This award recognises the outstanding leadership contributions and achievements of Supervisors of child care centres and Principals of kindergartens in early childhood care and education.
Centre leaders, HQ personnel and the public may nominate outstanding leaders for this award.
Nominations for the award are now open. Please refer to the information sheet on pages 2 and 3 for details of the award. The nomination form (pages 4-7) must be completed and submitted to
ECDA in 4 sets of hard copy in individual folders at the following address:
We regret that incomplete or late submissions will not be accepted.
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ECDA Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Development 2015
Outstanding Early Childhood Leader Award
Information Sheet
Eligibility Criteria
Nominees must:
 be in-service ECDA-certified principal / supervisor;
 be from ECDA-registered kindergartens or ECDA-licensed child care centres;
 possess a valid Level 2 Letter of Notification (LON) and requisite early childhood leadership qualifications;
 have at least 3 years of trained pre-school centre leadership experience; and
 past winners are to note that there is a time bar of three (3) years for Individual Awards before you may be nominated for the Awards again. You may, however, be nominated for the Awards in other categories (subject to meeting eligibility criteria).
Instructions on Nomination
The following documents are to be submitted:
 Completed Sections A to C of nomination form

Write-ups for Section D and E
 Supporting documents listed in Section F of the nomination form

Other supporting documents (if any) e.g. videos, photographs, parents’ testimonials
All documents should be submitted in hard copy in individual folders. Videos can be stored in a CD or thumb drive and should be appended to the nomination form. All submissions should be in 4
sets and sent to ECDA by 15 May 2015, 5pm. Please note that all information and materials submitted will not be returned.
The soft copy of nomination form can be accessed at www.growatbeanstalk.sg
, www.childcarelink.gov.sg
or www.preschool.edu.sg
.
Award
Award winners will each receive $2000 for professional development, $500 cash, an iPad Mini, a trophy and a certificate. The winner is required to submit a proposal on how the grant for professional development will be used for his/her professional development.
Winners will be notified in August 2015 and the awards will be presented at the ECDA Conference in September 2015. Winners may be invited to share their award-winning practices at early childhood sharing platforms. The judging panel’s decision is final and correspondence with regard to the panel’s decision will not be entertained. ECDA may, on a case by case basis, consider good candidates for a commendation award.
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Code of Conduct
The Outstanding Early Childhood Leader Award winner is to adhere to the following Code of
Conduct.
The award winner will:
 manage media inquiries with respect to the ECDA Awards in a fair, polite and non-partisan manner;
 be expected to work with his / her centre to ensure, to the best of his / her ability, the proper, effective and efficient use of public funds; and
 conduct himself / herself in a professional manner in accordance with the standards set by his / her centre. Failure to do so will be seen as undermining the credibility, integrity or relevance of the ECDA Awards, or to detract from the original conditions upon which the Award was given.
The award winner will not:
 exploit his / her status as an award winner for commercial gain;
 use the ECDA Awards title without the explicit permission of ECDA;
 endorse or market products for commercial purposes other than for the centre that he / she is currently employed in; and
 abuse his / her status to advance or promote political views.
The award winner must not have been convicted of a criminal offence in which he / she has not received a pardon for.
The above Code of Conduct is fundamental to being selected as an award winner. If an award winner fails to abide by this code, ECDA reserves the right to:
 remove the award winner’s name / centre affiliation from its website and from any other publication it may use to promote outstanding professionals in early childhood education in
Singapore, and / or
 revoke the ECDA Award. This will immediately apply in cases where a teaching or early childhood education certification has been withdrawn for reasons of professional misconduct and instances in which an award winner has been convicted of a criminal offence.
Enquiries
For enquiries, please email to ECDA_Awards@ecda.gov.sg with the subject “ECDA Awards 2015
(Leader)”.
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ECDA Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Development 2015
Outstanding Early Childhood Leader Award
NOMINATION FORM
Please complete Sections A–F. Incomplete submissions will not be entertained.
Section A : Particulars of Centre
Name of Centre
(to be filled in exactly as name of centre registered in
TiMs/CCLS):
Address
Contact No. (Office) Email
Section B : Particulars of Nominee (Kindergarten Principal / Child Care Centre Supervisor)
Name of Nominee * Mr / Mrs / Mdm / Ms Affix Coloured
Passport Photo
NRIC / FIN
Nationality
Contact No. (Mobile)
Email
Highest Academic
Qualifications
Highest Professional
Qualifications
Year of Attainment of
Requisite Early
Childhood Leadership
Qualification
* ‘O’ Levels / ‘A’ Levels / Diploma / Degree / Others :
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Years of trained service in pre-school sector
(provide centre names and duration of service at each centre)
Years of service as a centre leader in the
Pre-School Sector
Years of service as a centre leader in the current centre
Name of Nominator
Name of Centre
Section C : Particulars of Nominator
* Mr / Mrs / Mdm / Ms
Position Held
Total:
Duration
Relationship with
Centre
Contact
Email
* HQ Personnel / Teacher of the Centre / Others :
(O) (M)
Declaration
I, _________________________, the Nominator, declare that all information contained in this nomination form is, to the best of my knowledge, accurate. I authorise ECDA to conduct a verification of the information provided in this nomination. I understand and agree that all documents submitted for this award are nonreturnable. I also understand that photographs, videos and information submitted for this award may be published and used as promotional and informational materials by ECDA in relation to the development of early childhood care and education.
Signature of Nominator / Date: _______________________________________
* Delete accordingly
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Section D : Personal Statement
This section should be completed by the nominee . Please provide a detailed personal statement describing the following: a.
Personal Philosophy b.
Beliefs & Practice in the nurturing and development of young children c.
Professionalism in ensuring and embracing quality in practice, knowledge and skills d.
Supporting Documentation:

Parents’ testimonials to support any examples given

Anecdotal records, stories, photographs, videos, etc

Awards received /conferred

Any other supporting documents
This section should not exceed 4 pages. Please adhere to the following format: Arial font size 11, singleline spacing.
Section E : Nomination Text
Nominator is to provide a detailed write-up, which includes descriptions of the nominee’s leadership qualities, collaboration with the community and professional qualities, providing concrete evidence and specific examples. You may include any other relevant information that is not listed in the guide. This section should not exceed 8 pages. Please adhere to the following format: Arial font size 11, single-line spacing. i.
Organisational Leadership
a) Leader demonstrates strong organisational leadership

Effectively communicates and engages all stakeholders in understanding the vision

Reviews the vision, implements will thought through strategies and works towards achieving the vision and mission. b) Curriculum Leadership

Leads change and improvement in the centre

Inspires and empowers self and others to pursue professional development to keep abreast with current knowledge

Plays an active mentoring role to support and develop colleagues and peers

Nurtures and develops potential leaders

Drives team building & team learning ii. Leader provides an enriching learning environment for children and staff

Evidence of programmes that promote optimal learning for children

Builds staff morale and supports their well-being

Shows evidence of ensuring quality standards, knowledge and skills related to early childhood practices

Shows evidence of appropriate child assessment practices and monitors how teachers conduct them
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iii.
Collaboration with Community
Leader collaborates with community (including families)

Actively engages parents in their children’s learning and development

Actively leverages opportunities for children to access community resources to enrich their learning and development iv.
Professional Behaviour
Leader demonstrates attribute(s)/practice(s) which reflect excellence in leadership practice

Has led and implemented innovative projects which have made an impact on children’s learning and development

Engages in reflective practice as well as participates in and contributes to continuing professional development

Is actively involved in research that has led to improvements in teaching and learning

Actively seeks to contribute and advocate for early childhood education
Section F : Supporting Documents
Please use the list below to check that the required items (and supporting documents, if applicable) have been attached to your submission.
 Nominee’s Letter of Notification (LON) from ECDA stating the nominee’s certification level and the original year of certification.
 Nominee’s academic and early childhood certificates (certified true-copy)
 A 2-3 page write up of a project/experience that the nominee was actively involved in that would demonstrate his/her qualities as an outstanding leader
 3-5 letters of support

Letters must be signed by the writer and should provide evidence of the nominee’s outstanding achievements under any or all of the three judging criteria.

Letters may come from anyone such as academic instructor, parents, staff, children, peers and professional associations.

Letters of support must not be older than 24 months upon nomination deadline, and must include contact information (email address and telephone number) of the writer.
 Optional:

Video clips

Photographs

___________________

___________________

___________________

_______________ , etc.
You have completed the nomination form. Please ensure that all sections (A to F) have been accurately completed and supporting documents are attached. Please be reminded that submission should be in hard copy in 4 individual folders (including CD / thumb drive of videos, if any) and submitted to ECDA by 15 May 2015, 5pm.
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