Central Pool of Relief Manpower under Early Childhood Development Agency to Provide Help to Preschools Affected by Rise in COVID-19 Infections

5 Ms Ng Ling Ling asked the Minister for Social and Family Development as more children and teachers in pre-schools are infected with COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant and the emergence of Omicron sub-variant BA.2 overseas (a) whether there will be a central pool of relief manpower under the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) that can provide help to affected pre-schools to tide through; and (b) how is the mental wellness of the pre-school teachers being monitored, given the increased workload to manage the rise in infection.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The surge in cases due to Omicron has affected many segments of society, and the preschool sector is no exception. ECDA recognises that a high number of COVID-19 cases amongst preschool staff can disrupt preschools' operations and has put in place several measures to support preschools in managing their operations:

(a) More flexibility in manpower deployment: As all preschool staff are now fully vaccinated and are placed on weekly Rostered Routine Testing, each preschool may deploy staff across classes to deal with situations of manpower shortages, owing to staff who have been affected by COVID-19 or on medical leave. This is a relaxation of our earlier posture where the cross-deployment of staff within the preschool was restricted to minimise the risk of transmission. In areas where manpower is very tight, such as Mother Tongue Language teachers, staff may be deployed across preschools, subject to prevailing safe management measures. Preschools may also tap on relief staff who may now move across preschools to alleviate some of the manpower shortage.

(b) Flexibility in regulatory requirements: In situations where preschools are impacted by substantial staff absenteeism, ECDA works closely with the operators to initiate their business continuity plan, such as adjusting programme plans and allowing flexibility in staffing ratios.

(c) Streamlined processes: ECDA and the MOH have streamlined the contact tracing process to empower preschools with greater autonomy and make it easier for them to manage COVID-19 cases. For example, we have streamlined the process to allow preschools to submit details of close contacts directly to MOH, so that Health Risk Notices can be issued faster, thereby reducing the period of uncertainty for parents and staff.

Should preschools require additional manpower, they can source for relief manpower services on EzMart, a portal hosted by the Association of Early Childhood and Training Services' (ASSETS). Preschool operators may also source through Human Resource agencies or tap on their own pool of relief staff, such as former staff, who would be familiar with the preschool's operations and children.

To support the physical and mental well-being of staff, preschools are encouraged to monitor their staff's stress levels, consider balancing and rotating staff's responsibilities and administrative duties, provide sufficient rest breaks at reasonable intervals, as well as offer channels of support. We recognise that it may be challenging for preschools to do so where manpower is very tight. Nonetheless, we encourage preschools to press on with their efforts to shore up staff's physical and mental well-being. Preschools can tap on support provided by the Health Promotion Board, including health screening, health coaching, as well as health talks and workshops tailored for educators, covering topics, such as mental wellness.

We recognise that preschool staff have been working tirelessly since the start of the pandemic, to ensure that our children remain safe. To appreciate their contribution towards our national efforts to fight COVID-19, and in conjunction with the Early Childhood Conference 2021, ECDA distributed care packs to all preschool staff. In addition, as part of Teachers' Day celebrations last year, the Association for Early Childhood Educators Singapore (AECES) and Preschool Market also organised a ground-up initiative known as Special Treats, where preschool educators received sponsored gift items, promotions and complimentary self-care and wellness workshops to encourage them to take time for self-care.

ECDA will continue to work with operators to improve the well-being of preschool staff, in line with the Government's continued efforts to uplift the Early Childhood sector.

As keeping our preschools safe and healthy is a collective effort, we encourage parents to support our preschool staff by playing their part to monitor closely their children's health. Children who are unwell should stay at home to rest, consult a primary care doctor if needed, and return to preschool only when they have fully recovered. We also encourage parents whose children are five years old and older and medically eligible, to register them for COVID-19 vaccination to give them better protection.