Who We Are
The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) serves as the regulatory and developmental authority for the early childhood sector in Singapore, overseeing key aspects of children's development below the age of 7, across both kindergartens and child care centres.
ECDA is an autonomous agency jointly overseen by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), and is hosted under the Ministry of Social and Family Development.
ECDA was officially launched on 1st April 2013.
Our Vision
A Good Start For Every Child
We believe that all children in Singapore, regardless of background, deserve a positive early childhood experience through quality care and education, which nurtures holistic development and builds a strong foundation by instilling a love for learning.
Our Mission
To Ensure Every Child Has Access To Affordable And Quality Early Childhood
Development Services And Programmes
We promote accessibility by master-planning the infrastructure and manpower resources to support the early childhood sector.
We enhance affordability by providing subsidies and grants to keep quality pre-school programmes affordable.
We develop capabilities and raise the quality standards of Centres and Professionals through:
1. Regulation, quality assurance and the provision of early childhood development resources
2. Opportunities provided for professional development of early childhood educators
3. Working with parents to support their children's development through public education and outreach
Our Core Values
Care, Commitment, Collaboration
We care for the people we serve and the people we work with.
We are committed to serve and to strive for excellence through continuous learning and innovation.
We value collaboration and seek synergy through closer partnerships with our stakeholders.
What We Do
ECDA's key responsibilities are to:
1. Oversee measures to raise quality standards of early childhood programmes, including regulation, quality assurance, and the provision of early childhood development resources;
2. Facilitate the training and continuing professional development of early childhood professionals;
3. Master-plan for infrastructure and manpower resources to support the early childhood sector;
4. Provide subsidies and grants to keep quality pre-school programmes affordable, especially for low- and middle-income families;
5. Conduct public education and outreach to raise parents' awareness and support for their children's development; and,
6. Uplift the image and professionalism of the early childhood sector through strategic partnerships and programmes.
Who We Serve
We provide support to diverse groups of stakeholders, including the following:
1. Children attending infant and child care centres, and kindergartens
2. New and existing early childhood professionals
3. Parents, families and the wider community of caregivers
4. Child care centre and kindergarten operators
Our People
Contact details and team members
About the Early Childhood Landscape
The Singapore pre-school landscape today comprises both kindergartens and child care centres.
Kindergartens
Kindergartens provide pre-school developmental programme for children from about 2 years to below 7 years of age. The programme consists of at least Kindergarten 1 and Kindergarten 2. It can further include Playgroup, Pre-Nursery (or Nursery 1), Nursery (or Nursery 2). Most kindergarten sessions range between 2 and 3 hours for Playgroup and Pre-Nursery, and between 3 and 4 hours for Nursery to Kindergarten 2 for 5 days a week. Kindergartens were previously registered by MOE, but have come under the oversight of ECDA since 1st April 2013
You can search for a kindergarten
onhttp://app.msf.gov.sg/dfcs/kindergarten/default.aspx.
Child Care Centres
Child care centres provide child care services and pre-school developmental programmes for children aged between 18 months and below 7 years old. Several centres also provide infant care programmes for infants aged between 2 and 18 months old. Centres may offer full-day, half-day and flexible programmes to cater to the different working schedules of parents. Child care centres were licensed by MSF, but have come under the oversight of ECDA since 1st April 2013.
You can search for a child care centre on www.childcarelink.gov.sg.