Kindergarten teacher fired for alleged mishandling of 2-year-old boy, Latest News from Singapore

A teacher has been fired from a My First Skool preschool center in Tampines following a report of alleged inappropriate management of children.

The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) received a report from the nursery school on Sept 26 and told The Straits Times it was separately investigating comments from two other parents from the same centre.

The center removed the teacher from her care and teaching duties on September 24 and her employment ended on September 27.

The exact location of the school and the parents cannot be named, as this could lead to the identification of the child concerned, which is not permitted under the Children and Young People’s Act.

Police confirmed investigations were ongoing.

A spokesperson for NTUC First Campus, which runs My First Skool, said the teacher’s approach to managing children was “not aligned with its teaching and care standards”.

In response to ST’s questions, she said the center received comments from a parent about a teacher on September 21 and that the teacher was assigned non-teaching duties during the investigation. NTUC First Campus is fully cooperating with authorities in ongoing investigations, she added.

The mother of the child involved in the incident told ST that a teacher said her two-year-old son had suffered a fall on September 16, leaving a mark on his face.

Over the next few days, she and her husband noticed more marks on their son’s back, as well as a big change in his behavior. He began sleeping less at night and would moan and repeat the words “I don’t want to” when he saw his school uniform, the mother said.

She reported this to the center and asked to view CCTV footage of the fall, but was refused access. The center director viewed the footage and told the boy’s father that there had been no fall and that he had gotten the grades after seeing a teacher “rocking and rocking him vigorously.”

The boy’s parents filed a police complaint on September 26 and requested immediate removal from the center the next day.

“For two weeks since the incident, my husband and I did not sleep well,” the mother said.

She said she began to wonder about past incidents in which her son came back with other marks, such as a scratch under his eye and swollen bumps on his head. In August, her son came home from school with bleeding lips.

Not being able to view CCTV footage compounded their anxiety.

“When we requested the footage of the incident, we only intended to know how serious our son’s ‘mishandling’ had been. If it was something we could accept, we could have let it go. But the way the director responded to our concerns did not reassure us,” the mother said.

ECDA guidance states that parental access to CCTV footage will be granted only “for the purpose of providing an objective point of reference to clarify comments or to assist in the investigation of serious incidents occurring on the premises of nursery school”.

The agency’s Code of Practice for Early Childhood Development Centers states that CCTV cameras must be capable of recording and storing at least 30 days of footage.

The mother said she hoped the ECDA would require preschools to store more than a month’s worth of footage.

“These are children we are talking about. They are young and, like my son, are not yet able to speak for themselves,” she said.

“Our hearts will not rest until the investigations are complete and we hear the verdict. We will see this to the end. »

The NTUC First Campus spokesperson said: “We take all matters regarding staff conduct very seriously and are committed to maintaining a fair and transparent process while ensuring that all necessary steps are taken to resolve issues in accordance with our policies and procedures.

“The safety and well-being of our children remains our top priority, and any concerns regarding their care are close to our hearts. »