attention to children's lived experience of safety? Do children feel safe and accepted? Do they have trusted adults whom they can turn to? Do they believe adults will listen when they raise concerns? And after bullying occurs, is their sense of safety and belonging restored?

Because when determining whether an environment is safe, children possess information that adults do not. We therefore need developmentally appropriate ways of listening to them. I just want to clarify that I am not calling for another reporting requirement for teachers. Rather, it should complement what educators already observe with a better understanding of how children themselves experience their social environments.

There is also another group we should not overlook – bystanders. Bullying seldom occurs entirely unseen. Could we do more to build a culture of active upstanders, where children are equipped to recognise bullying, know how to speak up safely and trust that adults will act when concerns are raised? Safeguarding should be a shared responsibility. Ultimately, the outcome is not whether an incident has been reported, investigated or resolved, but rather, whether the child feels safe again.

Safe to grow. Mr Speaker, finally, as many school-going children begin their revision after this recess week, let me turn to what I describe as excessive performative pressure. The question is not whether children should aspire and strive. They should. As a psychologist and as a researcher in human development, I know that aspirations and challenges are important parts of development. Children gain confidence through effort, mastery and overcoming difficulty. The concern arises when pressure becomes excessive. This occurs when children experience continual comparison, the fear of falling behind, overly optimised schedules or the sense that a single outcome may determine their future. At that point, the pursuit of achievement can begin to crowd out other things that children need to develop – rest, relationships, exploration, agency and opportunities to discover who they are.

This discussion must include us as parents. Being one myself, I know we want the best for our children. We encourage them to work hard and make the most of their opportunities. But we parents are ourselves responding to signals around us – about schools, qualifications, opportunities and what constitutes success. Perhaps, we should also ask whether, in our anxiety to prepare our children for the future, we can sometimes inadvertently communicate that achievement, credentials and keeping ahead matter more than other dimensions of their development. I say this with some humility because I, too, struggle as a parent.

However, children internalise the expectations of the adults around them. Parents have agency, but parents need not resist the education arms race alone. I therefore welcome Minister Desmond Lee's Education Conversations and MOE's continual efforts to address the education arms race and broaden our understanding of success.

This requires shared responsibility. As MOE addresses the structural drivers, I would like to suggest two complementary approaches.

First, could we equip parents to distinguish healthy developmental challenge from excessive pressure and to recognise when our understandable aspirations begin to affect a child's well-being or sense of self?

Second, could we listen more systematically to children themselves, not only monitoring academic outcomes but understanding their experiences of pressure, fear of failure and agency, and whether they have sufficient space for rest, relationships and exploration?

The goal is not to ask less of our children. It is to create the conditions in which they can strive without believing that their worth depends upon how they perform.

Mr Speaker, children are our future. But they are also our present. The quality of their childhood matters not merely because of who they may become but because of who they already are. Singapore does not lack opportunities in these areas. We have strong policies and programmes across Government and the community. My argument today is that we can build upon these through a broader understanding of what children need to flourish – to be safe from harm, safe in their relationships and safe to grow.

Across the three runs a common principle – listen to the child. A child experiencing abuse needs to know that there is a trusted adult who will listen. A child experiencing bullying needs to know that speaking up will lead to action and the restoration of safety. And a child growing up amid intense expectations needs the space to tell us how those expectations are being experienced.

Ultimately, a flourishing Singapore depends upon flourishing children. And perhaps, a society should be judged not simply by how far its highest achievers go but whether every child is given the opportunity to flourish. So, to all children and those young at heart, Happy Children's Day, and enjoy your holidays. [Applause.]

Senior Parliamentary Secretary Dr Syed Harun.

Mr Speaker, I thank Prof Kenneth Poon for his suggestions.

We share the Member’s conviction that every child, regardless of backgrounds, should grow up in a safe and supportive environment, where they can explore, learn and flourish.

Safeguarding our children cannot be the responsibility of schools, or that of any single Ministry alone. It requires a whole-of-society approach. Children grow up across many settings – within their families, among friends, in schools and in their neighbourhoods. Each of these settings shapes how safe and supported our children would feel.

That is why close collaboration with our partners lies at the heart of the Government’s efforts – to protect our children from harm, to nurture healthy relationships and to support their growth. Let me share how we have strengthened this collective endeavour.

First, we want every child to be protected from harm and to grow up in a safe, loving environment.

We agree with Prof Poon that children must learn how to seek help from trusted adults. Starting from preschool, under the Nurturing Early Learners Framework, we teach our children to develop awareness of safety practices, including body safety and how to seek help when they feel hurt or unsafe. This learning then continues in Primary 1 through Character and Citizenship Education, where students learn to protect themselves in physical and online spaces, and to speak up when something does not feel right.

We recognise that not every child will be able to speak up readily. Therefore, we train adults who work closely with children to spot possible warning signs and respond appropriately. In preschools and schools, educators, teachers, school counsellors and student welfare officers are trained to spot signs of child abuse and neglect, and report suspected cases through the appropriate channels. Frontline professionals in healthcare institutions and social service agencies are similarly trained and guided by evidence-based tools to identify and report abuse concerns.

But as Prof Poon reminds us, these adults can only respond effectively if they are supported by clear organisational processes.

Many child-facing organisations regulated by public agencies already have such policies and measures in place. These include requirements for staff to have the necessary qualifications and training, undergo background screening and follow clear processes for reporting and escalating concerns.

Beyond these publicly regulated settings, there is value in strengthening safeguarding processes across the broader ecosystem. We welcome Prof Poon's suggestions, including the establishment of a common safeguarding baseline for organisations that routinely work with children. As he highlighted, MUIS’ work to develop a common safeguarding framework across mosques is a welcome example of a community partner taking steps to strengthen safeguarding practices within its sector.

We will continue to review how to better support child-facing organisations to put in place safeguards for our children’s safety.

We also agree with Prof Poon that children must feel safe in school. Supportive relationships and learning environments give them the confidence to take risks, to make mistakes and to learn together. In turn, this helps them become curious, collaborative and resilient lifelong learners.

We have taken decisive steps to strengthen the well-being and safety of our children in schools and in online spaces.

Prof Poon mentioned the recent Comprehensive Action Review Against Bullying. Indeed, the comprehensive processes and measures in our schools not only protect students from hurtful behaviour but also help restore the sense of safety and belonging of those affected.

We will continue to do more to support our students’ sense of safety and well-being. From 2027, schools will increase the availability and accessibility of reporting channels and support for affected students, and all schools will develop an anti-bullying policy, in accordance with MOE guidelines. To further support educators in managing incidents, MOE will continue to strengthen professional development, including training in conflict resolution and parent engagement.

Prof Poon has also suggested that we build a stronger culture of active upstanders, in which children are willing and able to stand up for one another. This is an important form of early intervention, and we are strengthening our efforts in this area. We are enhancing our character education efforts to strengthen social-emotional skills, such as empathy and conflict management in our students. Our schools will also continue to foster a strong pro-social peer culture that encourages students to look out for one another, to stand together against hurtful behaviours and to support those affected.

Beyond managing bullying incidents, we agree with Prof Poon that we must also pay careful attention to our children’s daily lived experiences of safety and well-being, including their mental health.

Today, schools are guided by a framework on student well-being, which covers physical, psychological, cognitive and social well-being. The framework highlights key areas in each domain, including a student’s sense of belonging and their state of mental health. This has guided schools in designing tailored interventions and addressing their students’ well-being needs.

Schools have also enhanced feedback mechanisms over time, such as termly check-ins to provide insights into students' social-emotional well-being and peer relationships. And this enables our teachers to intervene and strengthen peer support networks in a timely and focused manner.

Finally, let me turn to how we are addressing the excessive performance pressure that some children face in education today.

As Prof Poon has shared, an excessive focus on academic results and achievement can erode students' love of learning. It can also crowd out the time and space our students need, especially in their formative years, to explore and develop their strengths and interests.

That is why MOE has taken decisive steps in recent years to move away from an over-emphasis on academic grades and to nurture in every child the joy of learning throughout life. These steps include removing mid-year examinations at all levels and moving to the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) Achievement Level system, freeing up more time for students to explore interests beyond the classroom.

We know that more can, and must be done, and MOE is prepared to review the system broadly. That is why we launched the Education Conversations in May – to hold open and frank discussions with parents, students and educators on how we can further reduce excessive competition and the over-emphasis on academic achievement. Through the Conversations, we have heard many reasons for these pressures and varied ideas on how to address them. MOE will carefully study each of these suggestions, including their merits and trade-offs. We will share our plans in due course and we welcome Members' support for this effort.

As MOE considers how the education system should evolve, we must recognise that competition and the pressure to achieve do not begin nor end in our schools. They extend into the workplace, our families and wider society. A deeply held social narrative persists: that good grades are the only route to better opportunities, higher-paying jobs and ultimately, a "good" life.

Beyond educational interventions, this will require a broader and sustained shift in mindsets across society, especially in what we value and how we define success. We must recognise that the values and dispositions our children develop will matter just as much as, if not more than, their academic credentials and achievements.

To conclude, each of us has a role to play in shaping the environment in which our children grow up. Let us continue working together to build a society where: our children are safe from harm; they feel safe to learn, explore and grow in school; and they have the time and space to look beyond academics and to develop the values and dispositions they need to flourish in life.

We welcome the ideas and insights of partners, such as the Member, as we continue this collective effort to help every child grow well, to flourish and to contribute to society.

*Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]

*Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." (proc text)]

Pursuant to Standing Order 2(3)(a), I wish to inform hon Members that the Sitting tomorrow will commence at 11.00 am. Order. Order.

Adjourned accordingly at 9.33 pm.