Recognising that children’s early environment and lived experiences have a significant impact on their development, we have been co-funding Phase 3 of CoC since 2018 to enable at-risk children to flourish.
Every child should have the opportunity to grow to his or her fullest potential. In his or her formative years, the surrounding environment and lived experiences play a defining role in the child’s development.
We are happy to partner Care Corner and Lien Foundation in their continuing efforts to enhance the Circle of Care programme, which adopts a holistic and integrated approach to create a conducive environment for at-risk children to flourish and achieve their maximum potential.
Launched in 2013, Circle of Care is an early intervention and prevention programme for children from low socio-economic backgrounds in partner preschools. It provides integrated support for all children, including those with greater needs, through a holistic learning approach that enhances and leverages on partnerships among teachers, other professionals, parents and community stakeholders.
The programme combines the latest research in neuroscience, social work and early childhood to provide proactive services and responsive support for the child in the community. It brings together professionals who usually work separately into an interdisciplinary team of social workers, educational therapists, health specialists, social workers, teachers and principals, to provide wraparound and coordinated care for the children and their families.
Quantedge Foundation co-funded Phase 3 of Circle of Care. Phase 3 targeted children from birth to 9 years, and expanded its reach from the existing 10 pre-schools to 22 pre-schools and 6 primary schools across three community clusters by 2023. A continuous quality improvement process was in place to develop, test and evaluate programme components of the model to achieve better outcomes for the children.
Circle of Care embarked on an official consultancy engagement with KidSTART Singapore Ltd in 2021 to support the implementation and scale-up of KidSTART - a national programme that seeks to provide upstream support to children aged 0 - 6 years old from low-income families.
Outcomes
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Phase 3 of Circle of Care has reached out to over 1,479 pre-school children and supported 1,173 children in 22 pre-schools and 6 primary schools across 3 geographical clusters.
PHASE 3 HIGHLIGHTS (2019 - 2023)
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Official consultancy engagement with KidSTART Singapore Ltd in 2021 for the nationwide roll-out of KidSTART - a programme that provides upstream support to children from 0 to 6 years old from low-income families
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Sharing of practice with Early Childhood Care and Education sector practitioners
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Successful pilot of preschool-based health screening programme with National University Hospital, which shaped the launch of the Health and Development Support in Preschool Partnerships (HEADS-UPP)
Outcomes from evaluation study with Research for Impact
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7x potential return on investment, due to potentially higher wages from higher education attainment
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Holistic improvement in children's skills and school readiness
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Increase in parental motivation, confidence and ability in supporting children
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Enhanced capacities and capabilities of preschools through sharing sessions on early childhood development