As part of the Government’s continuing efforts to give every child a good start, the
Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) announced new initiatives to enhance
inclusion and support for children with developmental needs. These initiatives are
guided by the Inclusive Preschool Workgroup’s (IPWG) recommendations released today
to enable children with developmental needs to learn, play, contribute and
participate meaningfully, alongside their typically developing peers in preschools
and the community. Typically developing children will also stand to benefit from
these efforts, in areas such as the provision of differentiated instruction and
development of prosocial behaviours.
Recommendations and Initiatives Arising from the IPWG
2.
The IPWG is one of three workgroups set up under the Third Enabling Masterplan
(EMP3) in 2019[1]. The IPWG sought to study and develop recommendations to
better support children with developmental needs in preschools. The cross-sectoral
workgroup is co-chaired by Minister of State for Social and Family Development, and
Education, Sun Xueling, and Associate Dean (Education Research) of the National
Institute of Education, A/P Kenneth Poon[2], and comprises members from the
health, education and social service sectors.
3.
Over the past two years, the IPWG consulted and engaged about 60 participants over
two focus group discussions[3] and 900 participants from an online survey
for parents[4]. These engagement efforts are in line with the Singapore
Together movement to more directly involve Singaporeans in the co-creation of
policies and initiatives. The workgroup also conducted visits to local and overseas
inclusive preschools to study their experiences with inclusion.
4.
The IPWG has now completed its work and has put forth seven key
recommendations to enhance support for children with developmental needs and move
towards greater inclusion within preschools. The workgroup has mapped out a
4-tier framework to enhance support for children with developmental needs. The
tiered framework also signals that all preschools have a part to play in enhancing
support and inclusion for children with developmental needs. A
description of the tiered framework and the full list of recommendations and
initiatives in response to the recommendations can be found in Annex
A, while the IPWG’s report can be found in Annex B.
5.
The Government supports the IPWG’s report and has begun implementing initiatives in
response to the recommendations, several of which were earlier announced at the
Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF) Committee of Supply debates in
March 2021.
Inclusive Support Programme
6.
In line with one of the IPWG’s key recommendations, ECDA plans to pilot a
new Inclusive Support Programme (InSP) at selected preschools for
children requiring medium levels of early intervention support. To ensure that InSP
pilot preschools are able to provide a better and more inclusive learning experience
for both typically developing children and children with developmental needs, ECDA
will be developing the pilot with the following key features:
a.
Child - Supporting children's early intervention needs within the
preschool
i.
InSP preschools will be resourced with full-time early intervention professionals
and visiting allied health professionals, who will provide specialist support to
children that require medium levels of early intervention support.
ii.
Children who require medium levels of early intervention support will be supported
by an Individualised Programme Plan, which will be executed through a combination
of in-class support and pull-out sessions depending on the child’s needs and
progress made.
b.
Class – Cultivating inclusive practices in the classroom
i.
Early intervention professionals and early childhood educators will work
collaboratively towards co-planning and co-teaching classes. They will strive to
employ differentiated teaching practices to ensure lessons are tailored to
children’s learning abilities, and embed early intervention support within daily
preschool routines.
c.
Centre – Fostering an inclusive preschool ecosystem
i.
The majority of InSP preschools’ enrolment will continue to comprise typically
developing children. This ensures classroom dynamics remain led by typically
developing children, while catering to children with developmental needs.
ii.
InSP preschools will work towards cultivating an inclusive mindset by facilitating
activities that encourage meaningful interactions among children. The preschool
environment will also be modified where necessary and viable to improve
accessibility for children with developmental needs.
d.
Community – Families as core partners
i.
InSP preschools will foster family-centred partnerships, where parents and/or
caregivers are actively and regularly involved in their child’s progress and
development.
7.
Further details on the InSP pilot providers and sites will be released later this
year.
Enhancing Capabilities in Inclusive Education
8.
To better equip early childhood educators with the skills to support children with
developmental needs, ECDA has been working with the National Institute of Early
Childhood Development (NIEC) to enhance pre-service training for students and
continuing professional development for in-service professionals respectively. As
part of these efforts, NIEC will launch a new 120-hour Certificate in
Inclusive Practice (CIP) in June 2021, to enable in-service early
childhood educators to acquire inclusive strategies to support children with varying
needs in preschools. Modules under the CIP can be taken individually or stackable
towards a full Certificate. Educators may also choose to embark on the full 120-hour
certificate. More details on the CIP can be found in Annex C.
Strengthening Screening & Referrals, and Parent Education
9.
The IPWG has also recommended strengthening system-level support for more timely and
systematic identification of developmental needs, and support for parents through
parent education. MSF/ECDA and MOE, in consultation with experts from the education,
health and social sectors, have released a set of professional practice
guidelines for preschool-aged children in Feb 2021. The guidelines aim to
improve support by professionals for children and their families, and ensure a
smooth transition beyond preschool. The guidelines can be accessed at the following
link. ECDA will also work
toward publishing a parents’ version of the guide and work with SG Enable to enhance
the Enabling Guide, to address parents’ feedback to curate resources that will
deepen caregivers’ understanding of developmental needs and provide information on
support resources/strategies.
Moving Towards A More Caring and Inclusive Society Together
10.
The IPWG recommendations build on good efforts thus far to foster inclusivity in our
community. MSF/ECDA is committed to continue working closely with partners to
provide a good start for every child, and to build a stronger, caring society that
benefits all.
11.
Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State for Social and Family Development, and Education,
said, “A large part of early years education is about developing socio-emotional
competencies and instilling values such as kindness, respect and empathy. We hope to
instil inclusive mindsets from the early years, benefiting both typically developing
children and children with developmental needs, and lay the foundation for a more
caring and inclusive society. The journey towards inclusion requires a
whole-of-society effort involving preschools and early intervention providers,
parents, and the wider community.”
ISSUED BY
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (ECDA)
1 Apart from the IPWG, there were two other workgroups formed to review the areas of (a) Employment and (b) Independent Living for Persons with Disabilities. Their workgroup reports were released earlier this month.
2 Prior to Aug 2020, the workgroup was co-chaired by former-Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Social and Family Development, and Education) Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim.
3 Participants in the focus group discussions comprised early childhood educators, early intervention professionals, preschool operators, early intervention service providers, and parents of preschool-aged children. The focus group discussions were held in Nov 2019.
4 The online survey for parents was held from June to July 2020.
ANNEX A: TIERED FRAMEWORK AND FULL LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS
ANNEX B: IPWG'S REPORT
ANNEX C: CERTIFICATE IN INCLUSIVE PRACTICE (CIP)
ANNEX D:
COMPOSITION OF IPWG
ANNEX E:
ABOUT SINGAPORE TOGETHER
ANNEX F: List of translated terms.pdf
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ANNEX A: TIERED FRAMEWORK AND FULL LIST OF RECOMMENDATION
1.
The IPWG has mapped out a four-tiered framework to enhance support for children with
developmental needs, depending on the level of early intervention support (EI)
required, as reflected in Figure 1 below. The tiered framework signals that
all preschools have a part to play in enhancing support and inclusion for children
with developmental needs.
Figure 1. Tiered Framework for an Inclusive
Preschool Sector
2.
With reference to the tiered framework, the IPWG has put forth
seven recommendations. The list of recommendations and MSF/ECDA’s
plans are in Table 1 below.
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ANNEX C: CERTIFICATE IN INCLUSIVE PRACTICE (CIP)
1.
The CIP aims to build on what early childhood educators learn in their pre-service
training and help them acquire the skills to apply inclusive strategies to support
children with varying needs in preschools. It is targeted at early childhood
educators in preschools, prioritising those in preschools offering InSP and other
early intervention services (i.e. DS-LS and DS-Plus programmes). The CIP will be
open to all L2-certified early childhood educators who have been practicing for at
least one year.
2.
The 120-hour course is organised into 3 clusters with a total of 7 modules. Early
childhood educators may choose to embark on the whole programme, in clusters of
modules, or individual modules. Early childhood educators will have to complete the
modules in the first cluster in order to embark on modules in the subsequent
clusters. The early childhood educator will receive a Statement of Results (SOR) for
the completion of each module, and a certificate (with transcript) on completion of
all 7 modules. Taken consecutively, the educator can complete the certificate within
6 to 8 months. If preferred, an educator can choose to take the modules individually
over a longer period, it is still stackable towards the full Certificate.
3.
The 7 modules cover 3 core areas:
- Understanding learning differences in children and how to create a suitable
learning environment for inclusive practice;
- Skillsets in differentiated learning as well as classroom and behaviour
management; and
- Collaborating with the family and professionals as well as shaping an inclusive
practice in the preschool.
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ANNEX D: COMPOSITION OF IPWG
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ANNEX E: ABOUT SINGAPORE TOGETHER
Singapore Together is about the Government working with Singaporeans, and Singaporeans working with one another, to build our future Singapore. The Government will open up more partnership opportunities for Singaporeans to participate. The Government also hopes to support more citizen-led efforts. Whatever our background or interests, we can each step forward to contribute in areas that we care about. By working together, we can turn diversity into strength and transform challenges into opportunities, to build a Singapore that present and future generations of Singaporeans will be proud of. For more information, visitwww.singaporetogether.gov.sg.
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