Shuttered during the circuit breaker, enrichment centres reached out to families in novel ways.

Happy Fish Swim School held live-stream sessions on Facebook to teach parents how to guide their toddlers to do swimming movements in a small bathtub at home.

Da Little Arts School launched DaBox, a craft box with different themes that proved to be a hit with parents needing to occupy their little ones during the stay-in period.

As virtual learning became the norm overnight, vendors like Flying Cape, an online booking platform for tuition and enrichment, began working with overseas providers to offer online enrichment, including Chinese language and art from China, and music lessons from London and Malaysia.

Once centres were allowed to resume lessons in June, many saw long waiting lists forming as parents sought to give their little ones a sense of normality with fun classes. At the same time, they faced rising costs because of enhanced safety measures and capacity limits.

Perhaps one of the most innovative ideas came from Swish! Swimming school. It launched socially distanced swim pod classes for babies and their parents, complete with Instagrammable backdrops and props, as well as luxe pods with their own filtration and sanitisation systems.