Kinderland has released a statement addressing the allegations of a teacher mistreating toddlers at their Woodlands branch.
They detailed what happened at their Woodlands Mart centre. The preschool said they had known about the incidents for a little over a week and were working with the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) before the videos went viral.
Apparently, the teacher who had supposedly ill-treated children at the centre has a good track record.
They also mentioned that they had suspended the teacher involved in a separate incident at their Choa Chu Kang preschool.
In light of what happened, the preschool then provided their assurance that measures would be put into place to better address the matter and welfare of their children and teachers, such as expanding the installation of CCTVs at the two preschools.
On Tuesday (29 Aug), Kinderland issued a press statement addressing the allegations of teachers mistreating toddlers at their Woodlands and Choa Chu Kang branches.
First, the preschool addressed what happened at their Woodlands Mart centre.
From the morning of Monday (28 Aug), videos started circulating of a teacher, Teacher A, hitting a boy on his rear with a book and holding the heads of two other children to make them drink water.
Source: Claudia Tan on Facebook
The timestamps of the videos showed that the incidents took place on 27 and 30 June. The preschool revealed that the affected children were all below the age of three at the time of the incidents.
In their statement, Kinderland said they have been aware of the separate incidents at their Woodlands branch involving Teacher A since 17 Aug.
The preschool found out about what occurred when the ECDA contacted them on that day for an investigation.
Thus, a total of four staff members convened on 17 and 18 August, where they saw the videos. The preschool then advised them to review Teacher A’s conduct.
ECDA also provided some guidelines to the staff on how to deal with this incident:
The Kinderland Headquarters (HQ) then launched a disciplinary inquiry following ECDA’s recommendations.
Per the statement, only two teachers were in the classroom when the videos were taken — Teacher A and Teacher B. The latter is a newer teacher who was still under probation.
Source: Claudia Tan on Facebook
The inquiry addressed the matter with Teacher A and counselled her, said the preschool.
“Teacher A was remorseful and apologised for her behaviour for those few times.”
Kinderland Woodlands Mart’s principal and Teacher A concurrently reached out to the parents of the affected children. They informed the parents of the incidents and apologised for the rough handling of the children.
All three parents said they did not notice anything amiss when the principal asked about the children’s well-being after what happened. The parents observed no physical injuries, and their children behaved normally.
When the inquiry committee reached out to Teacher B, she claimed that she did not take or post the videos of the incidents.
Instead, she said she had seen the videos from her friends.
Kinderland HQ then requested the dismissal of Teacher A on 28 Aug after concluding the inquiry.
ECDA and the police are currently investigating this matter, shared the preschool.
The latest update regarding the incident was that the police have arrested the teacher for the ill-treatment of children in her care.
The preschool then addressed rumours circulating about the nationality and particulars of the teachers in question.
Teacher A is a 33-year-old Singaporean, said to be an experienced and certified childcare teacher.
Source: Claudia Tan on Facebook
Before joining Kinderland in March 2020, Teacher A worked in another preschool centre.
Kinderland then added that she had consistently received good testimonials from parents in their annual parents survey.
Additionally, Teacher A got along well with other teachers in the centre and was always helpful towards them.
On the other hand, Teacher B is a 37-year-old Singaporean who previously held positions in other preschool centres. She joined Kinderland in May 2023 and was assigned to work with Teacher A.
Teacher B resigned within three months and left the preschool on 29 July. She had cited having to look after her ailing mother as the reason for her departure.
She did not mention any dissatisfaction during her exit interview. In fact, she indicated that recognition for her work, supervisor management, and opportunities to use her abilities were good.
In response to the Woodlands incident, Kinderland said that they have once again contacted the parents and children of the centre and provided their deep apologies.
“Kinderland is profoundly grateful that some of the parents have accepted our apology and remedial measures,” they said.
“They have our fullest assurance that we continue to place the utmost priority on the education and welfare of children under our care.”
Two of the affected children are currently doing well. However, the centre shared the mother of the third child has posted on social media that her daughter woke up screaming last night, which she attributes to the incident.
Kinderland also acknowledged a separate video that surfaced on Tuesday (29 Aug). It showed a teacher hitting a boy on his head at the Choa Chu Kang centre.
The principal of the centre has filed a report to ECDA and suspended the teacher involved. She has also contacted the parents of the boy and offered their apologies.
Moving forward, the preschool assured that they will put into place new measures to better serve the welfare of the children and teachers in both centres.
“Following these incidents, we will be expanding the installation of CCTVs in all classrooms and children activity areas at these two centres,” they said.
On top of that, they will also be enhancing their current policy to manage the mental health of new and existing teachers. This includes weekly and monthly meet-up sessions with the principal, and reinforcing the continued use of Kinderland’s Pre-school Management app.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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