Pre-school teacher suspended after kicking 5-year-old girl: ECDA

SINGAPORE - A pre-school teacher was suspended after an investigation found that she had kicked a five-year-old girl in her right shin to make her sit properly on April 2.

A spokesperson for the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) told The Straits Times on June 5 it was alerted to the incident on April 3.

ECDA said the childcare centre suspended the teacher from pre-school duties after conducting its investigations.

“The errant teacher subsequently resigned and to date, she has not been working in the pre-school sector,” ECDA said, adding that it has taken regulatory actions against the pre-school operator and the teacher involved, without elaborating.

The police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

The childcare centre did not respond to ST’s queries about the incident.

Neither the school nor the parents can be named as it could lead to the identity of the affected child, which is not allowed under the Children and Young Persons Act.

The child’s parents told ST that they reported the case to the police on April 2, and were advised to take their daughter for a medical check-up at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

A medical report seen by ST stated that the child had a 1cmx1cm haematoma, or a bad bruise on her right shin.

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In an e-mail sent to the girl’s father on May 14, ECDA said it had reviewed the childcare centre’s closed-circuit television footage and interviewed its employees.

“We have ascertained that the staff had adopted inappropriate classroom management methods when she kicked your child to make her sit properly before nap,” the agency told the father, who has since moved the child to another school.

The father said he and his wife are “extremely relieved” that the teacher in question is no longer working in the childcare centre.

He added that his daughter used to dislike any show with “villains and conflicts” before the incident, but she is now interested in martial arts for “she wants to stop the bully”, he said.

In its statement on June 5, ECDA said it requires all preschool operators to have systemic measures to keep children safe.

“Preschools must also ensure that their educators use developmentally appropriate methods to interact with children,” the agency said.

Parents and employees of pre-schools can report any suspected child mismanagement to ECDA at contact@ecda.gov.sg.

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