It is "seriously wrong" for Kinderland preschool to institute a policy of no personal devices during teaching hours after at least two cases of alleged child abuse were reported, said Ho Ching in a Facebook post on Sep. 2, 2023.

Instead, the preschool should put in place a proper whistleblower system and process, she further contended.

Ho's remarks came three days after Kinderland announced on its social media page that it would now make it a policy for its staff not to use their personal devices during teaching hours to "prevent the misuse of photos and videos" of its students.

Earlier that day, a former teacher of the preschool admitted that she filmed the child abuse videos with her husband's device and claimed that her principal did not take her seriously when she approached the principal about her colleague's mistreatment of students.

Kinderland has since clarified that the policy restricting personal device usage does not apply if teachers "would like to report on peculiar situations including emergencies". In such cases, staff are encouraged to "capture images or footage using any devices".

Institutions should implement 'whistleblower system' instead

In her post, Ho said that everyone who is running a preschool, an infant care, a nursery, or a kindergarten should take the safety and security of the young charges under their care "as an absolute" because young kids are "highly vulnerable."

As such, instead of trying to prevent anyone from using their personal devices to record evidence for possible child abuse, these institutions should put in place a proper whistleblower system and process.

She then went on to question whether Kinderland implemented the no-personal-device policy to "cover up the embarrassment" resulting from the recent scandal and prevent video evidence of child abuse from being recorded in the future.

If so, Ho contended that it is "absolutely" the wrong approach.

Ex-teacher should only upload videos of child abuse to social media as 'last resort'

Ho also believed the teacher who filmed the videos was right, especially as a "last resort" to expose the child abuse cases after her principal refused to take her feedback seriously.

However, while contending that the principal should be "taken to task", Ho also shared that the teacher should have reported to the kindergarten management as the next step if she felt the principal did not take her feedback seriously.

If the principal and the management of the kindergarten ignored reports of child abuse, they would be equally "irresponsible" as the teacher who is abusing the kids, she argued.

In the event such a case takes place, the next step for the teacher is to report to the Early Childhood Development Agency as the regulatory agency, the police, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Social Family Development, said Ho.

"Only as the last resort should the videos be uploaded onto social media. And, even then, all efforts should be taken to protect the identities of the children affected," she added.

Pre-school service providers should have pledge & code of conduct

In a separate post published on the morning of Sep. 3, Ho also called for all preschool staff to have a similar pledge and code of conduct to guide their practices like professional nurses in Singapore.

Furthermore, this pledge and code of conduct should cover everyone who is involved in pre-school services, "from contract staff to principals, from operator management and board to regulator staff and board, from infant care to nursery and kindergarten, and well into the early years of primary school," she added.

Here, Ho was referring to the Nurse's Pledge and the "Code for Nurses and Midwives" issued by the Singapore Nursing Board (SNB).

The latter sets out the professional conduct, ethical values, and practice standards that every nurse and midwife in Singapore must act upon and uphold, according to SNB.

Additionally, the Code also serves as a guide to assist in ethical decisions faced by nurses as well as midwives and provides a framework for the regulation of nursing as well as midwifery practice in Singapore.

In the event of professional misconduct, SNB may take disciplinary action against the nurse and midwife.

Statement from Kinderland

In a statement issued by Kinderland on Sep. 2, the early childhood education provider said that the "no-personal device" policy for teachers during lesson time was to "ensure that teachers are focused on their children and undistracted by their devices."

Additionally, this policy would also ensure the privacy of its students, their families, and its teachers, added Kinderland.

"In cases where teachers would like to report on peculiar situations including emergencies, Kinderland encourages its staff to capture images or footage using any devices and report such situations swiftly," the statement read.

According to Kinderland, the statement was issued after it organised dialogue sessions with 96 parents at Woodlands Mart, which aimed at addressing the videos highlighting "child mismanagement" by its staff that had been circulating on social media in recent days.

The sessions were helmed by the General Manager of Kinderland Singapore, Seet Lee Kiang, during which a new principal for Kinderland Preschool at Woodlands Mart was also introduced.

Top images via Ho Ching & Rebecca Leong/Facebook