educators

Professional Development Programme for Preschool Educators

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR
PRESCHOOL 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!

Early childhood professionals play a key role in providing a good start for every child. The Professional Development Programme (PDP) for Preschool Educators is a 3-year programme to support the professional development of preschool educators with the potential to take on larger job roles in their organisations.​

A strong tripartite partnership between operators, preschool educators and ECDA to support the professional development of the preschool educators is key to the success of PDP for Preschool Educators.​​​​ ​

Key Features

Some key features of the PDP for Preschool Educators include:

  • Variety of Professional Development opportunities to suit participant’s needs and interests
  • Flexibility to complete courses at participant’s own pace within 3 years;
  • Bond-free; and
  • Annual cash awards after completion of programme and service milestones.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident;
  • Currently employed in a pre-school registered or licensed with ECDA;
  • ECDA-certified L2;
  • Preferably 3 years of relevant teaching experience in the Early Childhood sector (based on date of DECCE-T attainment to date of PDP appointment in April);
  • Meet the relevant competencies and skills (Preschool Educator) as described in the Skills Framework for Early Childhood (SFw EC) for Early Childhood (SFw EC)​​​

Programme Structure

Programme Structure

About the Compulsory Module

The compulsory module “Developing the Leader in Me” seeks to equip participants with foundational understanding of both centre and teaching leadership. The 3-day course will also scaffold participant's understanding of their own leadership values, dispositions and potential career progression.

About the Modular Courses

There is a range of skills-based modular courses offered by the NIEC and SUSS. These courses provide educators with more flexible, bite-sized and targeted options to acquire and deepen their skills, and customise their learning based on their interests and needs. If the PDP participant enrols for a full qualification programme subsequently, credits earned from some of these modular courses may be counted towards the attainment of an early childhood-related qualification, e.g. Specialist Diploma, Advanced Diploma or Degree.

Participants attending the Modular Courses will be required to meet the respective course entry requirements as stipulated by the Institutes of Higher Learning.

About the Projects

Projects provide an opportunity for PDP for Preschool Educators participants to apply their knowledge and skills within the centre and classroom. The project option for PDP include:

  1. Centre-Initiated Projects (CIP)*

*Participants are required to complete the compulsory pre-requisite course Proposal Writing Skills for PDP Participants before embarking on the CIP.

About the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Courses

​​CPD courses aim to raise the quality and professional experience of EC ed​ucators. PDP for Preschool Educators participants may embark on CPD courses to supplement the required hours of PDP for Preschool Educators. Apart from the CPD courses offered by ECDA, other CPD courses (ECDA or in-house) that contribute to the development and growth of PDP for Preschool Educators participants in performing their professional role, can also be considered as CPD hours for PDP for Preschool Educators.​

Participants may count non-ECDA CPD activity hours towards their PDP for Preschool Educators by updating their CPD portfolio and seeking approval from their centre/HQ administrator.

Please refer to CPD courses and the prospectus for more information.

Nomination

From PDP 2024 onwards, contents will be refreshed to better support infant/early years and preschool educators. Please visit the PDP(Educators) for more information on the revised programme and nomination details.

Find answers to frequently asked questions here.