SINGAPORE – Early childhood educators will have a five-day work week from Jan 1, 2025, when childcare centres will no longer be mandated to provide their services on Saturdays.

This is part of ongoing efforts to improve the teachers’ working conditions, said the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) on Wednesday.

Currently, demand for childcare services on Saturdays is low.

To allow early childhood educators to benefit from the change earlier, starting from Jan 1, 2024, childcare centres can close on Saturdays if there is no demand for their services.

Operators with multiple centres will also be allowed to aggregate demand and operate out of designated centres on Saturdays if needed.

Childcare centres will also be allowed to state in their service agreement with parents that there will be no Saturday services for newly enrolled children from Jan 1, 2024.

New childcare centres that start operations in 2024 will not have to provide Saturday services.

This phased implementation will allow the small number of families affected to make necessary arrangements, said ECDA.

“The expectation to work on Saturdays weighs down on educators, who want to spend more time with their families on weekends and recharge,” said Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli at the annual Professional Development Programme appointment ceremony organised by ECDA.

He added that the move will help retain educators in the sector while attracting more Singaporeans to join and support the ongoing increase in the number of pre-school places.

ECDA had surveyed more than 8,000 families and about 800 childcare centres over the past 10 months, with 98 per cent of families saying that they do not require Saturday services as they can care for their children themselves or tap alternative arrangements.

The educators surveyed said they found it challenging to spend time with loved ones and to recharge as they have to work overtime or on Saturdays.

Pre-school operators also indicated that it is inefficient to deploy educators on Saturdays to look after a small group of children.

ECDA said the Ministry of Social and Family Development will continue to explore ways to improve caregiving options for families.

Ms Poh Kai Lin, 27, a lead English teacher at NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool, welcomed the move to end Saturday services.

She said that having a two-day weekend will give teachers time and space to recharge, run errands or pursue hobbies – in her case, trampoline classes.

“Parents will also be able to spend more quality time with their children on weekends to bond as a family,” she added.

In her centre at Block 197, Pasir Ris Street 12, there is usually only one child on Saturdays.

Two teachers take turns to care for the child, while the other two or three teachers on duty spend the time making lesson plans or preparing their learning environment or teaching materials.

Ms Poh said she works one Saturday each month, from 7am to 2pm. The centre operates from 7am to 7pm on weekdays, with teachers working 9½-hour shifts daily with a one-hour break.

Ms Yasmin Balik, 35, the principal of Morning Glory childcare centre in Bukit Batok, is relieved and happy about the changes. “With the well-being of the teachers taken care of, they can also perform better when teaching and caring for the children,” she said.

There is usually only one child at her centre on one Saturday each month, though one teacher is on duty every Saturday.

The teacher would help to wash cots and toys, or prepare for lessons if there are no children to care for, said Ms Yasmin.

With the changes, time can be set aside during the week for teachers to prepare for the curriculum, and a part-time cleaner could be hired on Saturdays, she suggested.

At Wednesday’s event held at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, Mr Masagos also launched the Early Childhood Industry Transformation Map 2025.

This is the second road map, following the one in 2018, and focuses on jobs and skills.

ECDA will work with stakeholders such as pre-school operators and educators to develop innovative and quality pre-school services, such as building larger childcare centres for more efficient operations and exploring new and flexible service models.

It will also drive digital transformation to improve productivity and service delivery.

The sector will work to become more resilient, such as against pandemics, with enhanced business continuity capabilities.

To make the early childhood profession a career of choice, salaries will be raised so that they are market-competitive, and the 24,000-strong workforce will be boosted by at least 2,500 by 2025.