A preschool in Seletar Hills has had its licence revoked after multiple breaches of regulations were found to have been committed on two children.
In a Facebook post on Friday (24 Jan), the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) said the breaches were committed by three former staff of GU+MMI Smart Kids.
Source: GUMMI Smart Kids on Facebook
An ECDA investigation revealed that GU+MMI Smart Kids, located at 9 Jalan Jarak in Seletar Hills, had “failed to safeguard the well-being of the children under its care”.
This was due to “systemic lapses” by its management, which didn’t ensure that standard operating procedures on child management were enforced.
They also gave “inadequate guidance and support” to staff in the management of children, ECDA said.
Thus, the preschool’s licence was revoked from 2 Jan.
As for the three staff members, they had flouted Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDC) regulations, ECDA said.
These prohibit preschool educators from using “inappropriate child management practices” such as corporal punishment and harsh responses.
The trio were suspended by the preschool on 26 Feb 2024 and subsequently sacked.
Source: GUMMI Smart Kids on Facebook
While investigations were ongoing, they were not allowed to work for other preschools.
Now that investigations have concluded, they have been warned under ECDC regulations and barred from working in the preschool sector.
They are also under police investigation.
ECDA’s investigation started after a parent and the preschool separately reported alleged incidents of child mismanagement on 26 Feb 2024.
A woman had posted a series of Instagram Stories at the time, saying her son had told her about alleged mistreatment at school.
According to the boy, teachers would hit and pinch students or lock them in a “dark room” when they misbehaved.
In a TikTok video, the mother also said she had noticed “troubling changes” in her son’s behaviour, including “frequent nightmares” and hitting people.
The boy sometimes came home with bruises as well, although he initially claimed that he got them when he fell, she added.
She then received a letter from her son’s preschool about a “child mismanagement incident”.
After the report, ECDA took action including making an unannounced visit to GU+MMI Smart Kids, reviewing CCTV footage, interviewing staff and parents and verifying records.
While the three staff in question were suspended, it instructed the preschool to closely supervise and guide the remaining staff while the investigation was ongoing, so the children still enrolled were adequately cared for.
This was ensured by a full-time staff member from the preschool’s headquarters.
ECDA noted that the preschool has not had any enrolments since 21 March 2024, due to parents withdrawing their children.
Also read: Preschool teacher in S’pore kicks 5-year-old girl in the shin, gets suspended
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Featured image adapted from GUMMI Smart Kids on Facebook and @annalimsm on Instagram.
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