Pre-schools can engage relief teachers from centralised staff pool set up by ECDA

SINGAPORE – Pre-schools in need of relief teachers can tap a centralised pool of staff from two service providers appointed by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).

The two recruitment agencies – Cultivar and RecruitFirst – have a combined pool of more than 800 staff, along with over 1,600 leads that ECDA has given. These include former early childhood educators and programme staff who have consented to being contacted.

ECDA had announced in August 2024 that it was setting up a relief staff pool that all pre-schools would have access to, with the aim of easing manpower shortages and supporting pre-school teachers with work-life balance.

The pre-school sector has ramped up capacity to take in more children. As at end-2024, the sector had more than 23,000 early childhood educators, but will need another 3,500 by 2025 to support its expansion.

Babilou Family Singapore – which runs 60 pre-school centres as part of chains like KiddiWinkie Schoolhouse and Little Footprints Preschool – has drawn manpower from the centralised relief staff pool since September 2024, alongside other vendors.

It uses this service when permanent staff are away on medical, hospitalisation, maternity or annual leave, and to bridge short-term gaps.

A spokeswoman for Babilou said that while it has internal resources to cross-deploy staff, the ECDA initiative offers quick access to a larger pool of relief staff.

A spokeswoman for Little Olive Tree, which runs 19 pre-school centres, said the relief staff pool is helpful in terms of offering teachers, who have been certified, to cover both short and long absences of permanent staff. Principals can also interview staff before confirmation.

However, some older relief staff it received struggled with the physical demands of caring for younger children, while others prefer working only with older age groups.

“There are also some who do not extend help for routine care, and show an aversion to children with special needs by choosing not to interact with them,” said the Little Olive Tree spokeswoman.

The Babilou spokeswoman said that external relief staff often need to be buddied or require additional support from teachers, as they are unfamiliar with the pre-schools’ processes.

“This can add to our teachers’ workload rather than easing it, as they have to provide training and supervision.”

Concerns about cost and familiarity

Another issue smaller pre-school operators face is the cost of engaging teachers from the relief pool.

Both appointed agencies offer similar pricing. An untrained relief staff member costs $15 per hour at RecruitFirst and $16 at Cultivar. Those with a diploma in early childhood care and education cost the most – $24 at RecruitFirst and $23 at Cultivar.

Ms Mindy Chng, chief operating officer at Little Oxford Schoolhouse which runs five centres, said: “We understand that the relief agents get a cut from the per-hour rate, and the actual amount earned by the relief staff can be much lower.

“So, we choose not to engage the services as we are concerned about the cost.”

Instead, Little Oxford Schoolhouse relies on former staff who have retired or prefer part-time work arrangements.

Given that relief teachers do not handle duties like communicating with parents or preparing for lessons, Ms Chng suggested that a more reasonable hourly rate would be between $15 and $18, rather than the current $23 or $24.

Mr Tay Ee Sheng, Green Tree Montessori’s general manager, said: “Pre-schools not only have to cover the salaries of teachers on paid leave, but also incur additional costs for relief staff who may not be fully integrated into the school’s culture or familiar with the children’s needs.”

Green Tree Montessori maintains its own pool of trained educators who can be deployed across its five pre-school centres. This offers more consistency and quality, said Mr Tay.

“In the past, when we engaged external relief staff, we found that they could take on only an assistive role rather than lead classes effectively, as they were unfamiliar with our pedagogy,” he added.

Similarly, Blue Lion Preschool in Siglap estate relies on staff recommendations and former colleagues in times of manpower shortage, said its adviser, Ms Koh Hui Hua.

“It has been so helpful because at least these relief teachers come recommended and are at least partially familiar to our team,” added Ms Koh.

Correction note: This story has been edited for clarity.