Health x Wellness
Your Child’s Teacher Could Be Their First Health Detective with Mission I’mPossible 2
For many parents, it’s the quiet worry in the back of their minds: is my child hitting their milestones?
Often, developmental, growth, or even dental issues in preschoolers are missed until they become more serious. But a new initiative in Singapore is turning that reactive approach on its head by transforming early childhood educators into the first line of defence.
The programme, Mission I’mPossible 2 (MIP2), trains teachers to spot the early signs of developmental needs, weight issues, and oral health problems in children as young as two months old.
The pilot, launched in 2022 by the Lien Foundation, PCF Sparkletots, and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), has already covered 3,500 children across 16 preschools with remarkable success and is now set for a major expansion.
From ‘Gut Feeling’ to a Game-Changing System
Before MIP2, identifying a child who needed extra support often came down to a teacher’s instinct. “We relied heavily on observation, gut feeling, and lots of heart,” said Meenachi Rajand, a Senior Educator at a PCF Sparkletots preschool. “But without a structured system in place, things often fell through the cracks”.
MIP2 provides that system. Over 250 educators have been trained to use a systematic surveillance framework integrated into their daily routines. This includes developmental checklists, regular height and weight measurements to monitor growth, and even basic dental checks using a simple “Lift-the-Lip” technique to spot early tooth decay.
The story of Ella, who enrolled in a PCF Sparkletots preschool at 18 months, shows the system’s impact. Educators noticed she wasn’t communicating verbally compared to her peers. Instead of waiting, they used the MIP2 framework to identify her need for support. With targeted strategies in the classroom and guidance for her parents at home, Ella is now able to speak in sentences and share her thoughts spontaneously.
A Holistic Approach with Impressive Results
The programme’s effectiveness is clear. Of the children flagged for developmental screening, a staggering 90 percent were confirmed to have at least a mild level of support needs, proving the system’s accuracy.
But the benefits go beyond developmental support. The programme also identified that:
- 9 percent of children were overweight. Crucially, 76 percent of these children were from families who didn’t qualify for financial assistance and would have otherwise gone unsupported.
- 22 percent had signs of early childhood tooth decay. For 96 percent of these children, their condition remained stable and did not worsen thanks to early detection.
By embedding this support within the preschool, the programme has made it incredibly accessible for parents, leading to an average 80 percent consent rate for participation.
What’s Next: A National Movement
The success of the pilot has paved the way for a wider rollout. PCF Sparkletots, Singapore’s largest preschool operator, will begin self-funding and scaling up the MIP2 model from January 2026.
Two more major preschool operators are also joining the mission: NTUC First Campus (which runs My First Skool and Little Skool-House) and Crestar Education Group (which manages Skool4Kidz).
“When we collectively recognise that a child’s earliest years is a time of immense possibility, and every teacher can be a powerful developmental ally, system change shifts from probable to inevitable,” said Mr Lee Poh Wah, CEO of the Lien Foundation.
This expansion signals a fundamental shift in early childhood care, moving from reactive problem-solving to proactive, preventative support that promises to unlock every child’s full potential.
Picture taken from Lien Foundation website on MIP2. Video provided by Lien Foundation.
