IPS parents survey 2026: primary school enrichment, screen, activity and sleep guidance

Headlines about the new Singapore parents-and-education survey are easy to misread as verdicts on your own child. The Institute of Policy Studies study published on 25 September 2026 surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,500 Singaporean and permanent resident parents with children attending local primary schools, with fieldwork from May to August 2026. It records what parents said and what they reported spending — not how any child develops. ^[1]

Read that way it is useful. The study describes a dilemma many families recognise, and the reference points for a specific child's after-school week come from official documents rather than survey percentages: MOH's screen limits, the Singapore Physical Activity Guidelines, published sleep hours and MOE's own stated aims. Here is what the survey found, and what you can check instead. ^[1]

What the 2026 survey actually measured

Researchers from IPS Social Lab ran the survey online or during a household visit, and it took about 30 minutes to complete in a single sitting. CNA reports that the report compares selected findings with an IPS survey conducted in 2016, and that the two are independent cross-sectional surveys of parents rather than follow-ups of the same parents over time. A parent reading a 2016-to-2026 difference is therefore comparing two samples, not watching one family change. ^[1]

Within that limit the picture is clear enough. 90.2 per cent of parents rated Singapore's education system highly in 2026, close to 90.3 per cent in 2016, and views of the system as highly competitive remained broadly stable. The share who agreed the education system causes unnecessary stress to children fell to 68.7 per cent from 76.3 per cent. None of these is a figure your child is expected to meet; each describes a sample of parents answering a questionnaire. ^[1]

Where stated priorities and spending pull apart

School choice shows the same tension. For primary schools, teachers who care for students' social-emotional development remained the factor parents rated highest, while competitive environments and alumni networks fell in importance by 19.9 and 14.2 percentage points. Yet 85.9 per cent of respondents said the PSLE is still an important checkpoint, and 73.7 per cent preferred some change to the current arrangement; 19.4 per cent wanted it kept as it is. ^[1]

Spending moved the other way. Mean monthly tuition expenditure reported by surveyed parents rose to S$677 in 2026 from S$318 in 2016, and mean monthly enrichment expenditure to S$355 from S$125. At the same time, nearly nine in ten parents agreed children in the country spend too much time on tuition and enrichment, and 70.2 per cent said they would spend more if they had the resources. The researchers' reading is that educational competition may have diversified rather than disappeared, moving into tuition, enrichment, school choice and alternative admissions routes. ^[1]

The screen, activity and sleep numbers you can check

For a child aged seven to twelve, the MOH figure is specific. In the joint MOH, MOE and MSF Grow Well SG release, MOH states that its updated Guidance on Screen Use in children aged 0 to 12 sets a limit of less than two hours a day for children aged between seven and 12, unless related to schoolwork, and that parents should not give children unrestricted access to mobile devices or any access to social media services. A HealthHub article last reviewed 7 November 2025 tabulates the same limit. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

The Singapore Physical Activity Guidelines add that children and youths aged 7 to 17 should limit sedentary entertainment screen time to two hours, and break up sedentary periods of 90 minutes or more with five to ten minutes of physical activity. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

For activity, those guidelines advise children and youths aged 7 to 17 to accumulate an average of 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per day across the week, including vigorous aerobic, muscle- and bone-strengthening exercises on at least three days a week. On sleep, a HealthHub Parent Hub page gives at least 10 hours a day for ages three to five and at least nine hours for ages six to 13; that wording sits on a page written for younger children, so check the age bands. An optional illustration, not a tested routine: write the three figures on paper and set them against one ordinary week for a nine-year-old. It promises no result. ^{[4] [5]}

What MOE says a primary school is for

MOE's own framing is worth reading beside the survey. Its Singapore Curriculum Philosophy states that Singapore believes in holistic education centred on values, social and emotional well-being and character development, that every child wants to and can learn, and that teaching pace, approaches and assessment practices are adapted to be developmentally appropriate and meaningful. In its addendum to the President's Address of 17 September 2025, MOE said it wants students to embrace learning beyond grades, and to have more time and opportunities to develop 21st century competencies and pursue other interests. ^{[6] [7]}

In a parliamentary reply published on 2 March 2026, MOE said any form of assessment is likely to generate some stress, but that often it is what the results are used for, and the expectation of performance, that drives academic stress. A September 2018 announcement stated that from 2019 the Holistic Development Profile would no longer present class and level positions, and that qualitative descriptors would report learning at P1 and P2, to discourage excessive peer comparison. The survey is best read as a shared dilemma, not a target: what parents say they value, what they say they spend, and the published figures a parent can check for their own child. ^{[8] [9]}

Sources

EduNanny Editorial · AI-assisted research and writing, reviewed by our automated editorial team. Sources checked 2026-10-09. Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration.