Following reports of child mismanagement cases at two Kinderland centres, findings reveal that the preschool’s headquarters (HQ) had been negligent in the oversight of its educators and centres.
The two centres are Kinderland @ Woodlands Mart and Kinderland @ Sunshine Place.
In response, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) fined the preschool a total of S$10,000. The agency also shortened the licences of both centres from 36 to six months with immediate effect.
To prevent such incidents from reoccurring, Kinderland has enhanced its three existing child management systems.
In a press release yesterday (20 Feb) about findings on the Kinderland incidents, ECDA shared that they have reviewed the report by an Independent Review Committee (IRC), which Kinderland had convened.
Notably, they found that Kinderland HQ did not effectively oversee the training and supervision of its centres’ staff.
On 28 Aug 2023, clips of a teacher physically and verbally abusing children at Kinderland’s Woodlands Mart branch surfaced online.
Source: Facebook
Just a day later, a video of another teacher hitting a boy’s head and shouting at him at Kinderland @ Sunshine Place emerged. She was also seen forcing the child to drink water.
Source: Facebook
ECDA has since fined the two centres S$5,000 each, and reduced their licences from 36 to six months. The agency highlighted that even when the licenses expire in March, the tenures will remain limited to 6 months.
Additionally, ECDA rejected Kinderland’s application to add a new centre into the Partner Operator Scheme (POP).
Mr Tan Chee Wee, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ECDA, stressed that:
ECDA has zero tolerance for inappropriate management of children in our preschools. All operators, centres and educators are expected to do their part to keep children safe.
ECDA will also monitor all Kinderland centres closely.
On 20 Feb, Kinderland also issued a press release about the steps it has taken to improve child management at its centres. In particular, the infant care and preschool education provider claimed to have improved its three existing child management systems, which are:
For example, an online report system that highlights the crucial areas covered by the the Centre Leaders (CLs) during their daily walkabouts has been introduced to the CMMS.
If there are reports of misconduct, the system will automatically alert the HQ Operations, facilitating prompt detection of the issue.
Kinderland has also launched a new initiative where it engages Human Resource Wellness Partners (HRWP) to visit centres regularly to identify teachers who require professional counselling.
Besides the freelance counsellors recruited since last August, the preschool provider also employed an in-house professional counsellor last month.
Kinderland expressed that it “wholeheartedly apologises to the affected families” of the children. It also emphasised that:
The incidents from 2023 were a sobering reminder of the challenges that come with maintaining high standards of child management. With these enhancements, we want to assure parents and members of the public that proper child management measures have been put in place.
Also read: Parents Claim Kinderland Didn’t Apologise For Abuse, Quote Princess Diana On Fighting For Children
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Featured image adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
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