16 November 2002

LAUNCH OF "CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS" CUM PRESENTATION OF
PARTNERS AWARDS SAT, 16 NOV 2002, ORCHARD HOTEL

OPENING ADDRESS BY DR NG ENG HEN MINISTER OF STATE FOR
EDUCATION & MANPOWER AND CHAIRMAN OF COMPASS

1 Today's ceremony marks a significant milestone for COMPASS. We are here to witness the launch of COMPASS' publication entitled "Creative Partnerships" and the presentation of the Inaugural PARTNERS Awards to winning schools. This event also marks the completion of COMPASS' second term of office spanning 2001 and 2002. I am pleased to be able to share with you today the major accomplishments of COMPASS and the direction that COMPASS has taken to enhance school, home and community collaboration.

2 COMPASS was established in Dec 1998 to advise the Ministry of Education on ways and means to promote and strengthen the partnerships of schools, parents and community in education. The setting up of a framework at a national level to engage parents and the community involvement is the result of our belief that the holistic education of our young is best accomplished as a joint responsibility to be shared by all.

3 Under the able chairmanship of Minister in the first three years, COMPASS has worked hard in promoting greater collaborative efforts between the home, community and the school, and its accomplishments have been significant. Indeed, when I joined the Council at the start of this year, I sensed among the members, a strong belief in their meaningful endeavour, and a quiet pride in a vision embodied in tangible outcomes.

4 Over the last 4 years, COMPASS has engaged in a wide variety of activities, most notable of which is the publication of 3 seminal documents, and the organisation of a national seminar last year on enhancing "Home-School-Community Ties". The publications spearheaded by COMPASS highlighted firstly the vital contribution of teachers, secondly, the role of stakeholders in education and thirdly, the myriad of creative partnerships that our schools have engaged in.

5 The efforts of COMPASS have also seen a vast increase in the number of formalised parent involvement programmes in schools. In 1998, before the formation of COMPASS, there were only 60 Parent Support Groups (PSGs) or Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in our schools. This number more than trebled to some 220 by this year, and there are now PSGs or PTAs in two-thirds of our schools.

6 The impact of such groups on our children is very tangible. When Secondary Two student Tay Yong Meng saw and heard the Broadrick PSG choir at a practice session (and you will hear them later this morning), he was so impressed that he encouraged his mother to join the choir. To ensure that she would feel comfortable, he even accompanied her to the first meeting. He said, "My mother loves to sing. It is also a good way for her to show support for the school. I am now closer to her and she is more understanding towards me because she knows what I am doing in school."

7 At Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), an Adventure Club is the brainchild of their PSG. This club focuses on fun-filled family-building activities, as exemplified by their Father-and-Son camp. Through activities like trekking, rock-climbing and raft building, the boys and their fathers work as a team and develop stronger bonds with each other. The influence of PSGs and PTAs in the development and education of our children is invaluable and I would like to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of schools in this area.

8 I come now to the current initiatives of COMPASS, as we endeavour to grow from strength to strength. Firstly, our quarterly meetings and school visits have served as good platforms to "sense the ground" and to promote a lively exchange of views on enhancing the collaborative efforts of schools. This year, we have systematically extended the "reach" of COMPASS. For instance, school visits are now organised at the cluster level, such that each visit involves the host school and its cluster schools. As a result, over three separate visits made this year, COMPASS had the opportunity to interact with a total of 38 schools, including more than 120 parents and stakeholders. At the same time, some 20 parent representatives benefited from being observers at our quarterly meetings, where policies related to education were discussed. Through these interactions, they have gained a much better understanding of the challenges faced by our schools in forging links with the community. I believe these are steps in the right direction, and we will continue to create more opportunities to engage parents and other stakeholders in the coming years.

9 Secondly, COMPASS introduced the PARTNERS Awards this year. "PARTNERS" stands for PARents, Teachers and NEighbourhood Resources in Synergy. This award recognises schools' excellent efforts in promoting and strengthening collaborative partnerships with their stakeholders. The selection criteria is based on three broad areas, including impact and success of collaborative efforts, processes that ensure sustainability of partnerships, and evidence of a collaborative culture among school staff and stakeholders. The Award will be given out biennially to coincide with the 2-year term of office of COMPASS members.

10 A sub-committee was established within COMPASS to manage the PARTNERS award and it was ably chaired by Mr John Lu this year. This year, a total of 95 schools applied for the PARTNERS Award and this represents an application rate of about 1 in 4 schools. The enthusiastic 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. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the 11 award-winning schools for their remarkable achievements.

11 Lastly, we have produced our fourth publication entitled "Creative Partnerships", and are honoured and thankful that Minister is present to launch it today. This collection features successful and inspiring stories on collaborations between schools, parents and the wider community, and includes accounts from PARTNERS Award-winning schools. The publication documents how schools leverage on valuable resources from different stakeholders in their quest to develop students fully. I would like to thank the editorial committee, chaired by Mr Paul Beh, for their contributions. We hope that this particular collection will inspire all schools, and serve as a useful reference in their efforts to develop and establish successful partnerships with their stakeholders.

12 In closing, I would like to express my thanks for your attendance this morning. Your presence here testifies to the importance you accord to the role you play in educating our young, in partnership with other stakeholders. Progress in school, home and community collaborations take time to develop, must be periodically reviewed, and should be continuously improved. With good planning, thoughtful implementation, well-designed activities, and focused improvement, more effective and meaningful engagement of stakeholders can take place to broaden the learning experience of our students.

13 The future holds great promise for partnership programmes, involving homes, schools and the community. I am confident that COMPASS will continue to make significant impact on the lives of our students and the landscape of education. Thank you once again.