Press Releases

ECDA Awards 2018 Recipients Inspire Professional Excellence and Innovation in Early Childhood Sector

02 Oct 2018

1            Eighteen dedicated early childhood educators and preschools will receive the ECDA Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Development from Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development on Friday, 5 October 2018 at the Early Childhood Conference.  In line with this year’s conference theme “Nurturing Young Minds: Building Strong Foundations”, these educators and preschools have been chosen because of their commitment to holistic development of our children through exemplary practices in curriculum, pedagogy and innovation. This will give our children a good start in life.  

 

2        The ECDA Awards, launched in 2013, recognises the critical role educators play in shaping the future of our nation. The Awards inspire early childhood educators to strive towards professional excellence in early childhood care and education, which has a lasting impact on children’s cognitive, language and socio-emotional outcomes. 

 

3          Since 2017, the ECDA Awards has been extended to include the ‘Promising Awards’ to recognise and motivate educators with strong potential for professional excellence in the early stage of their early childhood career. This year, we have 6 ‘Promising Award’ winners, double last year’s number. These educators make every effort to develop the full potential of young children, implement innovative practices and believe in continuing professional development to assure a high level of professional expertise.

4          The 3 ‘Outstanding Award’ winners excel in their curriculum and pedagogical practices, learning environments, professional development, as well as partnerships with families and the community. These caring and nurturing educators have the best interests of young children in their hearts. As role models, they also exercise leadership at their level and are mentors to their peers.

 

5          The ECDA Awards will also honour 9 preschools for their innovative teaching and learning practices. They have nurtured an innovation culture that has improved the quality of preschool programmes and practices to enhance learning experience for children, as well as promote community engagement and home-centre partnerships. These interactive innovation projects, ranging from play, science and technology to character-building, will be showcased at the Awards Booth at the ECDA Early Childhood Exhibition on 5 & 6 October at the Suntec City Convention & Exhibition Centre.  

 

6          The 18 ECDA Award winners and preschools were selected from over 300 nominations. Since introduction of the ECDA Awards in 2013, 49 educators and 85 preschools have clinched the awards.

 

(Please refer to Annex for the list of individual and preschool award winners, and the supplementary information on the awards.)

 

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ISSUED BY

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

For media enquiries, please contact Annabel Ng (Annabel_NG@msf.gov.sg / 9278 1101) or Bijal Doshi (bijal@asiaprwerkz.com / 9754 7691).

 

 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 

1.    Who can apply for the ECDA Awards?

For individual awards, the nomination is open to all Singapore citizens or permanent residents who are in-service ECDA-certified educarers/teachers/centre leaders, who meet the specific training and experience stipulated in the ECDA Awards nomination forms for the respective Awards categories. Nominees for the ‘Promising’ award categories are required to have at least 3 years of trained experience. The ‘Outstanding’ awards categories are open to individuals who have at least 5 years of trained experience.

For centre awards, nominated centres must be ECDA-registered kindergartens or ECDA-licensed child care centres that fulfil the eligibility criteria in the respective nomination forms.

 

2.    What are the Award categories?

Award Categories
I​ndividual Awards	Early C​hildhood Leader Award	Outstanding Early Childhood Leader Award Requires at least 5 years of trained experience	This Award recognises the achievements of outstanding EC leaders who excel in organisational, curriculum and collaborative leadership. They exemplify quality professional behaviours and practices, and strive for excellence through continuing professional development. These leaders are committed to delivering high quality early childhood care and education to young children and their families.
		Promising Early Childhood Leader Award Requires at least 3 years of trained experience	This Award recognises promising EC leaders who show potential in organisational, curriculum and collaborative leadership. Their professional behaviours and practice, and continuing professional development efforts show promise and have the capacity to be nurtured and cultivated. They believe in delivering quality early childhood care and education to young children and their families.
	Early Childhood Teacher Award	Outstanding Early Childhood Teacher Award Requires at least 5 years of trained experience	This Award recognises the achievements of outstanding EC teachers committed to delivering high quality early childhood care and education for children 6 years of age and below. They strive for excellence in early childhood through continuing professional development to scale up the quality of their curriculum and pedagogical practices. They are dedicated to strengthening partnerships as they believe in making a positive difference in the lives of children and their families.
		Promising Early Childhood Teacher Award Requires at least 3 years of trained experience	This Award recognises promising EC teachers who show potential in scaling up the quality of their curriculum and pedagogical practices for children 6 years of age and below. They believe in building strong partnerships with families.  They are committed to continuing professional development and in delivering quality early childhood care and education to young children and their families.
	Early Childhood Educarer Award	Outstanding Early Childhood Educarer Award Requires at least 5 years of trained experience	This Award recognises the achievements of outstanding EC educarers committed to delivering high quality early childhood care and education for infants, toddlers and children below 3 years of age. They strive for excellence in early childhood through continuing professional development to scale up the quality of their curriculum and pedagogical practices. They are dedicated to strengthening partnerships as they believe in making a positive difference in the lives of children and their families.
		Promising Early Childhood Educarer Award Requires at least 3 years of trained experience	This Award recognises promising EC educarers who show potential in scaling up the quality of their curriculum and pedagogical practices for infants, toddlers and children below 3 years of age. They believe in building strong partnerships with families. They are committed to continuing professional development and in delivering quality early childhood care and education to young children and their families.
Centre Awards / Appointment	Outstanding Centre for Teaching & Learning Award		This Award recognises child care centres and kindergartens which have excellent programmes, processes and learning environments that drive outstanding teaching and learning practices in the centre. These practices support and sustain young children’s learning, development and well-being. These are centres which are committed to delivering high quality early childhood care and education that benefits young children and their families.
	Early Childhood Innovation Award		This Award recognises child care centres and kindergartens which have nurtured a culture of innovation and implemented innovative practices to improve existing programmes, curriculum and pedagogical practices, processes or services. These centres are committed to delivering high quality experiences for young children, early childhood professionals and their families.

 

3.    What will the ECDA Award winners receive?

Outstanding individual winners will each receive $2,000 for professional development, $500 cash, a trophy and a certificate; Promising Individual winners will each receive $500 for professional development, $300 cash, a trophy and a certificate.

For Outstanding Centre Award, winning centres will each receive $3,000 for professional development and $2,000 for teaching and learning resources, a trophy and a certificate.

For Early Childhood Innovation Awards:

• Distinction winners will each receive $2,000 for professional development, $1,000 for teaching and learning resources, a trophy and a certificate.
• Merit winners will each receive $1,000 for professional development, $500 for teaching and learning resources, a plaque and a certificate.
• Commendation winners will each receive $800 for professional development, a plaque and a certificate.
  

4.    When will the ECDA Awards winners 2018 be appointed?

The ECDA Awards winners will be appointed at the Awards ceremony, which will be held on 5 October 2018, Friday at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre (Hall 404) from 11.15am to 12pm at the ECDA Early Childhood Conference 2018. 

For more information on the ECDA Awards, please visit http://bit.ly/ECDA_Awards .​