Committee of Supply 2021: KidSTART to expand to more regions to benefit another 5,000 children by around 2023

Advancing Support For Children In Preschools – Greater Accessibility, Affordability, Quality And Inclusion

Expanding Support for Children from Low-Income Families

Expanding KidSTART to more regions

4 Under the KidSTART programme, ECDA goes upstream to provide added support to children aged 0 to 6 from low-income families. KidSTART supports parents with the knowledge and skills to nurture their children’s early development, including their physical and socio-emotional health and well-being, and works with community and corporate partners to support families holistically. Since 2016, KidSTART has benefitted over 1,000 children living in the pilot regions of Kreta Ayer, Bukit Merah, Taman Jurong, Boon Lay and Geylang Serai. PM Lee had announced at NDR 2019 that the Government will expand KidSTART to more regions to benefit another 5,000 children by around 2023.

5 In 2020, we started expanding KidSTART to Woodlands and Bedok. In Oct 2020, we had also announced plans to expand to Ang Mo Kio, Sembawang and Yishun in 2021. We will now expand KidSTART further to Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok and Bukit Panjang to benefit more families. A dedicated KidSTART Singapore office has been set up to partner an anchor Social Service Agency (SSA) in each region, to support coordinated outreach to families and the implementation of KidSTART programmes.

Expanding Growing Together with KidSTART to more partners

6 Through the Growing Together with KidSTART initiative launched in 2019, the Government will continue to deepen and forge partnerships with the community. Besides deepening partnerships with existing partners such as Prudential Singapore and EtonHouse Community Fund, we have forged new partnerships with organisations such as SP Group and The LEGO Group. Since 2019, interested corporates and individuals have contributed $1.85 million in donations and over $343,000 of in-kind sponsorship items to benefit KidSTART families. We also plan to grow our pool of volunteers to reach more families. More details are at Annex C.

Extracted from: https://www.msf.gov.sg/media-room/article/Advancing-Support-For-Children-In-Preschools-Greater-Accessibility-Affordability-Quality-And-Inclusion