ECDA investigating potential breach over abrupt closure of Little Paddington Preschool's Bishan branch
SINGAPORE: The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) is investigating a preschool for giving parents just one day's notice of a branch closure.
Parents of children enrolled at Little Paddington Preschool's Bishan centre were only informed on May 30 that the school's lease of its premises would be expiring on May 31.
The school later delayed the closure to Jun 10, and offered enrolment in another branch, and transport for affected children.
Under ECDA rules, preschools must provide six months' notice.
'ECDA was informed of Little Paddington Preschool Bishan's cessation last Friday, May 30, 2025, and is working closely with the preschool to support affected parents,' said the regulator on Monday (Jun 2) in response to CNA queries.
'The preschool has since secured an extension of their lease to Jun 13, 2025, and are actively engaging the parents to render assistance. '
Little Paddington Preschool currently has 10 branches across Singapore. The closest branch to its Bishan location, Little Paddington Preschool Thomson Walk, is around 5km away, or about 10 minutes' drive.
When contacted by CNA, the preschool said it has 16 children enrolled in its Bishan branch.
'The preschool has offered parents the option to transfer their children to other Little Paddington Preschools,' said ECDA.
The regulator added that the Little Paddington Preschool will also provide complimentary bus services to and from the preschool for children who transfer to the Thomson Walk branch until the end of 2025.
"ECDA will render assistance should parents require further help in securing a place at another preschool," it added.
Little Paddington Preschool said it had been advised by ECDA on the appropriate next steps.
'While we initially assumed there was only a transition to the new site over the weekend, we have managed to prolong the transition to over a week, so that the children are supported," Little Paddington Preschool chief operating officer Pooja Patodia told CNA.
She added that the children would be going on excursion trips to the Thomson Walk branch to facilitate their transition, with their teachers moving with the children to ensure a more seamless experience. Free transport for the children will also be available to those who require it.
"We are focused on ensuring that the care and education of the children continue to be smooth and that parents receive ample support," said Ms Patodia.
According to ECDA regulations, preschools considering cessation of operations must provide six months' notice to both parents and ECDA before ceasing operations.
The preschools must also inform parents and ECDA once they are notified of the possibility of non-renewal of tenancy agreements.
'Operators that breach these requirements may face regulatory actions, including being issued warning letters or barred from applying for future preschool licences,' said ECDA.
'ECDA will take regulatory action on this preschool if our investigations find that they have not done their due diligence to meet our regulatory requirements.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
International Business Times
4 hours ago
- International Business Times
Malaysia Set to Enforce VEP for Singapore-Registered Vehicles from July 1
Malaysia is all set to enforce the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) for Singapore-registered vehicles crossing land borders starting July 1 to improve road safety. Transport minister Loke Siew Fook said in a press conference on Wednesday, June 4, that vehicles without a valid VEP would be issued a RM300 compound fine, which must be paid before they are allowed to leave Malaysia. "We're enforcing this from July 1 because ample time has already been given. As we've said before, we started with a soft advocacy approach on Oct 1, 2024," Fook said. The VEP system was introduced eight years ago, in 2017. It was postponed again, in 2019 and 2020, before being reintroduced last year. A similar VEP system is being developed for foreign-registered automobiles arriving from southern Thailand. Loke stated that anyone who have pre-registered but have yet to finish the VEP process will be punished and must pay the punishment before leaving the country. He added, "There's another category – company-owned private vehicles. If these do not have a valid VEP and no registration was ever made, the driver of the company vehicle will be fined." "However, if the vehicle has been pre-registered, we will issue a reminder notice instead of a fine. For this category, we are offering a bit more leeway because the process involves submitting various company documents." Loke stated that enforcement actions would take place outside of border crossings to avoid congestion. Fines must be paid cashless at road transport department (JPJ) counters, JPJ Mobile units, or online through MyEG. During the soft enforcement phase, officials randomly scanned 52,012 Singapore-registered vehicles and sent 2,245 reminder warnings (4.32%) to those who lacked VEPs. As of June 2, 231,018 RFID tags had been issued for individual private vehicles, including 2,660 for company-owned private vehicles.
CNA
8 hours ago
- CNA
Two Chinese nationals charged over theft on Scoot flight from KL to Singapore
Two Chinese nationals could face up to three years in jail, after they were arrested for theft on a Scoot flight on Jun 2. Two debit cards and S$169 in cash were allegedly stolen. Court documents said a crime committed on a Singapore-registered plane is subject to Singapore law, regardless of where the plane is flying. An off-duty police officer on the flight saw the accused acting suspiciously and alerted the authorities after disembarking from the aircraft. Mr John Tan, lead professional officer of SIT's aviation management degree programme, shared more about in-flight thefts and what airlines are doing to tackle the issue.
New Paper
8 hours ago
- New Paper
Look Hoo's trying to go one better
It has been three years to the day, and David Probert has hardly gone through a day without reliving the bittersweet moment of "the one that got away" in UK's most famous flat race, the Epsom Derby. On June 4, 2022, the Welsh jockey felt the adrenaline rush kicking shortly after Tattenham Corner when he began weaving a passage on his 150-1 mount Hoo Ya Mal for his former master Andrew Balding. But, when he saw daylight at the 500m, he knew deep down he would have to settle for second-best. The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Desert Crown (Richard Kingscote) was in full flight and beyond catching. Hoo Ya Mal still ran out of his skin, clipping down the deficit on the winner to 2½ lengths, while holding off a late charge from Westover to win the battle for the minors by a head. Probert, 34, has since not sat on a Derby contender again, leaving it to fate to gift him with a second chance to go one better one day, so he can realise his boyhood dream. As fate would have it, Hoo Ya Mal's owner, Ahmad Al Shaikh has turned dream-maker for the 1,600-odd race-winning jockey again. The Dubai brain behind Green Team Racing has booked Probert on the Owen Burrows-trained Al Wasl Storm, and yet again, they head in as overlooked underdogs. The three-year-old grey by Affinisea is another long shot at cricket odds, just a touch better than Hoo Ya Mal at 100-1. Probert, whose highest acclaim is an overseas Group 2 win aboard Highland Knight for Balding in the Oettingen-Rennen at Baden-Baden in Germany in 2012, is fully aware of the racing conundrum facing him in the £1.5 million (S$2.6 million) Group 1 2,400m race on June 7 (10.30pm Singapore time). Overjoyed to finally get a chance to soothe the three-year-long hurt, he is, however, sitting atop a horse bred for jumps against a host of Derby bluebloods. Yet, he knows first-hand about the romance of just being a ticket holder and even coming so close to hitting the jackpot. "A Derby win would be massive. We all grow up wanting to ride in a race like this, compete at a high level," said Probert. "Hoo Ya Mal ran a great second in the Derby. I watched that race plenty of times. "I got a nice split down the inside. Hoo Ya Mal was renowned to be quite keen, but we managed to get a nice split through the inside. "But, lo and behold, Desert Crown was still on the bridle on the outside a furlong down. "I was still delighted. This is what this is all about, isn't it? Trying to find these horses and hopefully, we found one." Like most jockeys saddled with a "no-hoper", Probert would rather look for any silver lining. "He actually has a good profile about him. He hasn't had much experience," he said. "He's done very little wrong in all the starts that he's had." Probert was aboard at the last two of Al Wasl Storm's three starts, including the last when he broke his maiden tag in a 2,400m race at Chester on May 9, but said the character-building run outweighed the win. "Chester is renowned as a good Derby trial. He seemed to handle the sharp ends and quick track very well," he said. "It feels like as if, mentally, he's grown up a lot. He was still quite raw going into Chester. "He had to do things the hard way from the front. He galloped it out relentlessly. "So, I'd imagine a mile and a half around a track like Epsom could suit him. He's a well-balanced horse and has a good mind on him." Al Wasl Storm had a first taste of the undulating Epsom course in an easy stretch-out on May 28. "It was nice to get him on the track with lovely ground this morning," said Probert. "We just took it from the mile. He never had a lead, we just allowed him to use himself, he quickened up well. "I'm delighted with the way he is in himself. Al Shaikh is a passionate fellow, and I'd just love for him to run well for him. "This is what dreams are made of. You've got to be in it to win it." manyan@
