By Ramesh Subbaraman
Parents in Sengkang and Punggol can look forward to 1,000 new child care places by mid-2016, as construction of two new large child care centres begins this month.
The centre in Sengkang will be run by NTUC First Campus’s My First Skool, which is an anchor operator appointed by the Early Childhood Development Agency. It will have a capacity of 500 child care places.
A Growing Demand
The Early Childhood Development Agency said the centres are part of the Government’s continued efforts to meet the growing demand for quality and affordable child care in young estates.
Registration for places will open in January 2016. Meanwhile, three larger child care centres, with a capacity of 300 places each, will be built in Jurong West, Woodlands and Yishun by end 2016.
This is in addition to new child care centres that are being pre-built alongside Build-To-Order flats to meet the child care needs of young families moving into these estates.
Meeting Parents Needs
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for the centre being run by NTUC First Campus in Sengkang on 11 August 2015, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin said the government understands the needs of parents with young children in the housing estates.
Meanwhile, an Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC) centre run by the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA Ltd) will be co-located with the child care centre at Sengkang.
This EIPIC centre will serve up to 300 children with special needs to receive therapy services.
