THE report last Saturday ("More pre-schools with lower fees in the pipeline") stated that childcare operators under the partner operator scheme will have to attain government certification for quality.
I suppose the Ministry of Social and Family Development was referring to the Singapore Pre-School Accreditation Framework (Spark).
However, is this an assurance of consistent pre-school quality?
I recently helped a friend to search for a childcare centre for her children.
While checking the Early Childhood Development Agency (Ecda) website, I was surprised to find that nine Spark-accredited centres had licence tenures of 12 months or less.
These made up 4.2 per cent of such centres.
Having a six-month licence tenure means that the centre has not adequately met requirements on physical environment, safety, health, hygiene, nutrition, staff training, programme and curriculum, as well as administration.
In contrast, a 24-month licence tenure means the centre has exceeded Ecda's licensing requirements and is a high-quality centre.
I wonder how many Spark-accredited childcare centres will be awarded only the six- or 12-month licence when they renew their licence during the Spark certificate's three-year validity period.
Isn't Spark certification meant for centres that perform better than those without such certification?
Why, then, do some Spark-certified centres have shorter licence tenures than some non-Spark-certified centres?
Shouldn't centres that fail to attain the 24-month licence have their Spark certification revoked?
Chua Wei Ying (Madam)
I suppose the Ministry of Social and Family Development was referring to the Singapore Pre-School Accreditation Framework (Spark).
However, is this an assurance of consistent pre-school quality?
I recently helped a friend to search for a childcare centre for her children.
While checking the Early Childhood Development Agency (Ecda) website, I was surprised to find that nine Spark-accredited centres had licence tenures of 12 months or less.
These made up 4.2 per cent of such centres.
Having a six-month licence tenure means that the centre has not adequately met requirements on physical environment, safety, health, hygiene, nutrition, staff training, programme and curriculum, as well as administration.
In contrast, a 24-month licence tenure means the centre has exceeded Ecda's licensing requirements and is a high-quality centre.
I wonder how many Spark-accredited childcare centres will be awarded only the six- or 12-month licence when they renew their licence during the Spark certificate's three-year validity period.
Isn't Spark certification meant for centres that perform better than those without such certification?
Why, then, do some Spark-certified centres have shorter licence tenures than some non-Spark-certified centres?
Shouldn't centres that fail to attain the 24-month licence have their Spark certification revoked?
Chua Wei Ying (Madam)
