$16.50 for 5 hours: ECDA to launch childminding pilot in December

The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) will launch a home-based childminding pilot from Dec 1, under which three appointed operators will offer rates at $16.50 for five hours of infant care. 

Under this three-year pilot, parents of Singaporean infants aged two months to 18 months can contact EduNanny by Butler, Kidibliss or NannyPro Care to sign up for services under this initiative, said the agency in a statement on Thursday (Nov 21).

These operators will be engaging childminders to look after the infants. 

Childminders will also start offering services in Tampines East and Nee Soon East Community Clubs in the first half of 2025 as part of this pilot.

This is part of ECDA's trial to use community spaces to provide more convenient locations for parents.

Kidibliss, one of the three operators appointed by ECDA, told AsiaOne that it will be deploying childminders who are work-from-home mothers. 

"This is a very promising pilot programme for families and the community," added the spokesperson. 

Subsidised costs

This pilot was first announced in March by Minister of State for the Ministry of Social and Family Development Sun Xueling.

It aims to grow childminding services to be an affordable, safe and reliable infant caregiving option for parents, said the agency on Thursday.

This is part of the Government's commitment to provide greater assurance to parents in the first stage of their child's life, it added.

Each childminder will care for one to three infants at any one time and parents will be able to choose the number of days in a week they require the service based on their caregiving needs.

Infant care will be offered in five or 10-hour blocks during typical working hours — 7am to 7pm from Mondays to Fridays, excluding public holidays.

Parents who only require care for selected days of the week will only need to pay for the blocks of hours used, which will be subsidised.

The five and 10-hour blocks will cost $16.50 and $33.00 (before GST) respectively, which means that parents would pay $719.40 per month including GST if they use the services for 10-hour blocks, five days a week for four weeks.

"This is lower than the typical cost of childminding services today," said ECDA.

Parents can use CDA to offset expenses

Additionally, parents can tap on the Child Development Account (CDA) to further defray expenses for childminding services.

Operators must ensure that the homes and community spaces used for the pilot are clean, safe, and conducive for infants. They must also have amenities such as baby cots and play areas.

Childminders are also required to undergo training in infant first aid, food safety and preparation, and infant care. All childminders approved by ECDA have passed background checks.

"The safety and well-being of infants under the pilot is of utmost importance," the agency said, adding that operators or childminders in breach of any requirements will be penalised and may be removed from the pilot or barred from the industry.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com