MOE to pilot full-day kindergarten model at 2 centres in 2027, expand across all by 2030

The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Wednesday (Oct 28) that it will pilot a full-day model at their MOE Kindergarten (MK) Centres, come 2027.

This will first be in two centres, MK@West View and MK@Rivervale, picked for their existing infrastructure and staff structure being ready for a full-day model system, enabling a smoother transition.

MOE aims to roll out the full-day model at all other MK centres in phases, between 2028 and 2030, after incorporating learning points from the 2027 pilot.

MK currently caters to about 8,000 children across 56 centres islandwide.

The introduction of a full-day model will meet the evolving needs of more families that require full-day care for their children, following Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's announcement at this year's National Day Rally about the government's broader efforts to help families access quality and affordable preschools .

In his speech, he said the Government aims to lower full-day childcare fees at government-supported pre-schools to $150 a month by 2030.

The new full-day structure also allows for better-sustained learning and support for children — including providing those from disadvantaged backgrounds with a more seamless and supportive learning environment.

The kindergartens will operate from 7am to 7pm on weekdays during school terms and holidays, excluding public holidays, designated school holidays and centre closure days.

Parents who do not require the full-day services can continue to opt for a half-day MK programme which will run from 7am to 12.30pm.

Additions to curriculum under full-day model

While the MK curriculum will continue to focus on building children's foundations in literacy, numeracy as well as Primary 1 preparations, the full-day model introduces a wider range of learning and play experience.

The extended hours will introduce children to "Spotlight", a child-directed play programme conducted in their Mother Tongue Language , extending the experience into authentic applications of the various languages.

A core aspect of their curriculum, this boosts MK's wider focus on bilingualism and will cater to the three main mother tongue languages.

With the extended hours, parents can also expect their children to be exposed to hands-on learning experiences during the school holidays, through activities that incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, drama and visual arts.

Now, parents who require full-time care for their children can opt for Kindergarten Care (KCare), provided by an external MOE-appointed service provider.

Under the current structure, parents pay separate fees for MK and KCare.

With the new scheme, parents will pay a single fee to MOE Kindergartens, instead of separate fees for kindergarten and KCare.

For Singaporean children attending the two pilot kindergartens in 2027, the full-day programme will cost $665 a month before subsidies, while the half-day option will cost $310.

After subsidies, parents of Singaporean children will pay between $3 and $425 a month for the full-day programme, depending on their eligibility.

For the half-day programme, monthly fees after subsidies will range from $1 to $160.

Permanent residents will pay a monthly fee of $735 for the full-day programme, and $320 for the half-day programme.

Speaking to the media, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi said that the new fee structure was made to be comparable to the current combined fee that parents pay, out-of-pocket.

"One thing that I thought would be helpful to reassure our parents is that the fees for MOE Kindergarten's full-day model, will be comparable to the combined fees between MK's half-day and KCare," said Dr Syed Harun.

Parents who are looking to enroll their children into the full-day model at MKs that are not on the 2027 list can look forward to information released by March, coinciding with MK's registration exercise.

Dr Syed Harun shared that MK centres which are transiting to the new model will receive support from MOE-hired MK programme officers.

"At this point in time, we anticipate that our MK educators will still be working at the same number of hours that they do today. They will also be supported by MOE-hired MK programme officers.

"My assurance to the MK educators is that we are studying how best we can support their workload as they educate our young ones."

Dr Syed Harun also said that MOE intends to further strengthen MK educators' professional development. "The better we take care of our MK educators, the more our students continue to benefit, and learn well in our schools."

swetha.sundararajan@asiaone.com

教育部周三（10月28日）宣布，将于2027年在其教育部幼儿园（MK）中心试行全日制模式。

首先将在两个中心进行试点，分别是 MK@West View 和 MK@Rivervale，之所以选择这两个中心，是因为它们现有的基础设施和人员结构已经准备好实行全日制教学模式，从而能够实现更平稳的过渡。

教育部计划在 2028 年至 2030 年间分阶段在所有其他 MK 中心推广全日制模式，并吸取 2027 年试点项目的经验教训。

MK目前在全岛56个中心为约8000名儿童提供服务。

继总理黄循财在今年的国庆群众大会上宣布政府将采取更广泛的措施帮助家庭获得优质且价格合理的学前教育之后，全日制模式的引入将满足更多需要全日制托育子女的家庭不断变化的需求。

他在演讲中表示，政府的目标是到 2030 年将政府资助的学前教育机构的全日制托儿费用降低到每月 150 美元。

新的全日制结构也为儿童提供了更持久的学习和支持——包括为来自弱势背景的孩子提供更顺畅、更有支持的学习环境。

幼儿园在学期期间和假期的工作日从早上 7 点到晚上 7 点开放，公共假期、学校指定假期和中心关闭日除外。

不需要全天服务的家长可以继续选择半天的 MK 课程，该课程从早上 7 点到下午 12 点 30 分进行。

全日制模式下的课程补充

虽然 MK 课程将继续侧重于培养儿童的读写能力、计算能力以及小学一年级的准备，但全日制模式引入了更广泛的学习和游戏体验。

延长开放时间将向孩子们介绍“聚光灯”，这是一个以儿童母语进行的儿童主导的游戏项目，将体验扩展到各种语言的真实应用。

作为其课程的核心内容，这促进了 MK 对双语教育的更广泛关注，并将满足三种主要母语的需求。

延长上课时间后，家长们还可以期待孩子们在学校假期期间通过各种活动获得实践学习体验，这些活动涵盖科学、技术、工程和数学、戏剧和视觉艺术等领域。

现在，需要全天照料孩子的家长可以选择由教育部指定的外部服务提供商提供的幼儿园托管服务（KCare）。

在目前的制度下，家长需要为 MK 和 KCare 分别支付费用。

根据新方案，家长只需向教育部幼儿园缴纳一笔费用，而无需分别缴纳幼儿园和 KCare 的费用。

对于2027年入读新加坡两所试点幼儿园的儿童来说，全日制课程在补贴前每月费用为665新元，而半日制课程的费用为310新元。

扣除补贴后，新加坡儿童的家长每月需为全日制课程支付 3 至 425 新元，具体金额取决于他们的资格。

半日制课程的月费（含补贴）为 1 美元至 160 美元不等。

永久居民参加全日制课程每月需缴纳 735 美元的费用，参加半日制课程每月需缴纳 320 美元的费用。

教育部高级政务次长赛义德·哈伦·阿尔哈布西博士在接受媒体采访时表示，新的收费标准旨在与家长目前自掏腰包支付的综合费用相当。

“我认为有一点可以帮助家长们放心，那就是教育部幼儿园全日制模式的费用将与 MK 半日制和 KCare 的费用总和相当，”Syed Harun 博士说。

想要让孩子参加不在 2027 年名单上的 MK 的全日制课程的家长可以期待在 3 月份收到相关信息，届时 MK 也将开始注册。

Syed Harun 博士表示，正在向新模式过渡的 MK 中心将得到教育部聘请的 MK 项目官员的支持。

“目前，我们预计我们的MK教育工作者仍将保持与现在相同的工作时长。他们还将得到教育部聘请的MK项目官员的支持。”

“我向MK的教育工作者保证，我们正在研究如何才能最好地支持他们减轻教育孩子们的负担。”

赛义德·哈伦博士还表示，教育部计划进一步加强中小学教师的专业发展。“我们越重视中小学教师，我们的学生就越能从中受益，并在学校里学得更好。”

swetha.sundararajan@asiaone.com