MSF to investigate alleged childcare abuse incident

MSF to investigate alleged childcare abuse incident

    By Sara Grosse and Kimberly Spykerman
    POSTED: 07 Jul 2013 7:51 PM

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will conduct a thorough investigation of the alleged childcare abuse incident at My First Skool, said Acting Minister Chan Chun Sing on Sunday.

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will conduct a thorough investigation of the alleged childcare abuse incident at My First Skool, said Acting Minister Chan Chun Sing on Sunday.

The investigation will include the training of the centre's staff, their supervision, and incident management procedures.

The acting minister said the findings will be shared with other childcare operators to allow everyone to learn from it.

Mr Chan added that his ministry is looking at the case very seriously as it concerns the safety of children.

He said: "This is a very timely reminder of the heavy responsibility that all of us have in taking care of children, as childcare operators and also as education providers.

"There are rules in place, there are frameworks in place for the conduct of any activities and lessons and we expect all these rules and frameworks to be followed and of course we will also be looking to see how all this can be improved to give our parents the sense of assurance."

The minister also said that there are considerations to implement CCTVs across the pre-school sector.

He however cautioned that while such surveillance has been useful in resolving misunderstandings, technology should not be seen as the solution.

The quality and commitment of teachers should be more important, he said.

Separately, Senior Minister of State for Education Indranee Rajah said the alleged incident underscores the fact that it is important for all childcare centres, or any place with children under their care, to ensure that their charges are well looked after.

She added that while the exact circumstances of the case are not known yet, it is important that the matter is being looked into.

Ms Indranee also said that the child's health and well-being is the most important thing.

She said: "At the present time, because investigations are still ongoing it's still premature to reach definitive outcomes... but I think that it's important the matter is being looked into. What I can say in general is that all childcare givers would obviously have to make sure that the children under their care are properly taken care of.

"One must always bear in mind that children are young, they're vulnerable, they obviously don't think and act like adults. And so long as they are under your care, you must ensure that the environment that you place them in, and the way you interact with them are in their best interests."

- CNA/jc

- wong chee tat :)