Professional Development Programme for Infant and Early Years Educators

For infant/early years educators or preschool educators interested to be nominated, please refer to PDP(Educators) for the refreshed PDP content and nomination details!

About PDP for Infant and Early Years Educators

The PDP for Infant and Early Years Educators is a 3-year 180-hour structured professional development (PD) programme that prepares infant / early years educators to take on larger job roles by:

A strong partnership among operators, infant / early years educators and ECDA to support the professional development of the infant and early years educators is important for the success of PDP for Infant and Early Years Educators.

Eligibility Criteria

• Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident;
• Currently employed in a pre-school registered or licensed with ECDA;
• ECDA-certified EY1/EY2/L1/L2;
• Preferably 3 years of trained teaching experience in the early childhood sector;
• Meet the relevant competencies and skills (Infant Educator/ Early Years Educator) as described in the Skills Framework for Early Childhood (SFw EC)

Overview of Programme Structure

What will I learn at the Compulsory Module?

This is a 2-full day course. At the course, you will:

• Observe, understand and document the development, interests, needs and abilities of children from birth to 36 months.
• Be equipped with skills to adapt and monitor the effectiveness of the intentional experiences to cater to the specific needs of the individual children.​
• Effectively plan for purposeful experiences to support children’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional development.
• Effectively collaborate with parents to support the young child’s development and learning.​

What is the Communities of Practice (CoP) about?

At CoP sessions, you meet up with other infant / early years educators from other centres to share experiences and knowledge and learn from each other. You can also discuss issues you face at work, explore solutions and help one another other refine ideas. You can even join your peers based on a language you are more comfortable with.
You may form a CoP with infant / early years educators you are familiar with, or choose to participate in one based on your interests and preferred language.

What is the Showcase of Learning about?

At the Showcase of Learning, you present what you have learnt and the good practices that you have uncovered to other infant / early years educators and preschool educators. It is also a chance to hear what others have learnt.

What are Electives?

There are 3 types of electives to choose from, based on your own interests and needs. You can even take up as many electives as you want! Click on each type of elective to find out more.

Examples of how to complete PDP for Infant and Early Years Educators

One of the features of PDP for Infant and Early Years Educators is that it is flexible. The examples below show how you can complete the programme milestones over the 3 years.​