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The anchor operator scheme has expanded from two to five
operators in January 2014, to increase provision of good
quality and affordable programmes. Non-anchor operators are
also supported through other schemes to help them expand
in areas where early childhood services are in demand, and to
improve teaching and learning outcomes of children.
The Singapore Pre-school Accreditation Framework was
introduced in 2011, to raise the quality of education and
care in childcare centres and kindergartens. It encourages
centres to raise quality though self-monitoring and external
evaluation, and allows parents to make informed choices
based on centre quality.
Apart from the above efforts, the Child Development
Network (CDN), a people-private-public initiative, champions
quality early childhood care and development in Singapore.
Since 2010, the CDN has been working through various plat-
forms such as the CDN online portal, to share good practices
and knowledge on early childhood care and education.
For families with seniors, a range of eldercare facili-
ties located within neighbourhoods is available to enable
seniors to age-in-place within the community. New Senior
Care Centres (SCCs), which integrate health and social
care within the same facility, have been rolled out and are
being built accross the country. Families can drop their
elderly parents at these SCCs during the day to receive care,
and pick them up after work.
Home-based care services, where medical and care staff
provide services at the seniors’ homes, are also being ramped
up to support seniors who prefer to age at home. The
Government aims to serve up to 10,000 home care clients
by 2020. There are also plans for 10 new nursing homes to
be built in neighbourhoods across the island by 2016, to
support seniors who cannot be cared for at home. This will
make it more convenient for their families to visit them.
Various schemes are also available to help families support
and enable seniors to age-in-place at home and within the
community. Families with seniors can apply for the Foreign
Domestic Worker (FDW) Grant which allows families employ-
ing an FDW to care for a senior with moderate disability to
receive a S$120 monthly grant to offset the costs of employ-
ing the FDW. The Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund also
provides subsidies for seniors who need assistive devices like
motorized chairs, healthcare consumables and transport to
and from day-care centres. Finally, the Caregivers Training
Grant allows caregivers of seniors to tap into a S$200 annual
subsidy to attend care-giving training courses at their own
convenience so they can take better care of their loved ones.
Singapore adopts a promotional approach in encouraging
the adoption of good work-life practices through tripartite
collaboration. This is mainly done through the Tripartite
Committee (TriCom) on Work-Life Strategy, which works
closely with stakeholders to encourage employers to imple-
ment flexible work arrangements.
Some of the key initiatives include the Work-Life
Excellence Award and Work-Life Conference to recognize
employers who are forerunners in the work-life area and
bring together thought leaders in this area to share their
expertise with other employers. The Work-Life Conference
in November 2013 was attended by over 400 employers and
human resources practitioners, union officials and govern-
ment representatives, as well as international delegates
from Asia. The conference, which focused on the concept of
workplace flexibility to transform workplaces into future-
ready workplaces, was well-received by the participants. In
The Work-Life Excellence Award recognizes employers who are at the forefront of implementing work-life strategies that benefit the business and employees
Image: Ministry of Manpower, Singapore