Press Releases
Honouring Outstanding Kindergartens and Kindergarten Teachers
Twenty-eight kindergartens and nine outstanding kindergarten teachers will receive the MOE-AECES [Ministry of Education and the Association of Early Childhood Educators (Singapore)] Awards for Kindergarten Excellence from Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education, at the Kindergarten Conference 2011 on 22 November 2011. The awards presented this year include the Outstanding Learning Centre Award, the Outstanding Kindergarten Innovation Award and the Outstanding Kindergarten Teacher Award.
MOE-AECES Awards
The Outstanding Kindergarten Innovation Award recognises kindergartens that have implemented impactful and innovative projects that enhance the children’s learning experiences. A total of 21 kindergartens will be honoured for their innovative projects. PCF Pasir Ris West Blk 517-511 and PCF Punggol East will receive the Distinction Award.
The Outstanding Learning Centre Award recognises kindergartens that have enhanced the learning experiences they provide through skilful facilitation by teachers and effective use of their learning centres. Seven kindergartens will be presented with the Outstanding Learning Centre Award. The Distinction Award will be received by PCF Taman Jurong Blk 352 and Ramakrishna Mission Sarada Kindergarten.
The Outstanding Kindergarten Teacher Award honours teachers who have contributed significantly to teaching and learning in their kindergartens. Of the nine teachers recognised for their dedication to teaching, two will receive the Distinction Award. They are Ms Nadiya Priyadishini from Ramakrishna Mission Sarada Kindergarten and Ms Estrelita Maria Gaspar from The Ascension Kindergarten.
Nominations for these awards were opened to the public. The nominations were shortlisted based on a set of criteria drawn up by MOE and AECES, and assessed by selection panels involving early childhood educators. The assessment involved evaluation of nomination forms as well as on-site visits at the kindergartens.
The list of distinction and merit award recipients and finalists for the three awards are in Annex A. The write-ups of the distinction and merit award recipients are in Annex B.
Innovation Grant
The Innovation Grants by MOE and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) were introduced in 2008 to encourage pre-schools to build a culture of innovation and improvement, and raise the overall quality and standard of the pre-school sector. MOE and MCYS subsidise up to 95% of the project cost, subject to a maximum of $4,000 per pre-school. Since then, many pre-schools have benefitted from the Grants. In 2011, 106 and 59 innovation projects from kindergartens and childcare centres respectively were supported by such grants.
Sharing of the best projects and learning points from the innovations though annual events like the Kindergarten Learning Forum/Conference and the Child Care Seminar, and through online platforms such as the Pre-schools Innovate! Facebook page, allow other pre-schools to benefit from these good ideas. Pre-schools which receive the grants will also mentor other pre-schools which are interested to implement similar projects.
Pre-schools can apply for the Innovation Grants 2012 from 22 November 2011 to 21 January 2012.
Singapore Pre-school Accreditation Framework (SPARK)
Another 17 kindergartens and childcare centres will receive their Singapore Pre-school Accreditation Framework (SPARK) Certificate of Achievement at the Kindergarten Conference 2011, bringing the total to 69 . The list of SPARK-certified pre-schools is in Annex C.
Pre-schools can apply for SPARK assessment between 22 November 2011 and 12 January 2012, or between 1 and 15 April 2012.
MOE Kindergarten Conference
For the first time, the MOE Kindergarten Conference, “Nurturing Early Learners: Celebrate Collaborate Connect” will span two days. It will be attended by about 1,100 educators, academics and experts in early childhood education. There will be sharing sessions by distinguished speakers and an exhibition to showcase innovative projects by the different kindergartens.