30 October 2004

PRESENTATION OF PARTNERS AWARDS &
IN-CONVERSATION WITH MINISTER FOR EDUCATION,
MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM

1.      COMPASS (COMmunity and PArents in Support of Schools) is presenting the second PARTNERS (PARents, Teachers and NEighbourhood Resources in Synergy) awards to schools on 30 October 2004.  The theme of the PARTNERS AWARD ceremony is Education-Enterprise, Endless Opportunities. Minister for Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, is the Guest-of-Honour.

2.      The highlight of the event will be an In-Conversation segment, which is a dialogue session between Mr Shanmugaratnam and industry leaders from the banking, marine and pharmaceutical sectors. They are:

                • Ms Euleen Goh
                Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Singapore

                • Dr. Ing. Roberto Gardellin
                Site Director, Aventis Pharma Manufacturing Private Limited

                • Mr Heng Chiang Gnee
                President, Association of Singapore Marine Industries
                Deputy President, SembCorp Marine Limited

3.      The dialogue will centre on the need for schools to develop thinking and technical skills as well as the ‘soft’ competencies, which include good workplace attitudes, values, adaptability, communication and employability skills. The segment will also focus on how schools can initiate and sustain collaborations with industries to promote a spirit of innovation and enterprise. 

PARTNERS AWARDS 2004

4.      The PARTNERS Award was inaugurated in 2002 to recognise schools’ efforts in promoting and strengthening partnerships with key stakeholders in education.  The Award is given out biennially.

5a.    The following schools have obtained the Outstanding Award which recognises schools’ excellent efforts and commitment in collaboration:
               • CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School 
               • Gongshang Primary School
               • Raffles Institution
               • St. Margaret’s Secondary School
               • Tanjong Katong Secondary School

b.     These schools have obtained the Merit Award which recognises schools’ significant achievements in collaborative practices:
               • Admiralty Primary School
               • Canberra Secondary School
               • Hwa Chong Junior College
               • Kong Hwa School
               • Ping Yi Secondary School
               • Seng Kang Secondary School
               • St. Hilda’s Primary School
               • Yu Neng Primary School

        More information on the Partners Award can be found in Annex A.

6.     A total of 80 schools (49 primary, 30 secondary and 1 junior college) applied for this year’s PARTNERS Award.  The overall response is encouraging and indicates that many schools have taken a keen interest and have made positive efforts to foster collaborative partnerships with parents and the wider community.

Annex A

THE PARTNERS AWARD

PARTNERS Award

PARTNERS, which stands for PARents, Teachers, and NEighbourhood Resources in Synergy, is presented by COMPASS in recognition of schools’ exemplary efforts towards promoting and strengthening partnerships with other stakeholders in education.  These stakeholders include parents, alumni, community and grassroots organisations, school advisory/management committees, other educational institutions and business organisations.  The Award is presented biennially to selected schools.

Since the establishment of COMPASS as an advisory council in December 1998, one of its key deliverables has been to provide a platform where best practices on collaborative efforts between parents, schools, and the community could be surfaced and propagated.  The inaugural PARTNERS Award was presented in 2002.  It is given out biennially to coincide with the two-year term of office of COMPASS members.

Categories of awards

There are two categories of awards.  The Outstanding Award is given to schools with excellent efforts and commitment in collaboration while the Merit Award is given to schools with significant achievements in collaborations.  Merit Award winners in 2002 who apply for the award this year can be considered for the Outstanding Award.

Validity of the Award

Both the Outstanding and Merit Awards are valid for five years.  Award winners can re-apply after five years to retain their level of award.  This re-application process is required to recognise both the achievement of a certain milestone as well as a sustained culture of collaboration with stakeholders.  Merit award winners can also apply for the Outstanding Award two years later.

Number of awards

There are no limits to the number or category of awards given out each year.   These depend on the number of good entries submitted each year.  Schools with good collaborative practices stand a high chance of being awarded.  This year, the award-winning schools as well as the non-award winning schools which have unique collaborative practices will be featured in a DVD which will be given to all present at the Ceremony.

Application for the award

The applicant school will submit a report highlighting its collaborative practices.  The report is accompanied by relevant documents, photographs, publications or any other supporting evidence that demonstrates the school’s established structures and sustained processes in collaborative partnerships. 

Assessment Criteria

Schools are assessed on the following four criteria. They are:
(i) Direction and Strategies, which focuses on the school’s leadership, its
processes for setting direction, planning, and, developing strategies for effective, sustained comprehensive collaboration to take place

(ii) Culture and Communication, which focuses on how the school
develops and sustains a culture consistent with its values, vision and mission related to collaboration.  It also focuses on communication between school and its stakeholders

(iii) Parental Involvement, which describes the school’s active engagement
of parents in students’ holistic development and learning

(iv) Wider Community Involvement which describes the school’s active
engagement with the wider community such as other educational institutions, business enterprises, community/grassroots organisations, alumni, the schools advisory committee/school management committee.