Debated in Parliament on 6 Nov 2025.
Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what evaluation was done to conclude that cessation of the Integrated Childcare Programme (ICCP) that helped children with mild special needs was necessary in 2024; (b) what service gap was projected given that expansion of the Inclusive Support Programme (InSP) will only start from 2026; and (c) what like-for-like interim provisions are in place to ensure in-childcare support for affected children.
Under the Integrated Childcare Programme (ICCP), which was launched in 2003, resource persons in selected preschools were funded to customise the curriculum for children with developmental needs (DN). However, children who required targeted Early Intervention (EI) support would still have to enrol in separate programmes, such as the Development Support and Learning Support (DS-LS) or Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC).
Since 2012, we have increased accessibility of direct EI support for children with DN within preschool settings. Key enhancements included the expansion of DS-LS to more preschools and the provision of coaching to preschool teachers by EI professionals to support DN children in the classroom. The Inclusive Support Programme (InSP) was piloted in 2021 and will continue to scale to more preschools from next year onwards. Unlike ICCP, InSP provides integrated El services within the preschool setting for children requiring medium levels of El support. With these enhancements, children with DN were able to receive better support in preschools across various levels of EI support. Hence, ICCP was discontinued in 2024.
To better support children with DN in preschools, the Early Childhood and Development Agency has also introduced a requirement for every preschool to appoint an Inclusion Coordinator by 2023 to support the identification of children that may require EI and to refer parents and educators to relevant EI resources and services.
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