Application of Previous Ban on Visitors to Preschools by Parents and Parents of Newly-enrolled Children
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Ms He Ting Ru’s inquiry on whether the visitor ban on preschools still applies to parents and parents of newly-enrolled children. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social and Family Development Mr Eric Chua stated that restrictions have progressively eased since November 2021, allowing new parents limited entry. Since 26 April 2022, parents may also enter for conferences, volunteering, or tours, though casual visitors remain restricted to protect the largely unvaccinated preschool population. All visitors must continue adhering to prevailing safe management measures, including mandatory mask-wearing and health checks. These policy updates by the Early Childhood Development Agency aim to balance children’s developmental needs with the management of transmission risks.
Transcript
15 Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the previous ban on visitors to preschools, including parents and parents of newly-enrolled children, still applies.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Eric Chua) (for the Minister for Social and Family Development): Mr Speaker, in line with changes in our national COVID-19 posture, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has progressively eased visitor restrictions in our preschools. Since November last year, parents can accompany their newly-enrolled children and can do so for half a day for the first two days of preschool. For children with additional needs, preschools may exercise flexibility and allow these parents to accompany their child for a longer period. From 24 November last year, external photographers and videographers were also allowed to enter the preschool for the kindergarten graduation ceremonies.
With the recent easing of community measures, ECDA has further eased visitor restrictions to support children's learning and development. From 26 April 2022, parents may enter the preschool to attend parent-teacher conferences or as volunteers. Prospective parents may also enter the preschool to tour the preschool premises.
However, casual visitors remain restricted to lower transmission risks, as the majority of preschoolers are ineligible for vaccination. Visitors to the preschools will also be subjected to prevailing safe management measures, such as health and temperature checks and keeping their masks on at all times.