The pre-schools that my children attend periodically have staff professional development days, during which the school shuts down for an entire day.

I imagine such shutdowns greatly inconvenience all parents involved, but especially so for double-income nuclear families.

Can the authorities investigate the feasibility of maintaining a team of pre-school educators who can be called upon to assist when pre-schools send teachers for such Continuing Professional Development courses, so the schools can stay open?

It would definitely make a difference to stretched parents who need to look for alternative arrangements for child-minding during these ad hoc shutdowns.

This team would also be able to help disseminate best practices and highlight problematic or latent issues since they would have exposure across many pre-schools.

Jonathan Khoo Chew Hoe