Childcare Subsidies for Preschool Children
Ease your child’s preschool journey with the right financial help. Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and Foreigners who enroll in our preschool programme may be eligible to apply for government and other financial subsidies.
Government Subsidies for Childcare and Infant Care
Basic Subsidy
The Basic Child Care Subsidy refers to the government subsidy for full-day preschool expenses for infants (2-18 months old) and children (18 months-6 years old).
The subsidy is directly given to the child’s registered centre and not to the parents’ or guardians’ bank accounts. The parent then pays the difference, ie. the fee minus the subsidy, and any other financial assistance.
Basic Child Care Subsidy rates depend on the applicant’s employment status and their child’s programme type. Programme type refers to whether your child is put in infant care or child care.
For working applicants, the basic subsidy for full-day infant care is S$600 per month and for full-day child care, it’s S$300 per month. For non-working applicants, the basic subsidy is S$150 for both infant care and child care.
Families with children who are Singaporean citizens enrolled in infant or child care centres licensed by ECDA (Early Childhood Development Agency) are eligible to receive the Basic Child Care Subsidy.
Additional subsidy
For families who are facing financial difficulties and need some extra help, there’s the Additional Child Care Subsidy.
The Additional Child Care Subsidy is a means-tested subsidy on top of the Basic Child Care Subsidy, for lower-income families.
This subsidy allows lower-income parents to afford preschool fees so that they’ll be able to go to work without worrying about child care. The subsidy can go up to $710 for infant care and up to $467 for child care, depending on eligibility.
There are 2 requirements to qualify for the Additional Child Care Subsidy and both need to be met. The requirements are:
- The working applicant can be either a mother (single or not) or a single father who works at least 56 hours per month.
- Gross monthly household income of $12,000 and below or per capita income of $3,000 and below for larger families (5 or more family members in the same household with at least 3 dependents without income).
Special approval
Sometimes, due to unforeseen circumstances, you might not be able to work. With special approval, higher subsidy support can be granted. This is awarded on a case-by-case basis and will require supporting documents.
If granted special approval, extra subsidies on top of the existing Basic Child Care Subsidy entitlement will be disbursed for a limited time, with the amount and duration depending on your circumstances.
Non-working applicants may apply for extra subsidy support if they are:
- Not working due to looking for a job, studying, training, on a course (at least 56 hours a month), or pregnant
- Medically unfit for work due to hospitalisation, long-term illness or permanent disability
- Caring for sick or special needs family members
- Full-time caring for younger children aged 24 months and below
- Incarcerated
The information provided here is intended for general informational purposes only. For the most up-to-date information, please visit ECDA.
Child Development Account (CDA)
As part of the Baby Bonus Scheme, the Child Development Accounts (CDA) play a pivotal role in Singapore’s financial aid landscape, offering vital support to parents in securing their child’s future, particularly in funding their preschool education. This initiative significantly enhances accessibility and affordability for early childhood education within families.
At any approved financial institution in Singapore, parents have the option to open a CDA for their child, with the government providing an initial dollar-for-dollar matching grant, thereby bolstering its value as a resource for parents. The deposited funds cover various child-related expenses, notably including preschool fees.
The CDA stands as a distinctive co-savings account, especially when opened at DBS/ POSB, OCBC or UOB. This entitles your child to the (a) CDA First Step Grant, a direct deposit without the need for prior savings, and (b) dollar-for-dollar Government co-matching for each dollar deposited, up to the maximum Government co-matching cap. This account remains accessible for saving and expenditure until 31 December of the year your child turns 12 years old.
You can use the CDA funds at the Baby Bonus Approved Institutions (AIs) to pay for the following expenses of your child:
- Fees for registered childcare centers, kindergartens, special education schools, and early intervention programs are applicable. Both My First Skool and Little Skool-House are Approved Institutions (AI)
- Healthcare-related expenses eligible for coverage include medical fees, insurance premiums for MediShield Life or MediSave-approved private integrated plans, assistive technology, eye-related products, and approved pharmacy items (Note: If the premium is paid by MediSave, there must be a cash top-up to MediSave before the CDA can be used to reimburse the parent)
To check your child’s eligibility for CDA, please visit Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
Baby Bonus Scheme
To support couples in their decision to have more children, the Baby Bonus Scheme helps to lighten the financial costs of raising children. The Scheme is part of the Marriage and Parenthood Package and was enhanced on 14 Feb 2023 to provide parents with more support in their child’s early years. The Scheme includes a Cash Gift and Child Development Account (CDA) benefits.
Joining the Scheme
You can submit the online form for your child to join the Scheme as early as 2 months before their estimated delivery date. Please click here for the form.
Cash Gift
You can expect to receive the cash gift within 7 to 10 working days of your child’s birth registration or after your child’s enrolment into Baby Bonus Scheme, whichever is later. The cash gift is disbursed every 6 months till the child turns six-and-a-half years. You can use the cash gift to pay for your newborn child’s expenses.
For information on the Baby Bonus Scheme, please see FAQ
You can check if your child is eligible for the Baby Bonus benefits by using the ‘Eligibility Check‘.
The information provided here is intended for general informational purposes only. For the most up-to-date information, please visit Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) – Baby Bonus.
Income Family Micro-Insurance Scheme (IFMIS)
NTUC Income continues to champion education for youth in need. Families, especially those from low-income backgrounds, are often the hardest hit when a parent or guardian becomes seriously ill, suffers a permanent disability or dies. In order to ensure continued education for these children, Income offers tangible support through IFMIS.
Qualification criteria:
- Parent/guardian with a child/ward attending a My First Skool centre.
- Gross Household Income or Per Capita Income does not exceed $4,500 a month or $1,125 a month respectively.
The information provided here is intended for general informational purposes only. For the most up-to-date information, please visit NTUC Income.
NFC’s Financial Support Programmes
NTUC First Campus provides additional financial support through its Child Support Model (CSM). The CSM supports families and children with diverse needs through a holistic, multi-pronged, and child-centric approach.
| Eligibility | Programme | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly gross household income of $4,500 or less or $1,125 per capita or less for 5 or more members in the family: | BHF Financial Assistance (School Fees) | Start-up grant that pays for costs of starting school (e.g. registration fee, deposit, insurance), and/or monthly school fee subsidies. |
| BHF Financial Assistance (School Going Needs) | Assistance includes the following funding: New school uniforms (up to 4 sets per child yearly), and/or subsidy for field trip expenses (up to $80 per child yearly), and/or subsidy for K2 graduation expenses. | |
| OCBC-NTUC First Campus Bridging Programme | Monies in the Child Development Account can be used at approved Baby Bonus institutions for: Preschool fees, Learning support programmes and Healthcare costs. | |
| Sponsored NTUC Membership Programme (SNM) | With the NTUC membership, members can: Offset cost of groceries at FairPrice supermarkets with NTUC LinkPoints; receive digital vouchers for basic necessities and child’s school expenses; receive funding support for bursaries and scholarships, and upskill through subsidised training. | |
| Classroom Support Programme (CSP) | Classroom Co-Facilitators (CCF), provide additional in-class support to N2 to K2 children with mild learning needs in language, literacy and numeracy. Using a variety of techniques to engage the children, the CCFs conduct small-group activities to strengthen children’s understanding in the classroom. | |
| Read-to-REACH Programme (RTR) | Offering support to K1 children who are weak in English literacy, RTR has produced good learning outcomes. More than half of K1 children who attend RTR do not need literacy intervention in K2. This improved confidence in both spoken and written English prepares children well for formal schooling. | |
| Infant Nutrition Programme (INP) | The programme enables children registered at My First Skool (aged 2 months to 3 years old) from low-income families from low-income families to afford a wide range of infant nutritional products. Successful applicants are given FairPrice vouchers which can be used to purchase: Stage 1 to 3 Formula Milk; Unflavoured Full Cream Milk; Baby Food, and Diapers These basic items cost a fairly large amount for a low-income family every month, and NTUC First Campus actively works to ensure that all eligible families apply for this benefit so that infants are supported in their growth and development. | |
| Caregiver Conversations | While it is challenging to learn to handle difficult behaviors in kids, and listening skills, doing so makes a difference for kids. Parents will apply those skills in their journey to be calm, consistent and confident parents. | |
| Healthy Body, Healthy Mind Workshop (HBHM) | Parents will be better equipped with nutritional knowledge as well as self-care tips. Families will enjoy quality bonding time together with the interactive workouts conducted during the workshops. | |
| CapitaLand-Bright Horizons Fund Ready-For-School Programme (RFS) | This programme is offered to children from low-income families at My First Skool, in partnership with CapitaLand Hope Foundation. Under this programme, NFC’s Classroom Support Programme has been expanded to reach an additional 220 preschool children from the 7 My First Skool centres who require learning support in language, literacy and numeracy. The programme also provides graduating K2 children from low-income families with school bags and schooling essentials in preparation for primary school. | |
| Monthly gross household income of $2,500 or less or $650 per capita or less: | KidSTART Programme | At these centres, KidSTART families are supported by Child Enabling Executives (CEEs) who engage parents on child growth, development, health and nutrition. The CEEs also collaborate with My First Skool teachers, social workers, and other stakeholders in the community to ensure that the appropriate support and intervention are provided in the best interests of the child. |
| Food Pack Programme | The food rations serve to supplement their meals and ease financial burdens faced by low-income families. |
Explore the full range of CSM programmes.