A workgroup will be set up by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to look at how to better integrate children with learning needs into pre-schools.
The group will be made up of representatives from community groups, voluntary welfare organisations, as well as the government, academic and private sectors.
It will study ways to strengthen support for children with moderate to severe developmental needs within pre-schools, and extend good practices to more centres.
Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee also announced that early intervention programmes will be transferred from MSF’s Disability Office to the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) in stages.
The rationale for the shift is so that the agency will have better oversight of developmental needs of all children under the age of seven, given that more early intervention is being delivered through preschools.
“Starting early, getting all our children, our young Singaporeans, to interact with children of all backgrounds and all needs, and all developmental pathways, is a good start,” Mr Lee said.
In January, the MSF announced plans to make early intervention more affordable and better customise support for children.
Mrs Phoon Chew Ping, group child support officer for NTUC First Campus, also added that it would help the early intervention scene to be a bigger part of the mainstream pre-school setting, so that support will be strengthened.
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Source: The Straits Times, 11 April 2019