'Not aligned with care standards': My First Skool fires teacher over claims of child mismanagement

SINGAPORE — A teacher has been fired from a My First Skool pre-school centre in Tampines following a report of alleged inappropriate child management.

The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) received a report from the pre-school on Sept 26, and told The Straits Times (ST) it is separately looking into feedback from two other parents at the same centre.

The centre removed the teacher from care and teaching duties on Sept 24, and her employment was terminated on Sept 27.

The exact school location and the parents cannot be named, as it could lead to the identification of the affected child, which is not allowed under the Children and Young Persons Act.

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Police have confirmed that investigations are ongoing.

A spokesman for NTUC First Campus, which manages My First Skool, said the teacher's approach to managing children was "not aligned with its teaching and care standards".

In response to queries from ST, she said the centre received feedback from a parent about a teacher on Sept 21, and the teacher was assigned non-teaching duties during the investigation. NTUC First Campus is fully cooperating with the authorities with ongoing investigations, she added.

The mother of the child involved in the incident told ST a teacher had said her two-year-old son had a fall on Sept 16 which caused a mark on his face.

In the following days, she and her husband noticed other marks on their son's back, as well as a big change in behaviour. He started sleeping less at night, and would wail and repeat the words "don't want" when he saw his school uniform, the mother said.

She reported it to the centre and asked to view CCTV footage of the fall, but was denied access. The principal of the centre viewed the footage and told the boy's father that there was no fall and that he got the marks after a teacher was seen "cradling and rocking him vigorously".

The boy's parents lodged a police report on Sept 26, and requested for an immediate withdrawal from the centre the next day.

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

She said she began to wonder about past incidents where her son came back with other marks, like a scratch under his eye and swollen bumps on his head. In August, her son came back from school with his lip bleeding.

Not being able to view any CCTV footage worsened their anxiety.

"When we asked for the footage from the incident, we only intended to know how bad the 'mishandling' of our son was. If it was something we can accept, we could have let it slide. But the way the principal addressed our concerns didn't put our hearts at ease," the mother said.

ECDA's guidelines say that parents' access to CCTV footage will be granted only for the "purposes of providing an objective reference point to clarify feedback or to assist the investigation of serious incidents within the pre-school premises".

The agency's Code of Practice for Early Childhood Development Centres states that CCTV cameras must be able to record and store at least 30 days of footage.

The mother said she hopes that ECDA would require pre-schools to store more than one month's worth of footage.

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"This is children we are talking about. They are young and, like my son, have yet to be able to speak for themselves," she said.

"Our hearts will not rest until investigations are concluded and we hear the verdict. We will see this through until the end."

The spokesman for NTUC First Campus said: "We take all matters concerning staff conduct very seriously, and are committed to maintaining a fair and transparent process while ensuring that all necessary steps are taken to address the issues in line with our policies and procedures.

"The safety and well-being of our children remain our top priority, and all concerns regarding their care are important to us."

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.