for students, with students - shine.org.sg · mr tan siang yuen bentley clementi centre relocation...

Nurturing and touching lives for a better tomorrow

Blk 463 Hougang Ave 10#01-964 Singapore 530463Tel: 6286 9905 Fax: 6286 6230Email: [email protected]

Blk 437 Clementi Ave 3#01-98 Singapore 120437Tel: 6778 6867 Fax: 6775 4132Email: [email protected]

Blk 463 Hougang Ave 10#01-964 Singapore 530463Tel: 6286 9905 Fax: 6286 6230Email: [email protected]

Blk 202 Yishun Street 21# 01-89 Singapore 760202Tel: 6759 6821 Fax: 6759 6829Email: [email protected]

SCS Headquarters Clementi Centre Hougang Centre Yishun Centre

www.students.org.sg

For students, With students

Annual Report 2006/07

ROS Regn. nO. : 0248/1975CASChARity Regn. nO. : 00014

�Students Care Service l Annual Report 2006/07

Corporate Information2 OurMissionStatementandOurCoreValues4 OurBoard5 OurCommittees6 OurPeople7 OrganisationStructure8 StaffStructure9 ServicesandProgrammes10 OurDonors

Reviews, Reports, Highlights and Milestones14 Chairman’sStatement16 ExecutiveDirector’sReport18 MilestonesandAchievements20 QuantitativeAchievement2006(Overall)22 HighlightsofServices,ProgrammesandActivities – SchoolSocialWork – EducationalPsychologyService(EPS) – Centre-BasedCaseworkandCounselling – GuidanceProgramme – Children,Pre-teensandYouthProgrammes – VolunteerProgramme – Training,ConsultancyandResearch – Events,ProjectsandOthers

Financial Report48 StatementbytheBoard49 Auditor’sReport50 IncomeandExpenditureStatement51 StatementofChangesinAccumulatedFunds52 BalanceSheet53 CashFlowsStatement54 NotestotheFinancialStatements64 PublicationsHighlights

Content

Students Care Service l Annual Report 2006/07

2

“ To Be A Leading Social Work OrganisationIn Enabling Students To Maximise Their Potential. ”

OUR MISSION

OUR CORE VALUES

We COMMIT to serve our clientsWelistentotheirneedsandservetoempowerthem.Wedemonstratethehighestethicalstandards.

We UPHOLD professional excellenceWeemphasiseintegrity,teamworkandqualityinourwork.Wetreatourcolleaguesandco-workerswithrespectanddignity.Wethinkandworkcreatively.Wegrowinourknowledgeandskills.Welearnfromourmistakes.

We VALUE our volunteers and service partnersWedevelopandempowerourvolunteers.Wesupportcollaborativerelationships.Werecogniseandcelebratecontributionsandaccomplishments.


2


Corporate Information

“ Almost anything you do will seem insignificant but it is important that you do it. You must be

the change that you wish to see in the world. ”Mahatma Gandhi



�

Chief Advisor MrLowSiakMengEric(BBM) 1stfromtheright

Chairman MrGopinathMenon((PBM) 6thfromtheright

Vice Chairman MrLeeChengCheongEdward(PBM) 7thfromtheright

Hon Treasurer MrPo’adBinShaikAbuBakarMattar(PBM) 11thfromtheright

Hon Secretary AssocProfVilmaD’Rozario 12thfromtheright

Members AssocProfRebeccaAng 8thfromtheright

DrAngSengBin(Co-opted) 4thfromtheright

MrCheeWaiPong 10thfromtheright

MrChuBoonHai 9thfromtheright

MrGohCheeKong 2ndfromtheright

MrLeeTiongPeng(PBM) 3rdfromtheright

MrTanSiangYuenBentley 5thfromtheright

Our Board


Sub-Committees & Centre Advisory Committees

Audit CommitteeChairman: Mr Lee Cheng Cheong Edward (PBM)

Members: Mr Chu Boon Hai Mr Thomas Ho Wei Heong

Finance Committee Chairman: Mr Po’ad Bin Shaik Abu Bakar Mattar (PBM)

Members: Mr Gopinath Menon (PBM)

Assoc Prof Vilma D’Rozario

Staff & Services CommitteeChairman: Mr Lee Cheng Cheong Edward (PBM)

Members: Dr Ang Seng Bin Mr Goh Chee Kong Mr Lee Tiong Peng (PBM)

Mr Tan Siang Yuen Bentley

Clementi Centre Relocation (Fund-Raising) CommitteeChairman: Mr Po’ad Bin Shaik Abu Bakar Mattar (PBM)

Members: Mr Chee Wai Pong Mr Chu Boon Hai Mr Lee Cheng Cheong Edward (PBM)

Clementi Centre Relocation (Building) CommitteeChairman: Mr Gopinath Menon (PBM)

Members: Mr Goh Chee Kong Mr Tan Siang Yuen Bentley

Clementi Centre Advisory CommitteeChairman: Mr Tan Siang Yuen BentleyMembers: Mr Lee Tiong Peng (PBM)

Dr Tian Cheong Sing Dr John Wong Asst Prof Yeo Lay See

Hougang Centre Advisory CommitteeChairman: Dr Ang Seng BinMembers: Assoc Prof Rebecca Ang Mrs Chan Rosaline Mr Chu Boon Hai Mr Lam Hoo Poon Mr Adrian Lim Peng Ann Mr Toh Weng Choy Mrs Yip Katherine

Yishun Centre Advisory CommitteeChairman: Mr Goh Chee KongMembers: Mr Chee Wai Pong Mr Po’ad Bin Shaik Abu Bakar Mattar (PBM)

Mr Thomas Ho Wei Heong Assoc Prof Vilma D’Rozario



6

Management & Executive StaffSim Morene (Executive Director)Oh Kwong Wee (Assistant Manager)

Directors Mak-Tay Puay San (Director, Clementi Centre)Koh-Wong Yuh Ju Peace (Director, Hougang Centre)Lim Wan-li Melissa (Director, Yishun Centre)Nguang-Low Ching Voon Geraldine (Director, Educational

Psychology Services)

Principal Social Workers * Part-time

Chang-Goh Song Eng *Chuah-Toh Yin May *Wong-Ng Cher Meng

Senior Social Workers * Part-time

Ang-Toh Chor Yan*Ang-Yeo Sock Ngen JenniferTan-Wu Mei LingSidhu-Koh Hwee Cheng Esther

Social WorkersAng Kai Fen Ee Wee Lin Vivien (since 26 Feb 2007)Koh Shing Yi DianaLee Seng MengLi Huiyan FeliciaLim Shu HuiLim Sock LingLow Yi JuanLuen Wai Sum Jenna

Ng Yien Luan TremandyOng Bin Qin Linnea (since 1 Feb 2007)Tan Jean MengWang Peishan TheresaWong Hsiao Yen DawnYang Kaiqi

PsychologistsBek-Lok Mee Hing (Senior Educational Psychologist)Ting-Hong Seok Ai Christabel (Counselling Psychologist)

Learning Support SpecialistsLai-Tan Bee Huay SusanLoh-Lee Yin Wan MagdalenWong Chye Hong Julie

Research & Programme StaffChan-Au Yong Leng Jacqueline (Research Associate)Chiam Weng Foo Samuel (Project Executive)Chen Yang Kiang (Senior Programme Coordinator)Quan Ming Wai Christine (Senior Programme Coordinator)

Accounts Executive / Admin Assistants Loo-Ang Poh Ling Angeline (Accounts Executive)Chau-Goh Sing Xuan Candice (Admin Assistant)Lai-Tay Soi Soi Betty (Admin Assistant)Loh-Yew Chai Yin Bessey (Admin Assistant)

Cleaning Assistants * Part-time

Ng Ju *Sow Get Moye *Tang Hwee Luan *

Staff of SCS 2006/2007

7Students Care Service l Annual Report 2006/07

Organisational Structure

Students Care Service l Annual Report 2007

7

Board

AdvisoryCommittees

Committees

FinanceStaff &

ServicesAudit

HougangCentre

YishunCentre

ClementiCentre


�

Executive Director

HQAssistantManagerAccountsExecutive

Centre Director

Clementi Centre

Centre Director

Hougang Centre

Centre Director

Yishun Centre

Director

Educational Psychology

Service

Training & Consultancy Department /

Research

Principal Social WorkersResearch Associate

Social Worker

Principal Social WorkerSenior Social Workers

Social WorkersProject Executives

Senior Programme Coordinators

Administration

Administrative AssistantsCleaning Assistants

Educational PsychologistsCounselling Psychologists

Learning Support Specialists

Staff Structure


�


Centre-based• Assessment/ Diagnosis• Consultation• Information and Referral• Learning Support• Public Education/ Training

Centre-based• Casework and Counselling• Children, Pre-teens and Youth Programmes• Consultation/ Parent Hours• Groupwork• Guidance Programme• Information and Referral• Public Education/ Training• Mentorship Programme *• Volunteer Development Programme

School-based• Counselling• Drop-in• Groupwork• Talks/ Workshops/ Training

Special Projects

• PSLE Hotline• Project ONE• Overseas Service Learning and Community Service Project

Training, Research and Publications

• Consultation• Seminars/ Conferences• Research• Publication

Educational Psychology

Service

Social Work Service

Training & Consultancy Department and

Research/ Publications

Services and Programmes

Only at Clementi Centre *

Services and Programmes



�0

Our Donors

Funding AgenciesNationalCouncilofSocialService/CommunityChest MinistryofCommunityDevelopment,YouthandSports

Corporate Donors/SponsorsABNAMRO

AuroraTechnologyPteLtd

BorneoMotors(S)PteLtd

CapitalInternational

Exxon Mobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

GeoscanPteLtd

HongLeongFoundation

HupSengHuatCoLtd

Ico-OpNetPteLtd

JTCCorporation

KientaEngineeringConstructionPteLtd

LeeFoundation

LeeFoundation,StatesOfMalaya

Maritime&PortAuthorityofSingapore

MilkFund

NationalYouthCouncil

NorthEastCommunityDevelopmentCouncil

NTUCIncomeInsuranceCooperativeLtd

OESConstructionPteLtd

President’sChallenge2006

RadugaPteLtd

SembawangShipyardPteLtd

SiemReapIIPteLtd

SingaporeLandAuthority(BazaarFundraisingEvent)

SingaporeTelecommunicationsLimited

SouthWestCommunityDevelopmentCouncil

SYNWorldwideLtd

SystemsOnSiliconManufacturingCoPteLtd

TanChinTuanFoundation

TheHongkongandShanghaiBankingCorpLtd

TheNationalUniversityofSingaporeSociety

TheShawFoundationPte

VopakTerminalsSingaporePteLtd

ZMCTechnologies(S)PteLtd

Contributors (Services and Donations-in-kind)ABNAMRO

AmtekEngineeringLtd

EconomicDevelopmentBoard

GoldmanSachs

JTCCorporation

NationalInstituteofEducation

NationalUniversityofSingapore

NationalYouthCouncil

NeeSoonEastCommunityClub

NorthEastCommunityDevelopmentCouncil

NgSusan

SembawangShipyardPteLtd

SouthWestCommunityDevelopmentCouncil

StarPakManagementConsultantsPteLtd

TheHongkongandShanghaiBankingCorporationLtd

��Students Care Service l Annual Report 2006/07

Individual DonorsAngBeeLian

AngChengKiat

AngChoonHer

BoeyYinChiangFreddy

BooDamien

ChenChye

ChiaChristina

ChiaKokHui

ChiaPatrick

ChiamKimSeng

ChongJenHua

ChongTetSang

ChowDavid

ChuaKayHock

ChuaLCRichard

ChuaTeckKiong

FongJeckLuan

FooMengSin

FooSangSuan

FooSuanKee

FooYongHwei

GeorgeTjia

GohCheeKong

GohChorSeng

GohJooPheng

GohOonTong

GopinathMenon

HoJuayChuangJimmy

JosephSamy

KhongShenPing

KoYeo

KohNgakTong

KohTzeYong

KwekSiewJin

LauSiongHai

LauTeckLeow

LauYingSong

LawPengKeat

LeeAndrew

LeeCheeKeong

LeeChengCheongEdward

LeeHinHooi

LeeHorChye

LeeQueeYang

LeeSiewWeng

LeeSooPing

LengAhLeong

LeongFow

LiewSonny

LimChoonHock

LimChweeKwang

LimHweeHongStanley

LimJooKuan

LimKhingSeongDennis

LimKokSing

LimMing-HuiAndrew

LimPamela

LimYeokHua

LohKimChuan

LohKwokCheong

LohLumPuiPeter

LohVoonSheng

LohYuenChoyPeter

LongTienKoon

LooiEngChai

LowEngHong

LowSiakMengEric

MakCheeHong

MorrisPiper

NeoLeongSeng

NgAhMoy

NgJoe

NgSoonHwee

NgWangChing

OhSteven

OngDanny

OngHinBee

OngJuiSangVincent

OngPeoyKuan

OngThianLai

PangGeokKeng

PohSongHock

PorngChaiSeow

QuekKayHoon

SKawano

SamLek

SikHing

SimMorene

SngAhTee

TanAhLeeAlan

TanHuckGim

TanKeeLong

TanKokKiongAndrew

TanPohLengStanley

TanSweeSeng

TanWahHengAndrew

TanYiamChengFrankie

TangPohWhee

TayBeeHuatChristina

TayCLAnthony

TayEngHuat

TayGimYenJackson

TayPengKongRobert

TeoAhKaw

TeoAlex

TeoCheowBengVincent

TeoKongPeng

TeohKeeHeong

TohEngJooSteven

WanPatrick

WongAngChai

WongChenLim

WooCheeKayAnthony

WoonSianHai

WuTianHockLister

YamJongFuat

YeapGeorge

YeeFookCheong

YeoIvan

YeoSoonChwee

YeoTinSong

YongBoonKheng


�2

“ If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy,

excitement and mystery of the world we live in. ”Rachel Carson


�2


Reviews, Reports, Highlights and Milestones

“ Let no one who loves be unhappy, even love unreturned has its rainbow. ”

James M. Barrie



��

Chairman’s Statement

2006isayearofdoublecelebrationsforStudentsCareService(SCS).Besidesmarkingour30thanniversary,wecelebratedtheappointmentofRADM(RET)KwekSiewJinasPresidentoftheNationalCouncilofSocialService.

Followingthisappointment,RADM(RET)KwekrelinquishedtheChairmanshipofSCSaftertenyearsofservice.WhileweregretseeinghimleaveSCS,wearealsoveryproudand happy that he has been called to take up higher office. WewanttorecordourappreciationofRADM(RET)Kwek’sinvaluable contribution and exemplary leadership. OnbehalfoftheBoardandstaff,Iwishhimalltheverybestinhisnewappointment.

AsthenewChairman,Iampleasedandencouragedtoreportthatthe leadershiptransitionhadbeenasmoothone.IattributethistothestrongsupportandguidanceofmyfellowBoardmembersandstaff.

Duringthe30yearsofitshistory,SCShasworkedhardatnotonlyrespondingtosocialserviceneedsanddelivering

serviceseffectively;butalsoregularlyaddressingtheissueoftheleadershipsuccessionattheBoardandmanagementlevels.BesidesensuringagoodmixofrelevantexpertiseontheBoard,wehavemanagedtoachieveabalanceofcontinuityandrenewaltostayship-shapeingovernance,managementandoperationsovertheyears.

OnBoardleadershipsuccessionandrenewal,weachievethisviaatwo-prongedapproach.Weelectexperiencedand suitable people directly to the Board, and we alsoidentifyandgroomourvolunteerswhohave leadershippotentialandwhobelieveinourmission.TheBoardwillkeepatrenewingitselftoensurethatSCScontinuestobewell-governedandremainsrelevantinthenext30years.

ThepastyearalsosawSCSfocusingonconsolidatingandreviewingitsservicesandprogrammes.SCStrail-blazedmanynewinitiatives,buttheyhavetocometoanendoncetheyhaveoutlivedtheirusefulness.Forexample,thePSLEHotlineunderwentareviewaftersixyearsofoperation.It was decided that due to a falling demand and the

“ ...we have managed to achieve a balance of continuity and renewal to stay ship-shape in governance, management

and operations over the years. ”


availabilityofotherresourcesthatprimarysixstudentscaneasilyaccessednowadays,wenolongerneedtooperatethisservice.Similarly,theStudentMentorshipProgrammeunderwentareviewafternineyearsofoperationandajointdecisionwasmadebythefourpartners-StudentsCareService, National University of Singapore, NUS SocietyandSouthWestCDC-toceaseoperationaseventshadsinceovertakentheprogramme.

Ourfreed-upresourcesaredeployedtoothernewareasofservicesuchasthepilotphaseofthePodzmentoringprogramme, an initiative of the Ministry of CommunityDevelopment, Youth and Sports; active support for theMentoringPartnership International,aneworganisationregisteredlastyeartopromotementoringinSingapore;andourpartnershipwiththeMILKFundtoservestudentsandtheirfamiliesincrisisthroughtheCompassionFund.

In conclusion, I want to express sincere thanks andappreciationtomyfellowBoardmembersandmembersofthevariousadvisorycommitteesandsub-committees

for dutifully discharging your responsibilities efficiently; fundingagencies,donorsandsponsorsforyourgenerosityand belief in our work; programme partners for yourconfidence in SCS; and volunteers and staff, for your passion, dedication and commitment in serving ourstudentsandtheirfamilies.

Thankyou.

GopinathMenon,PBM

Chairman


�6

Executive Director’s Report

Theaimofpublic listedcompanies isgrowthand theirprioritiesaredeliveringlastingvalueandattractivereturnstotheirshareholders,inadditiontogoodgovernance.Asasocialserviceorganisation,StudentsCareServicesimilarlysharessomeof theseprioritiesalbeit indifferent terms.“Growth”forSCSisachievedeitherintheexpansionofexistingservices,andintroductionofnewprogrammestomeetorrespondtoneeds,orelseinattaining“depth”inpracticeaspartofservicedelivery.Weareaccountableto our stakeholders in terms of good governance, efficient managementandutilisationofresources,andachievementofthedesiredoutcomesforourclientssothat“value”isdeliveredtodonorsandfundingagencies.

During the past year, our resources and efforts weredeployedmainlyintheareasofdeliveringandstrengtheningour core services and programmes, practising goodcorporategovernance,and traininganddevelopingourstaff. Beyond productivity and performance, we alsoactively sought to encourage reflection on work processes andoutcomes,aresearchculturetoinformpractice,anadaptiveandpositivemindset,andanawarenessofmacrodevelopmentsandtheirpotentialopportunitiesandthreatstoourwork.

Allourthreecentrescontinuedtofocusonschoolsocialworkandeducationalpsychologyservices,centre-basedprogrammes for children, pre-teens and youths, and

casework and counselling. Pages 20 to 44 shows thequantitativeachievementsandhighlightstheworkdonebyourstaffteam.

Lookingbackat2006,IamhappytoreportthatoneoftheinitiativesofSCSwasthesettingupoftheCompassionFundjointlyoperatedbySCSandtheMILKFundtohelpstudentsand their families incrisis. In itsmaidenyearofoperation, theCompassionFundhadreachedout tomorethan70studentsandtheirfamiliestoprovidereliefintheirhourofneed.

PupilPersevereisasupportprogrammeintroducedlastyeartoaugmentourworkwithyouthsat-risk.Theobjectiveis to sustain identified students and encourage them to persevere and complete their secondary education byrecognising and rewarding their effort. Pupil Persevere,beinganextrinsicrewardscheme,provedtobeausefulandeffectivetoolinourworkwiththisgroupofstudents.Itenablesthesocialworkertorecogniseandrewardtheconcreteeffortofthestudents.Theprocessofworkingwiththesocialworker,theenjoymentitprovides,thelearningitpermits,andthefeelingsofaccomplishment-allthesepositiveexperiencesconvergedtobringaboutashiftfromextrinsictointrinsicmotivationbythestudents.

A key event of the year was our 30th anniversarycelebration.Wemarked thismilestoneon2Julywitha

“ For SCS, if we have our “feet firmly on the ground with our eyes to the future”, we are confident we will be able to keep pace and continue to play a useful role in

our community. ”

�7Students Care Service l Annual Report 2006/07

FamilyDayatFortCanningforclientsandtheirfamilies,volunteers, Board and Committee members, and theelderlyinourcommunity.

InSeptember2006,weorganisedourthirdprofessionalseminar, “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges: HelpingYouth Pursue Excellence”. This seminar broughtprofessionals from the different disciplines together todiscuss, share and learn from each other. Gracing theeventwasMrTeoSerLuck,ParliamentarySecretaryoftheMinistryofCommunityDevelopment,YouthandSports.

ProjectONEevolvedfromhelpingonlyO-levelstudentstoincludeN-levelstudents.Thisproject,incollaborationwithFeiYue,hadattractedalotofpublicityforSCSlastyearandhadcontributedaresearchpieceon“StressandCopingbyStudents”.

Among several research projects, a significant study titled “StateofSchoolSocialWork inSingapore”,conductedjointly with the National Council of Social Service,was started last year and with mid-2007 as the targetcompletiondate.

PreparationworkontherelocationofClementiCentrehadcommencedwiththeformationoftheCCRelocation(Building)CommitteeandtheCCRelocation(Fundraising)Committee.Asumof$645,000hadbeenraisedfortheproject.

At 30, SCS has come a long way since its humblebeginnings. The challenge in the years ahead is howSCScanstayrelevantandbehelpfulinaneverandfast-changing socio-economic landscape. At the nationallevel,thereisoptimismaccompanyingthepolicychangesineducationwhichsignalgreater inclusion,acceptanceof diversity of talents, strengths and interests of ourchildrenandyouths.However,globalisation,theinternet,andanincreasinglyborderlessworld,whileofferingnewand more opportunities, also come with their share ofnegativeeffects.Undoubtedly,individualsandfamilieswillexperiencesomeofthenegativeimpact.ForSCS,ifwehave our “feet firmly on the ground with our eyes to the future”, we are confident we will be able to keep pace and continuetoplayausefulroleinourcommunity.

AsIlookforwardtoanotherfruitfulandexcitingyearahead,IwishtorecordmyappreciationandthankstomyChairman,Boardmembers,volunteersandmycolleaguesatSCSforthesharedcommitmentandsupportduringthepastyear.

Thankyou.

MoreneSim(Ms)Executive Director


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1975 Pro-temCommitteewasestablished

1976 RegisteredSchoolSocialWorkServiceAssociationofSingapore’s (SSWSAS) with office at Penang Lane

1977 GrantedInstitutionofaPublicCharacter(tax-exempt)statusbyInlandRevenueAuthorityofSingapore

1978 Organisation name changed to Students CareService(SCS)

1983 SetupClementiCentreatBlk437ClementiAve3.

IntroducedEducationalPsychologyService

Affiliated to Singapore Council of Social Service andCommunityChestofSingapore

1985 OpeningofClementiCentreatBlk437ClementiAve3 officiated by the late Dr Tay Eng Soon, Minister of StateforEducation

1988 Hostedvisit toClementiCentrebyPresidentWeeKimWee

1989 EstablishedHougangCentreand relocatedPenangLane office to Hougang Centre at Blk 18, Hougang Ave 3. Opening was officiated by the late Dr Tay Eng Soon

1991 ExpandedpremisesofClementiCentre

1995 Set up Yishun Centre. The first brick-laying ceremony wasgracedbytheParliamentarySecretaryforLawandHomeAffairsandMPforSembawangGRC,AssocProfHo Peng Kee. The opening was officiated by Minister forCommunityDevelopment,MrAbdullahTarmugi

1996 Celebrated 20th anniversary with Charity MusicalChairsproject

SupportedandprovidedphysicalfacilitiesandadminsupporttotheDyslexiaAssociationofSingaporeforthe first learning centre

1997 PartneredAutisticAssociation(Singapore)topilottheReach-MeProjectandprovideditsinterimhousingatSCSClementiCentre

1998 CollaboratedwithNUSSociety,NUSandTanjongPagarCDContheStudentMentorshipProgramme

ParticipatedintheGuidanceProgrammefundedbyMCDS

1999 RelocatedHougangCentrefromHougangAve3toHougangAve10

2000 Published findings of the Research Study on “The JuvenileShopliftingPhenomenon”

2001 Unveiled new corporate identity to better reflect our missionduringaCharityGolfTournamentandDinneron 2 March, officiated by Mr. Bernard Chen, MP for WestCoastGRC

Celebrated our 25th birthday on 7 June and thecelebrationlogowasunveiledbyChairman,RADM(RET)KwekSiewJin

Organised first professional seminar “Reaching Greater Heights” on3September.Itwasattendedby333participantsandprovidedanopportunityforpolicy makers, academicians, social workers andprofessionalstoexchangeideasandexperiencesinthe field of students’ work

Launchedmaidenpublication“Systemic Practice in School Social Work”on3SeptemberbyAssocProfHoPengKee,MinisterofStateforLawandHomeAffairs,andChairmanoftheInter-MinistryonYouthCrime.HecommendedSCSandsaidthatitwas“alaudableefforttodocumentitsrichexperiencesandsharethemwithotherprofessionals”

Collaborated with SPH’s Thumbs Up weekly toorganise a public seminar “Entry Into SecondaryOne”forparentsandtheirchildreninprimarysixon11November

Organised“Walk of Joy”on18NovemberatMarinadePromenadeParktocelebrateour25thAnniversarywith clients and their families, volunteers, donors,staff and well-wishers. The event was graced byRADM(NS)TeoCheeHean,MinisterforEducationandSecondMinisterforDefence

Presented “Arms and The Man” on 8 December.The joint theatrical production with Vysion ArtsProductions aimed to provide young people theopportunitytodevelopandshowcasetheirpotentialthroughtheircreativeinvolvementindrama

InitiatedandintroducedPSLEHotlineinSingapore


��

Students Care Service Milestones & Achievements


2002 Oganised the first SCS Volunteers’ Connection

Organised the first students’ seminar “Voices and Choices” on 26 October officiated by Mr Chan Soo Sen, Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office and EducationandMinistryofCommunityDevelopmentandSports

Launchedbook“A Hand To Hold”cumSeminaron“ChildrenwithSpecialNeeds”,byDrNgEngHen,MinisterofStateforEducation,andManpower

2003 Published findings of “An Exploratory Study on Youths’ resilience and family values in Singapore”inJune

Organised Professional Seminar on “Working with Students – A Systemic Approach” officiated by Mr ChanSooSen,MinisterofStateforEducation,andCommunityDevelopmentandSports.

Staff,MsEstherKoh,awardedtheOutstandingSocialWorkerAward(OSWA)for2002

2004 Led group on School Social Work Study Trip andConference,13to24April(UnitedStates)

Completed “Exploratory Study on “Out-of-School Youths” (OSYs), a joint research project withSingaporeAnti-NarcoticsAssociation(SANA)

Organised first “Youth Mentoring Convention: The Promise of Mentoring” on 4 September officiated byMinisterforCommunityDevelopment,YouthandSports(MCYS)andSecondMinisterforTradeandIndustry,DrVivianBalakrishnan.

Presentedpaperon“Building Social Capital Through Youth Mentoring Programme”atGlobalSocialWork2004atAdelaide,Australia.

Organised the first Musical, “Project Passion: Howling Tales”

InitiatedProject“O”forOLevelsStudents

2005 Launched publication “Raising Your Family’s EQ”,officiated by Mayor Amy Khor, South West District.

Published “The SMP handbook on Mentoring: Friendship, Support and Guidance”.

Staff,MrsWongCherMeng,awardedtheOutstandingSocialWorkerAward(OSWA)for2004.

Organisedthe“International Conference on Inclusive Education: The School as a Caring Community” ,officiated by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State, MinistryofEducationfrom9to11November.

OrganisedanOverseasServiceLearningProjectbyyouthstoKhaoLak,Phuket

2006 Supported the formationofMentoringPartnershipInternationalandprovidedinterimhousingatSCSHougangCentre

Co-organised first “National Symposium forSchoolSocialWorkandCounselling2000”withNCSS

Organisedandpresentedprofessionalseminar “Breaking Barr iers,BuildingBridges:HelpingYouthPursueExcellence”


��


20

Quantitative Achievement 2006

Note: 1. Quantitativecalculation isbasedonthetotalnumberofservice-usersrecordedforprogrammes

andincludesmultiple-serviceusers.2. EPScontributed15repliestolettersin2006for“What’sUp”newspaper,amonthlypublicationwith

acirculationofapproximately27,000.

Overall Quantitative AchievementSocial Work (SW) 2006 2005 Services/Programmes for students 30,289 24,966

Consultation 492 592Counselling/Casework(SW) 671 721Groupwork 1,265 1,475Developmental&PreventiveProgrammes 3,615 2,567Training 17,049 15,346

SpecialProgramme/Projects 7,197 4,265 – PSLE Hotline 123 183 – Project ONE 6,994 3,781 – Reading Star 19 - – Project Cope 40 - – Odssesy (only in 2005) - 206 – Overseas Trip - True Heartz / Project Mawai - 95 – Overseas Trip: Hearts@Work 21 0

Others 4,026 2,561

Enquiries 249 228ParentsServed 1,926 1,454TeachersServed 947 247OtherProfessionalsServed 125 -Volunteers 779 632

TOTAL 34,315 27,527 Educational Psychology Service (EPS) 2006 2005 Services/Programmes for students 1,259 1,307

Consultation,AssesmentandCasework 1,029 701InterventionProgrammes(Learning) 219 223(previouslyreferredas“SpecialisedLearningProgramme”) TrainingandGroupwork 11 383

Parents / Teachers/ Professionals Served 525 507

TOTAL 1,784 1,814

2�Students Care Service l Annual Report 2006/07

TOUCHING THE FUTURE (An Extract)

“ My “office” is a room full of brightly colored toysand laughing children.

You may not think that what I do is very importantand you may even whisper behind my back

“what a waste of a good mind.”But I know better.I make a difference

because I’m changing the worldone child at a time.

Everyday I’m getting the once in a lifetime chanceto touch the future. ”

Marti Doyle



22

Highlights of Services, Programmes and Activities

1. SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK

SCS served a total 17 schools (10 secondary and 7primary) during the reporting year. Different levels ofservices(preventive,developmentalandremedial)andavarietyofprogrammesandactivitieswereprovidedtohelpandreachouttodifferentgroupsofstudentsaccordingto each school’s profile and needs. Besides working with individualstudents throughcounselling,groupworkandclass-based sessions, there was also the engagementofparentsthroughparentingtalks.Likewise,weworkedcloselywithteacherstosupportstudents.

The following illustrates just some aspects of the workdonebyoursocialworkersfromourClementi,HougangandYishunCentresinthevariousschools.

Fuchun Primary School: Case Story of Fiona

Fiona was a primary four student. Her parents wereundergoinggreatmaritaldistresswhensheapproachedour social worker for counselling. She shared with theschoolsocialworkerherfamilyproblems,believingthatcounsellingwouldhelpherfeelbetter.Theschoolsocialworker attended to her distress and self-blame andobtainedherpermissiontosharetheinformationwithatrusted teacher so that shecould receive support fromschoolaswell. Fiona lookedvisibly relievedwhensheleft the counselling room. She also agreed to let theschoolsocialworkerspeakwithherparents.

Fiona’s parents subsequently came to school to speakwith the school social worker about their maritalproblemsandconcernsforFionaandhersisters.WhenFiona’smothermovedoutofthematrimonialhome,theschoolsocialworkerreferredbothhusbandandwifeforindividualcounsellingat their respectiveFamilyServiceCentrestohelpthemcopewiththeirowndistress.

Fionastillstrugglesoverher‘single-parentfamily’statusandmisseshermother’sdailypresence. However,shereflected during a recent counselling session that it was betterforherparentstobeapartastheywereunabletolive together without quarrels and fights.

Attheendoftheschoolyear,Fionaevenbroughtsomeof her close friends who were experiencing family /friendship difficulties to seek help from the school social worker. From seeking help for her own problems, thisbravegirlhasbecomeanimportant link inhelpingbothfamily and friends access the support needed to copewith difficulties.

Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School: Going Beyond School-based Sessions

Wecontinuedtostrengthenourcommunity-basedschoolsocial work model through provision of centre-basedpreventive and developmental programmes for youth.Theyouthtuitionprogrammesaw12studentsreceivingacademicsupportatSCSandwasacollaborativeeffortbetween the school and SCS. Regular feedback andupdates were provided to the school on the students’progress.Itwaswithgreatsatisfactionthatwelearntthatoneof thestudentson theprogrammehad topped theGCE“N”(Technical)Levelexaminationin2006!

Holy Innocents’ High School: Strengthening Our Partnership

Thisisourthirdyearcollaboratingwiththeschool.ThisyearsawastrengtheningofthepartnershipbetweenSCSandHIHS.Thiswasevidentthroughthevariousoutreachplatforms at the beginning of the year to raise the profile andcreateawarenessoftheservicesandtheschoolsocialworkers. This was in response to the findings of the needs assessmentconductedthepreviousyear.

Ourschoolsocialworkersmadeitapointtoparticipatein the school camps and the Valentine’s Day outreachprogramme,thusallowingthemtointeractwiththeSec1and2students,aswellasthegeneralschoolpopulation.Throughtheinformalinteractions,these“newer”studentsgot to personally know the school social workers andhence, were able to have a greater awareness of theserviceswhichtheycouldaccessintheschoolwhentheneedarose.

Otherworkwithstudentsinvolvedtworunsofa6-sessiongroupwork on anger management for identified students whohadexhibitedalackofemotionalcontrol.Therewas


alsoaseriesoftalksfortheSecondary1,2and3studentstohelpthempreparefortheirexaminations.

Besides working with the students, two parentingworkshopswiththeparentssupportgroupwereorganised.Theywere:“UnderstandingTeenagers–GrowingPains,GrowingGains”and“UnderstandingTeenagers–LookingBeneaththeIceberg”.Bothworkshopswerewellreceivedbytheparents.

Ghim Moh Secondary School: Classroom Groupwork Itwasbroughttotheattentionoftheschoolsocialworkerat the start of the year that a class from the 2NT levelwas giving a lot of problems to the teachers. Lessonswere frequently disrupted by the students who weremisbehaving in class and openly challenging authority.Adialoguesessionwasarrangedandconductedwithallthe teachers who taught the class. During the session,teachersraisedmanyconcerns.

During our first groupwork session, time were specially set aside to find out from the students the difficulties theywereencountering inschool.Theyvoicedout thattheydidnotliketheteacherswhowere“biasedagainstthemandalwayspickedonthem”.Respondingtotheircomments,theschoolsocialworkerchallengedtheclassto demonstrate to the teachers that they were able tobehave themselves in class if they wanted to and thushelpedchangetheperception.

Learning patience and teamwork through games

Using a behavioural modification approach, the students’ positivebehaviourwasreinforced.Tomotivatethem,a“chaletweekendstay”wasofferedasarewardtothosestudentswhosucceededinbehavingwellinclass.Afteraperiodof intensiveworkwiththeclass,successwasobservedatseveralfronts.Teacher“C”indicatedthatshewasmoreable toget theattentionof thestudentsduringher lessons.Theclasscouldbeverynoisywhileshe was teaching. But once she raised her hand, theykeptquiet. Itwasauseful technique for her toget theclasstoquietendown,sothatteachingcouldgoon.

Student “D” had been truanting frequently. Even if heattended school, he would inevitably be sent to thegeneral office for misbehaviour. Since the start of the groupwork and the introduction of the “token system”,Student “D” attended school regularly. On occasionswhenhedidnotturnupforschool,hewouldproduceamedical certificate, which he had not done so in the past. Healsomadeaneffort tostayoutof troubleand thus,waspunishedlessoften.

Student “H” was identified as an “Indian chief” who would influence the class to be unco-operative towards the teachers.Hewassubsequentlyappointedbytheschoolsocialworkertobetheleaderresponsibleforremindingtheclasstoquietendownwhentheteacherraisedhisorherhand.Hedidagreatjobandtherewerenocomplaintsfromteachersabouthimanymore.At the end of the year, the majority of the studentsmanagedtoaccumulateenough“tokens”toqualifythemforanenjoyableandfunweekendatachalet!

Clementi Town Secondary School:Mini-Social Entrepreneurship Programme

Fourclasses fromtheNAandNTstreamswere taskedto organise a flea market. They were given a choice - to contribute their profits to their class funds or support the needystudentsintheirschool.TheprogrammeaimedtoprovideanopportunityfortheClassParentsandstudentsto interact, bond and work together in a cooperativeand fun way. The programme endeavoured to promoteentrepreneurship as a form of life-skill learning and toencourage students to be responsible and caring bycontributingbacktosociety,inthiscasetotheirschool.


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Selectedstudentsundertookdifferentrolesi.e.Chairman,Publicity Co-ordinator, Treasurer, and Items-Collector.Whilesomestudentsgaveinterestingideasonwhattheyhoped tosellordesign,mostof thestudentswerenotmotivated to start any preparation. Due to the lack ofcontribution fromtheclass, theywereunable tocollectmanyitems.

The surprise came on the day of the flea market sale. The studentsenthusiasticallyturnedupearlierthanaskedto,allreadytosetupanddecoratetheirstalls.Theybroughtwiththemmanysecond-handorhand-madeitems.Astudentevenbakedcookiestosell.Aftersettingupthestalls,thestudentsexcitedlybeganpromotingtheirproducts.Thewell-decoratedandcheerful-lookingstallsattractedmuchattentionformteachersandschoolmates.Theysupportedtheclassesbybuyingtheitemsonsale.Oneteacherevenmadeabulkorderoffriendshipbands.

Budding entrepreneurs

At the end of the flea market day, the students decided to contribute the profits to the fund for needy students. The schoolsocialworkerprocessedwiththemontheirlearningexperiences and the students learnt and understoodthat the 4Ps (Place, Promotion, Product and Price) areimportant factors when starting or running a businesssuccessfully.

This Mini-Social Entrepreneurship Programme allowedthestudentstogetatasteofhardworkneededto“earnmoney” even for a worthy cause, as well as to work

togetherasateam.Thefeedbackwaspositiveanditwasmostencouragingwhensomestudentssuggestedhavingmore of such opportunities to raise funds for charity.

New Town Secondary School: “C.O.O.L” Groupwork

Fromstrongresistancetostrongrelationshipandrapport-thissummeduphowfartheclassofsecondary2/8hadcomebytheendofthegroupworksessions.

The “C.O.O.L” (Consequences and Others-OrientedLearning) classroom groupwork was introduced as aninterventiontoteachstudentsabouttheconsequencesoftheiractionsandtobeawareofhowtheiractionsaffectothers.Schoolsocialworkersencounteredresistancefromthestudentsinitiallyastheyviewedgroupworkasaformof disciplinary action to fix their behaviour. Furthermore, they perceived the adults as controlling figures. Some of thestudentsevenfeltthattheobjectivesdidnotsitwellwiththemastheywerethebetter-behavedstudentsintheclass.Manystudentsexhibitedresistancebyrefusingtoparticipateandcooperateduringthegroupwork.

Takingintoaccountindividualmake-upandpersonalities,the better-behaved students were placed in a grouptargeted to help them boost their self-esteem. Thissuitedthestudentsastheirmoralewaslow.Throughtheexperientialactivities,theytastedsuccessesthatincreasedtheiresteem.Besides,workingwithasmallgroupenabledtheschoolsocialworkertogivemoreindividualattention,thushelpingtobuildtherelationshipveryquickly.

Theotherstudentswithbehavioralissueswereplacedintotwogroups.Therespectiveschoolsocialworkersplannedandconductedactivitiesaimedatbuildingrapportwiththestudentsandbringingoutthekeylearningatthesametime.Thestudentsenjoyed thesoccersessions inparticular,andlearnttheimportanceofrespecttowardspeersandauthority.Initially,thestudentsfailedtoshowrespecttotheschoolsocialworkersandevenusedvulgarities.Thelatterchose not to react, but displayed firmness and respect to thestudentswhenhandlingthem.

Cleargrouprulesweresetandtheschoolsocialworkerworked towards norming the group. The student withleadershippotentialwasassignedtheroleofleaderwiththeresponsibilitytoleadthegroupandgetmemberstosit

Services, Programmes and Activities (cont’d)


inacircle.Otherrolesandresponsibilitieswereassignedto different students. Some students were responsibleforkeepingthesoccerballsaftereachgamewhileotherswereassignedtorefereegames.Eachstudentwasalsogiventheopportunityandtimetospeakinthegroupwithfacilitation by the school social worker. The successfulnormingofthegrouphelpedbuiltapositiveculturethatallowed the school social worker to bring across thelearningmessages.Lunchtimeoutreach sessionsafter thegroupworkwerealsoveryhelpful forbuilding rapportwith thestudents.Through these sessions, students shared with schoolsocial workers their struggles in school and at home.Adviceandguidancewereprovided to thestudentsbythe school social workers accordingly. A BBQ outingwas organised to further build relationship with thestudents during the June holidays. The outing servedto increase the students’ positive feelings towards theschoolsocialworkers,makingiteasiertoworkwiththem.

The joy of enjoying food with friendsGradually, the students’ perception of groupworkchanged and their resistance towards groupworkreducedtremendously-frompassivetoengagingclients.The students began to see it as a privilege to join this

groupwork and 100% of the students indicated in thefeedback forms that they would like to continue withtheprogrammethe followingyear.All thestudentsalsoindicated that theyhad learnt the importanceofhavingrules and to listen when someone was talking. Ninety-three percent of the students indicated that they hadlearnt to show more respect for people around them.Onthepartofourschoolsocialworkers,theyexperiencedimmensesatisfactionconsideringthefactthatitwasthefirst year that they were working with the students of the Schoolandhadquicklymanagedtowinthemover.Albert’s Story: The STS Approach (Success Through Strength)

Albertcomesfromablendedfamily.Hisparentsdivorcedwhenhewasveryyoung.Hismotherremarriedandgavebirthtoanothertwosons.Togetherwithhisbiologicalsisterand new family, Albert lives in a 3-room HDB flat. Albert is inaSecondary4Normal(Technical)andattendsaschoolinthewesternpartofSingapore.

StudentsCareService(SCS)hasbeenpartneringAlbert’sschool to provide school social work since 1998 andAlberthadbeeninvolvedinthedevelopmentalandlife-skillsgroupworksincehewastransferredtotheschoolatsecondary2.

In April this year, Albert was involved in a severe conflict withateacher.Therewasaheatedargumentandphysicalforcewasused.Itbecameahugematterresultinginhisparentsraisingthemattertohigherauthorities.Albertwasthenreferredbytheschooltooursocialworkerforhelpinangermanagementandalsotoimproveonhisrelationshipwithhisteachers.

Astheschoolsocialworkerwaspresentintheschoolatleastthreetimesaweekforgroupworksessions,therewasastrongvisibilityandrapportoftheschoolsocialworkerwith the students.Albertwascomfortable andopen toworkwiththeschoolsocialworkeronhowtomanagehisemotionsandenhancehisschoolexperience.

Alberthadaratherbadimpressionofteachersanddislikedauthority figures who tried to control him. He shared that he would flare up easily when teachers scolded him for talking


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inclass.Hewaseasilyprovokedashethoughtthatotherpeople were trying to “find fault” with him, and thus, was oftendefensiveandangry.Hesharedthathewasoftenblamedforthingsthathappenedathomeandwasunhappythathewasalwaysscoldedbyhisparents.Heusedtogetinto fights outside school over staring incidents. As he was very good at fighting, he derived a sense of excitement and achievement whenever he got into fights.

Accordingtothecycleoffailure,whenastudentisunabletomeetsocietalexpectationsintheareasofschool,family,friendsandcommunity,hewilltendtoexhibitanti-socialbehaviour. When the anti-social behaviour is deemedsuccessfultothestudent,hewillcontinuetoexhibitthesecopingstancesastheygivehimasenseofachievement,andthecyclecontinues.

TheschoolsocialworkerdecidedtouseaninterventionstrategytohelpAlbertbreakoutofthecycleoffailurebyintroducinganalternativesetofnewexpectationsbasedon his needs, talents and strengths so that successis redefined for him and the anti-social behaviour will diminish. This strategy is known as “Success ThroughStrengths” (STS). The STS’ philosophy is built on atheoreticalfoundationthateveryindividualhasstrengths,assetsandresources.Itelicitsthestrengthsofthestudentandbuildsupon thesestrengths toconstructanactionplantoaddresstheissuesconcerned.

A meeting was set up for Albert and all the subjectteachers. Before the meeting, the teachers had threeweeks to identify the specific strengths of Albert that they hadobserved,and tohighlightduring themat theSTSmeeting.Astheschoolsocialworkerhadastrongrapportwiththestudentandtheteachers,heeasilyfacilitatedatrustingandwarmenvironment fordiscussion.Theaimof the session was to create a positive experience forthestudentandtheteachers,sothatapositivecycleofinteractioncouldtakeplace.

When the teachers started to affirm Albert on his strengths, he was surprised to discover that his teachers gavepositivefeedbackonhimratherthantheusualnegativecomments on his misbehaviour. As the affirmations were specific and genuine, Albert was able to claim ownership of them.Hesharedthatthestrengthsnotedbytheteachersweremuchmorethanwhathethoughthehad.Hewas


appreciativeandpleasedwiththeteachersforbeingabletoseethestrengthsinhim.

Following on this positive experience, some concernson Albert’s behaviour were raised and an action planwas drawn up jointly by Albert and his teachers. Theaction plan involved effort and actions by Albert, hisForm Teacher, a few of his subject teachers and eventhePrincipal.ThiscollaborativeefforttoworktogethertoaddresstheconcernsledAlberttoseeandfeelthattheschool cared for him. The STS session had definitely left a deepimpactonAlbertandenhancedhisrelationshipwithhisteachers.Sincethen,Alberthadbeenhavingamuchbetter learning experience in school and his behaviourhadvastlyimproved.

Two important factors contributed to the success ofthis intervention. Firstly, it is important to have properpreparationbeforetheSTSmeeting.Alotofworkwentintobriefings and consultations with the teachers and Albert to preparethemfortheSTSmeeting.Thesecondimportantfactoristhemindsetandreadinessoftheteachers.Theirattitudeshapedthemeeting.Theirsincerity,genuinenessand belief in affirmation are critical to the success of this intervention.

SCS is very privileged to be able to work with thesewonderfulandcaring teachersof theschool tomakeasuccessoftheinterventionandeffectivelyhelpAlbert.

27Students Care Service l Annual Report 2006/07

2. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY SERVICE (EPS)

Educational Psychology is one of the core servicesprovided by Students Care Service (SCS) to helpstudents who have educational and learning relatedissues and are studying in mainstream schools. TheEPS Division also provides professional consultationservicestoparents,schoolsandotherserviceproviders.Comprising Educational Psychologists and LearningSupportSpecialists,theEPSservesstudentsaged5to18years.EPSDivisioncontinuestoservealargenumberofclientsduringthereportingyearthroughvariousmodesof service delivery: psycho-educational assessment and diagnosis, consultation and counselling, learning and language intervention programmes, behavioural intervention programmes for mainstream special needs students, as well as talks and workshopspertaining to topics on learning difficulties and special needs.

Zainal’s Story of Success and Hope “I am so stupid what! I can’t see my alphabets right!” Thiswasanoften-heardphrasefromZainalashehithisheadwithhishandinfrustrationinearly2005.Zainal’smotherhadsuspectedhersonofhavingseverelearningdifficulties and sought help from SCS. He was in primary onebutwasnotabletoread.Zainal’selderbrotheralsohad learning difficulties and had previously accessed ourservices,hence,hismotherwasmoreattunedtothesymptoms of learning difficulties and had noticed similar characteristicsinheryoungerson.

Zainal’s mother was greatly concerned as the familyspoke only Malay and she felt inadequate to supportherson.Moreover,shefeltZainalwasworseoffthanhisbrotherintermsofhislearning,behaviour,andattitude.Zainal could not identify the letters of the alphabetalthoughhecouldreciteAtoZverbally.Heoftenwrotethem in reverse - ‘b’ became ‘d’ and ‘g’ became ‘p’ .Even capital letters were written in reverse, particularly‘G’and ‘R’.Copyingwordswasa tortureandhisworkwouldhavemanyerasures.Hewouldmissoutlettersorlosepositionofletterswhilecopying.Hecouldreadonlytwowordsoutofacommonwordlistof40andwastwoyearsbehindinhisliteracyskills.

Reversals were noted in Zainal’s letters of the alphabet.

ItwasnotsurprisingthatZainalhadverylowselfesteem,was often very moody, grumpy, and refused to do hishomework. He would give up at the slightest sight ofschoolwork,wasclingytohismother,andwouldlosehistemperattheslightestprovocation.

He was quickly enrolled in the Specialised LearningSupport Programme (SLSP) under the EPS Division inJune2005. Inaddition,ashismotherwasverykeen tolearnhowtohelpZainalathome,consultationsessionswere arranged for mother and child with the LearningSupportSpecialisttomodelcertainpracticalactivitiestobe carried out at home. Support from Zainal’s motherprovedtobeacrucialfactorcontributingtohisprogress.

DuringtheSLSPsessions,apointwasmadetoaddresshiscognitiveprocessingskillsfore.g.perception,memory,logical thought and his concentration, by incorporatingvarious specialised activities such as the Audibloxprogramme*, and the Earobics Computer softwareprogrammetotrainhisphonologicalawareness.

In addition to attending the SLSP, Zainal had theopportunity to also enrol in the centre-based ReadingStarsprogrammewhichgavehimtheopportunitytoreadstoriesandtakepartinfollow-upreadingactivities.


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SLSP and the Audiblox Programme.*

Withthemultiplemodesofsupport includinghelp fromhis mother, significant progress came a year later in the form of a changed attitude to learning. Zainal wasstillhismischievousself,at timesattractedattention ininappropriateways,butitwasclearthathewouldattemptto read/dohiswork insteadofgivingup.Therewasnomorewhiningduringlessons,andthiswasreplacedbyaneagernesstocollecttokenstoaddtohisprogresschart.He appeared more confident due to the recognition of his smallsuccessesinthevariousprogrammes.Heobtainedhis first pass in an English test at the end of 2006. He was overjoyed.Thiswasafeatconsideringhecouldonlyreadtwo words when he was first tested.

Indeed success was made sweeter for his mother duetothecountlesspainfulhoursshehadputintocarryingoutcertainactivitiestaughttoher,despitehavingtolookaftertwootherchildren.

Surely,therewillbeotherobstaclesinthenearfutureaschildren with specific learning difficulties often face as theyprogressthroughhigherlevelsinschool.However,itisassuringtonotethatbothmotherandchildhavegainedskills to face these obstacles. Through sessions withstaff,Zainal’smothernowbetterunderstandsherson’sspecial needsandhas learnt to adjust her speechandmanner of communication so that he feels encouragedtolearn.Zainalhimselfhaslearntthattherearestepshecan take when he encounters a difficult task. He can use strategiestohelphimselfreadorrememberthingsbeforetakingthenextsteptoaskforhelp.

Some Words From Parents

Thefollowingarefeedbackfromparentswhosechildrenhavereceivedsupportfromourvariousservicesandprogrammes:

“Thank you for your patience to understand my daughter’s needs. “- Mdm Lee, Mother of P2 girl (Assessment, Consultation and Counselling Service)

“Very clear and direct tips that I think I can do, Thanks.”- Mr. Wong, Father of P2 boy (Assessment, Consultation and Counselling Service)

“I see my nephew likes coming here to learn. He is more willing to learn compared to last year. He is also more willing to communicate and play with others. He used to keep very quiet and is not sociable.”- Mr. Lam , Uncle of P1 boy (Specialised Learning Support Programme)

“在此教学服务，我更了解我孩子的需要。困难出在那里。”(“The programme has helped me to better understand the needs of my child and his difficulty in learning.”) - Mdm Oh, Mother of P2 Boy (Specialised Learning Support Programme)

“My son is very happy to come here (SCS). His spelling has improved a lot. Now I asked the school teacher to let him learn the whole list of words and not just half. And he is getting full or almost full marks for them. He is more confident now.”- Mdm Zainon, Mother of P2 boy (Specialised Learning Support Programme)

“My boy learns a lot after he comes here. From cannot recognize any word till now he can get 70 something for his P1 exam…. I’m very happy.”- Mrs. Xie , Mother of P1 boy (Specialised Learning Support Programme)

“My child has developed strong interest in reading & drawing pictures recently. He now likes to share with me and his mom stories based on pictures he draws. He does it with pride. I believe it is because he has gained much confidence from the programme.” - Mr. Tan , Father of K2 boy (Reading Stars Programme)



3. CENTRE-BASED CASEWORK AND COUNSELLING

Wesharebelowthreestoriesonsomecasesthatreceivedcounsellingatourcentres.

A School Refusal Case (Primary School)

Wei, aPrimary3boy, had refused to attend school foraboutthreeweeksinMarchlastyear.Thiswasafterhehad fallen down and broken his right arm after beingpushedbyaboyinschool.Sincethen,hehadexperiencednightmaresofreturningtoschool.Besidesthisincident,WeiwasalsoanxiousaboutnotdoingwellinEnglish.

OursocialworkerutilisedthedrawingtechniquetoengageWei.Hespontaneouslydrewhisfamily,andfriendsaswellasthingsassociatedwithhisfear.Oneofhisdrawingshada“redmonster”burningdowntheschool.Thepicturehadatorchthatdefeatedtheredmonster.Whenaskedwhatthe torch represented, Wei named 3 things: the brain,handsandlegs.Weithentalkedabouthisbadbrainandgoodbrain.Thebadbraintoldhimnottogotoschoolanditwassopowerful that itoverwhelmedhim totally.ThenextfewcounsellingsessionsthenfocusedonattendingtoWei’sanxieties.

Onthefourthsession,oursocialworkerpreparedWeitoreturn to school.Hewanted tobringalonghis cartoonfigurine, Doremon, with him. On the day he was supposed to return to school, Wei managed to change into hisuniformbut refused tostepoutofhishouse.He threwtantrumwhenoursocialworkerwasathishouse.Afterhehadcalmeddown,hetalkedabouthisfearofhearingtheschoolbell.Aftermuchattendingtohisfear,heagreedtoroleplayonwalkingtotheschoolwiththesocialworkerandhismother.Hismoodchangedforthebetterafterthat.He got out of his flat and walked ahead of the adults. He steppedintotheschoolcompoundwithoutanyhesitationandledthesocialworkertothehall.However,hisfearre-surfacedtheminutehenearedhisclassroom.Weirefusedentertheclassroomdespitehisteacherandclassmatesinvitationandpersuasion.Thatday,heonlymanagedtoattendMathlesson.

Thenextday,Weididbetter.Hewenttoschool,steppedinto the classroom and stayed on till the last period.

“She likes to come here to read the books. She understands the lesson here and ready to read with me at home. I also enjoy reading with her.”- Mrs. Tham , Mother of K2 girl (Reading Stars Programme)

“There is much improvement in reading and also his attitude. He also asks quite a few questions and wants to know more about it.”- Mdm Ho, Mother of K2 boy (Reading Stars Programme)

Group reading activity

Touch, feel and learn


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Accordingtohismother,hewashappybutcomplainedabout giddiness. His mother noticed he was havingnightmaresthatnightandhadshouted,“Noway.Don’twanttogointoclass.”Apparently,theanxietiesweretoomuchtocope.

Weicontinuedtoexperiencetheanxietiesandexhibitedschoolrefusalfromtimetotime.Twootherprofessionalswerebroughtintohelphim-aneducationalpsychologistand a psychiatrist. Wei’s mother persevered and triedwhatevershehad learnt from thesocialworker tohelpWeicopewithhisanxieties.ThegoodnewscamewhenWeieventually returned toschoolafter threemonthsofstruggle. He had thoughtfully sent a card to our socialworkertosharethathehadovercomehis“badbrain”andwasattendingschoolregularly.

A School Drop-out

14-yearoldChingdroppedoutofschoolinJunelastyear.Shewasadamantaboutnot returningtoschoolassheclaimedshelostinterestinstudying.Herparentsremainedhopefulevenashermotherbroughtherforcounselling.The first session was focused on engaging Ching since she appearedtohaveamindofherownandcouldnotbeeasilybeingpersuaded.Hermotherwasaveryunderstandingparent. She hoped that Ching would at least considerattendingprivateschoolandwaspreparedtolistentoherdaughter’sviews.

AfterassessingthatChingwasnotathighriskofgettingintothewrongcompany,andthatherpre-matureschool-leavingwasduemainlytoadislikeofstudyingthathadaccumulatedovertheyears,oursocialworkersuggestedthatChingneededexposure todifferentoptionsbeforeshecoulddecideonherlifegoal.

EffortsweremadetoattendtoChing’sparents’anxietyandhelpingthemtobesupportivetowardsChing.Theirwillingness to pace with Ching paid off when Ching finally decidedtoattendaprivateschoolinJanuary2007.A School Refusal Case (Secondary School)

Zara,a15-yearoldgirlwasreferredforcounsellingasshehad been absent from school for five months. Her anxious


parentsbroughthertoseetwopsychiatristswithfruitlessresults.Shewasalsosenttoseeacounselloratacentrenearherhouse.However,shecontinuedtoavoidschool.Her teachers decided to arrange for the school socialworkertovisitZaraandherfamilyathome,astheirlaststrawtopersuadehertoreturntoschool.

Zara came across as a quiet and timid teenager. Shesufferedsleeplessnightsandpanicattackswhenevershedecidedtogotoschool.Sheclaimedthatasmuchassheenjoyedschool,shewasunabletobringherselftoschool.Shewasworriedoverhavingtoexplaintoherclassmatesonherschoolrefusalbehaviour.Itwasalsoprogressivelydifficult for Zara to engage in any activities without her motheraround.TheschoolsocialworkersoonfoundoutthatZara’soldersisterwassuffering fromanorexiaandhadnotbeentoschoolforthepasttwoyears.Itseemedthetwosiblingssharedastrongbondonschoolrefusal.It tooktremendouseffortandtimefortheschoolsocialworker to break ice with Zara. It was challenging to“ask” and “do” things “out of the box” with Zara whowas “seasoned” at attending counselling sessions. Italso appeared that Zara was beginning to doubt theprofessional’s ability to change her pattern of schoolrefusal. Hence, the school social worker decided thatcounsellingsessionsforZarahadtobeascreativeandunconventionalaspossible.

To encourage Zara to do things without her mother,and allow her to experience success, Zara was invitedto volunteer in our children’s programme. Through thisvoluntary stint andexperience,Zaragradually regainedsome of her confidence. Since many of the children she “worked”withcame from the low-income families, andwerechallengedintheirabilitytolearn,Zararealisedhowfortunateshewascomparedtothem.Moreimportantly,shecametounderstandthatshewasnotbornwithherproblem.Thisgavehertremendoushope.Shestartedtobelieveinherselfandthatshecouldovercomeherfears.Mucheffortwasput intoeasingZara’sanxiety ingoingbacktoschool.Firstly,theschoolsocialworkerengagedZara to talk about her anxiety and suggested ways tocope with them. They included visualisation exercises,andpositiveself-talk.Ourschoolsocialworkerworked


withtheteachersintheschooltohelpthempreparetheclassmates forZara’s return to theschool. TheschoolalsomadespecialarrangementsforZaratoswitchtoaclasswherehercousinwasin.Thishelpedtoreduceheranxiety. Tuition classes by volunteers at SCS was alsoinitiatedbytheschoolsocialworker tohelpZaracatchupwithherstudiesaftershehaddisclosedheranxietiesabout not being able to follow lessons in class. Hermotherwasalsosupportedthroughnumerouscounsellingsessionswhereby theschoolsocialworkerattended toherfrustrations,disappointmentsandevenfearthatZarawouldneverattendschoolagain.After four longmonths,and theconcertedeffortofourschoolsocialworker,theschool,parents,andthevolunteertutor, Zara finally went back to school. The latest update is thatsheisahappyandadjustedteenager,andispreparingtositforher“O-level”examinationsattheendof2007.

4. GUIDANCE PROGRAMME

TheGuidanceProgramme,fundedbytheMCYS,aimstohelpyoungoffendersrecognisetheseriousnessoftheircrimesandtoequipthemwiththeappropriatelife-skillstoovercometheirvulnerabilitytocommitcrime.

Besides casework and counselling, most studentsunderwentthedifferentcomponentsoftheprogramme.These include: Theft intervention programme (TIP),CHOICE groupwork, GP Family Day, and volunteeringopportunities inourchildrenandpre-teensprogramme.Parentsalsoparticipatedintheparentssupportgroupandtheparent-teengroupwork.

In general, the youths found GP useful and beneficial in helpingthemnottore-offend,andtheirresponsetowardsgroupworkwaspositive.TheybondedwellwiththesocialworkersduringtheCHOICEprogrammeandrememberedthe lessons they had learnt through the activities. Theyouths found the prison visit impactful as it helped toreinforcetheideathat“prisonlifewasreal”anditwould“takeawaytheirfreedom”.

The youths’ parents found the parents’ support grouphelpful in allowing them to understand their teenagersbetter.Sharingtheirexperienceswithotherparentsalsohelpedthemfeelsupported.

Inthesecondhalfoftheyear,inplaceoftheParents’SupportGroup, we conducted the first Parent-Teen groupwork undertheCHOICEpackage.AttendanceofparentsfortheParent-Teengroupworkwasverygood,comparedtothepoor attendance for the earlier Parents Support Group.The improved attendance could have resulted from thecompulsoryattendanceoftheyouths,whomtheparentswantedtosupportthroughtheirownpresence.Wefoundthat the mutual affirmation of both parties (youths and parents) in one segment of the groupwork provided aparticularlypowerfulandemotionalexperienceforthem.

YouthsonGPPlus,ontheotherhand,hadtheopportunitytopickupskillsonplanningandorganisingactivities.Theyalsolearntresponsibilitythroughlookingafterthechildrenwhowereonthechildren’sprogramme,andintheprocess,gainedabetterunderstandingofthemselves.


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In general, one of the factors that have helped in thesuccessfulimplementationofCHOICEisthattheCHOICEpackage was an established one and staff memberswere familiar with it. The compulsory attendance ofyouthsappeared tohaveencouragedgoodattendancefromparentsduring theParent-Teengroupwork.Duringthe night trek, the youths benefited from the sharing of avolunteerwhohadchangedhisdelinquentwaysandmaintainedastraightpaththroughtheyears.

In helping the youths on the programme, SCS (YishunCentre)collaboratedwithtwoGroupEndeavoursinServiceLearning(GESL)fromtheNationalInstituteofEducation(NIE). These trainee teachers helped to organise twocamps to engage our youths. The first was an overnight camp held at Camp Christine. During the camp, theyouthsparticipatedinactivitiessuchasdragonboating,team-building activities and community service. Thedragonboatingsessiontaughttheyouthstheimportanceof teamworkandtheneedfor thewholegrouptoworktogethertomovetheboatforward.

Thecommunityservicecomponentaimstohelptheyouthstounderstandandlearntoappreciatewhattheyhaveandhowtheycanhelpothers.Theyouthsbroughtmealstothe elderly residents of one-room flats and helped them to cleanuptheirhouse.Itwasanenrichingandunforgettableexperienceforouryouths.

Brian’s Story

When Brian first attended the Guidance Programme, he wasadisgruntledandreluctant13-year-oldwhofelttheprogrammewassimply“awasteoftime”.Hehadbeencaughtforstealingabicycle.

Thetheftaside,hecamewithastringofmisdeeds.Histeacherportrayedhimasaboywhobulliedothers;hisoldersistertoldofhowhestoletheirfather’smoneyandATMcard;andhis father threatenedtosendhimtotheBoys’Homeifhedidnotchangehisways.

Brian’s father,whohadgainedcustodyofhissonafterhisdivorce,wasdesperatelytryingtobeagoodfather.However,nomatterhowhardhe tried,he felthecouldnotcommunicatewithBrianbecausethe latterwasnotrespondinginthewayhewanted.

Anarticulateandoutspokenman,hefoundithardtoacceptthatBrianwasonlycapableofshortandvagueanswerseach time he tried to engage his son in conversations.His conclusion: father and son had communicationproblems.

Brian,ontheotherhand,wasgettingequallyfrustratedwithhisfatherforforcinghimtobeasarticulateashim.In Brian’s opinion, he was fine with expressing himself in thewayinhisownway.

Through family counselling, Brian’s father observed first-handhowuncomfortablehis son feltwheneverhewasaskedtotalkabouthisfeelingstowardshisfather.HealsonoticedhowvisiblystressedoutBrianlooked.

ThisrealisationappearedtohavemadeadifferenceintheirrelationshipasBrianreportedafewsessionslaterthathisfatherhadstoppedcommentingonhowquiethewas.Asaresult,Brianwashappywiththeoutcome.

In the family counselling sessions, Brian’s father alsoheard for the first time, how much his son appreciated the sportingactivities theyusedtodotogether in thepast.Suchsharingappearedtohelphimseethathissondidatleastappreciatetheirtimetogether.

TheindividualcounsellingsessionshelpedBriantoexplorehowhecouldhelphimselfbythinkingoftheconsequencesbeforeacting.Brian’sowndesiretochangeforthebetterand to maintain a good record also helped to producepositiveresults.

Hehassincequitsmokingandhangingoutwithfriendsthatpose a negative influence. With our social worker’s help, he hasalsorejoinedthesportsteamthathadearlierkickedhimoutforpoorattendance.Infact,hiscoach,impressedbyBrian’stalentandrenewedcommitment,hasexpressedhisintentiontoincludehimintheschoolteam.

Brian’sformteacheralsonoticedthathehasstarteddoinghisworkdiligentlyandpraisedhimforit,thusmakingBrianvery happy indeed. Although Brian may not yet qualifyasa“perfect”student,hispositivechangesthroughtheGuidance Programme have definitely been more than encouragingtoBrianhimself,hisfather,histeachersandoursocialworker.



volunteersandwasconstantlyencouragedbyoursocialworker.Janebecamemorecomfortableinthegroupandstartedtoopenupduringgroupdiscussionswithmuchcontribution of ideas to the project. Clearly, our socialworker was seeing a difference in Jane and affirmed her.

Likewise, Jane was determined not to waste her timeanymore.Shebecameahard-workingstudent inclass.This was evident in her final year examinations where she didwellenoughtobepromotedtothenextlevel.Wearedefinitely very happy for Jane.

Teambuilding at a camp for GP youths.

Jane’s Story

Jane was placed on Guidance Programme for shop-theft. When she first came to SCS, she was quiet and did not talk much. After time spent building rapportwith our social worker, Jane confided that she regretted committingtheoffence.Sheconfessedthatshehadnotbeenaresponsiblegirlinthepastandhadgotintomanytroublesinschool.Shefeltremorsefulthatshehadwastedmuch time playing and loitering in shopping centres,insteadoffocusingonherstudies.ShehadtosuffertheconsequencesofbeingretainedatthesamelevelinschoolandplacedontheGP.

When Jane first attended groupwork, she was quiet and did notcontributeduringdiscussions.Sheresentedattendinggroupworksessionsbutperseveredasshewasworriedabout not being able to complete the GP successfully.However,thingsstartedtochangewhenJanewasinvitedtojoinanothergroupworkactivity.

During the final months of GP, Jane joined anothergroupwork activity organised by the NIE GESL groupentitledEntrepreneurInYouthorE-I-Y.Forthisproject,theyouthshadtogoundergoatwo-daycamp,aswellasathreedays’preparationworktosetupastallinaCharityBazaar.Theyouthsweregiven theopportunity to learnentrepreneurshipskillsfore.g.howtomakemocktailsandscoopice-cream.Theywerealsogiventheresponsibilityofmanagingthestall.Janewasobservedtobearesponsiblegirl. Inaddition,shewasgivenpositiveattentionbythe


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5. CHILDREN, PRE-TEENS AND YOUTH PROGRAMMES

Trampoline Club

This is a programme supported by volunteers for pre-teens at YC to learn social skills and be constructivelyengaged.

When Alex first joined the Trampoline Club, he was very disruptive during activities. He enjoyed making fun ofothers using unfriendly words and would agitate hisfriends and volunteers. Alex had difficulty managing his anger.Hewouldshoutandhitothers.Thevolunteersandstafffoundhimverychallengingandoftenneededtoputhim at the time-out corner for him to cool down. Theyhadtoconstantlyremindhimoftheconsequencesofhismisbehaviour.

With the weekly reminders and reinforcement ofconsequences by the volunteers and staff, Alex begantoshowsome improvement inmanaginghisangerandminimisinghisdisruptivebehaviourduringactivities.

KnowingthatAlexlovedtoplaytheyo-yoandwasabletoperformtrickswithhisyo-yo,hewasinvitedtoperformforthechildren,familiesandelderlyduringaChildren’sDayparty,atavisit toSriNarayanaElderlyHomeandat theChristmasCharityCarnival.Alexdidnot failandhis effort was affirmed and recognised by his peers and volunteers.

Thesedays,duringTrampolineClubactivities,Alexislessdisruptiveandmorewillingtoco-operatewithhispeersand the volunteers. He has learnt to be more sensitiveto others. When he is angry, he knows how to controlhimself throughconstructiveways.Hefeelsgoodwhenhe ispraisedandtrusted tocarryout tasks tohelp thevolunteers.

Trampoline Club youths entertaining the elderly

Reading Stars

TheReadingStarsprogrammeatYCandHCservedatotalof44children.Themainaimofthisprogrammeistoprovideasystematic,graded,sequentialreadingschemeto the low-progress readers so as to develop sufficient fluency and linguistic knowledge to enable them to move toahigherlevelofliteracy.Ontopofthat,wealsoweavedin a social skills training component to the programmeso that it is more holistic to a child’s learning anddevelopment.

TheHongkongandShanghaiBankingCorporationLimited(HSBC)joinedourHougangCentreasacorporatepartnerlastyear.Ateamof18committedHSBCstaffmembersvolunteerweeklyon12week-blockstoreadwithourlow-progressprimaryschoolchildrenwhowereassessedtobe significantly behind their peers in reading and related comprehensionskills.

Theprogrammeiswellreceivedbytheparents,childrenand volunteers. A common comment from parents isthat their childrenalways look forward toattending theReadingStarsprogramme.Thechildrenthemselvesfedbackthat theyenjoyedthereadingand interactionwiththevolunteers.Positivefeedbackwassimilarlyreceivedfromthevolunteers.

Inlinewiththeircorporatecommitmenttoprotectnature,theHSBCvolunteersalsoorganisedtwoexcursions-to



SungeiBulohWetlandReservesandPulauUbin.Thesetwooutingsservedtoencourageourchildrentobeclosertonatureandtheyprovedtobeinterestingandeducationalforthem.

Outdoor learning is fun!

The HSBC volunteers also invited our children to aChristmasPartyat theArtMuseum. ThechildrenweremadetofeelspecialastheyreceivedChristmaspresentsthatwerethoughtfullyselectedforthem.

STOP, THINK, DO

Theaimof thisprogramme is to improve thechildren’ssocialskillsbyteachingthemwaystocontrolandreducetheir impulsive behaviour. A total of 14 children at HCparticipatedintheStop,Think,Doprogrammewhichsawtworunsforchildrenaged9-11yearsoldandanotheroneforchildrenaged6-9yearsold.

Feedbackfromparentsincludedobservedimprovementinbehaviourathomeandfewercomplaintsfromschoolteachersontheirchildren’sbehaviour.Oneoftheparentshighlighted specific areas that her child had benefited from theprogramme:“Hehasimprovedhissocialskills,nowaskedpermissionwhenhewantstoplaycomputergamesandtoysthathisyoungerbrotherisplaying,startedtosay‘sorry’whenhemademistakes.”Volunteersandworkersalsoobservedimprovedbehaviourofoneparticularboywho had stopped making fun of a group member andhername.

TheprogrammeinDecemberendedwithahalf-daycamptoteachthechildrentomakecardsandcookies.ThiscampwasanopportunityforthechildrentopractisetheStop,Think,Doskillsandpractisepatiencetocompletemakingthecardsandcookies.Theyouthvolunteers,drawnfromthe Guidance Programme, also learnt some ways onmanaging children and they reflected that the Stop, Think, Doskillswereapplicabletothemtoo.

LEAD PROGRAMME

During the November/December holiday period, thepreteens(10-12years)atHCwereengagedin7groupworksessions,wheretheyweretaughtlifeskillssuchasangermanagement and communication skills. The preteensfedbackthattheyhadunderstoodandlearntalltheskillstaughtandbelievedtheskillslearntwerehelpful.

Following the sessions, the preteens had a day camporganisedbytheGuidanceProgrammeyouths.Duringthecamp,thepreteensplayedmanyteambuildinggamesandthishelpedthemtoputtheskills learnt intocompletingthegamesasa team.Thepreteensalsoshowedgoodteamspiritwhentheywaitedforeachothertobegatheredbefore having lunch. Through the camp, the GuidanceProgrammeyouthscommentedthatithadbeenavaluableopportunity for them to work with preteens and theyenjoyedthetimespenttogether.

Youths lead, preteens learn!


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Camp “Wanna-Run-Around”

Youths from HC organised a camp for children aged 6to10years. Thechildrenwhoparticipated in thecampwere drawn from our centre-based and educationalpsychologyservicesprogrammes. Thesechildreneitherhave behavioural problems and / or learning difficulties or comefromlowerincomefamilies.Theyouths,aged15to18yearsold,areknowntoSCSthroughcentreorschool-basedcounsellingprogrammes,schoolsocialworkorGuidanceProgramme.Whilstourfocusisonworkingwiththemoreat-riskyouths,thereisalsoa groupofmainstreamyouthsthatwewanttoengageindoingcommunitywork.

Theyouthsweretaskedwiththeresponsibilityofplanningandorganisingthecampwithastaffadvisertoguideandsupportthem.Theyweredividedintovariouscommitteesandhadto look intothe logistics,programmes,games,and meals. The youths were given various roles andresponsibilities and opportunities to be leaders in thevariouscommittees.Duringthecamp,theyouthsshowedresponsibility in ensuring the safety and needs of thechildren.Forexample,theycloselyfollowedthechildrenaround for the various activities and encouraged thechildrentoparticipateintheactivities.

The youths also helped the children in conflict resolution. Wheneverthechildrenhaddisagreements,theyouthswererequired to help them resolve the conflict by helping the childrenthinkthroughtheiractionsandprocessingwiththem theconsequences. Theyouthsalsohad toworkwithin the budget given when planning for the gamesand refreshments. This enabled them to practise theirbudgeting skills. Through theplanning, they learnt theimportance of teamwork and communication to ensurethesuccessfulrunningofthecamp.

U@Work

U@Work at YC was formed to provide an entry pointto further understand and work with youth. The groupmembers are largely students from the community-basedschoolsocialworkandclientsofthecentre.It isadevelopmentalandpreventiveprogrammefocusingoninstillingvalues in theyouth,andhelping them tocopebetterintheirfamily,schoolandthecommunitylife.

Thisprogramme isdependenton theco-operationandcollaborationbetweenthecentreandthethreesecondaryschools thatYCworkedwith.Theschoolsareupdatedconstantlybythestaffontheyouths’participationinthecentre’sprogrammes.

Looking back, 2006 was a fruitful and fulfilling year for U@Work.Theyouthsenjoyedmanyopportunitiestoexperienceawholehostofmeaningfulandinterestingyouthactivities.At dialogue sessions with visitors to the centres, theyouthswillinglysharedtheirstoriesandtestimonies.Moreimportantly,thesessionswereplatformsforouryouthstodemonstrate their courage and confidence.

In addition, we are particularly proud of the youth’sparticipationinvariouscommunityactivities.OuryouthsvolunteeredandcontributedinourSCS30thAnniversaryCarnival,SingTelTouchingLivesFundcharityevent,andtheoverseascommunityserviceprojectinCambodia.Inaddition,theCommunityChestselectedayouthfromYCasayouthambassadorin2006.

U@Work!

“By going on that trip to Cambodia, I am happy to say that I had found, accomplished and learn a useful skill for life.” - A youth participant

“I would like to express my gratitude to my volunteer tutor. I would like to thank him for offering his constant guidance to me. I also would like to thank him for sacrificing his time and efforts to make my dream a reality.”- A youth tutee



responsibility and teamwork besides using the cyclingactivitytobondtheolderboys(whoarenowourvolunteers)withtheyoungeryouths.

Thenightcyclingwasconductedintheformofascavengerhuntandtheyouthshadtocompletethe“self-directed”routefromEastCoastParktoLauPaSatwithteambuildingactivities along the way. The youths also had to workwithin the allocated time to plan their routes and helpthewholegrouptogettotheirdesignatedcheck-points.Theactivitiesweredesignedtoenablethemtopractisetheirtimemanagementskillsandlearntheimportanceofteamworkandcommunicationtoreachtheirdestination.

Building bonds between juniors and seniors

Duringtheevent,theyouthswereobservedtoshoulderresponsibility in ensuring the safety and needs of theirfellowgroupmembers.Theyalsoencouragedeachotherwhensomemembersweretootiredtocarryonthejourney.Duringtheevaluation,boththeyouthsandthevolunteersfelt that this activity had helped them gained a betterunderstandingofoneanother.

Sportsisanotherareawhereweactivelyinvolvedouryouths.TheboyandgirlbasketballteamscompetedintheNeeSoonEast3-on-3BasketballChampionship.Bothteamsemerged2ndrunners-upintheirrespectivecategory.

“I feel that the sportsmanship is what really matters at the end of the day. I experienced how it felt to win honour and how to accept defeat with dignity. I know the significance of congratulating other winners and comforting the disappointed. These are invaluable life lessons. I am proud to be part of this basketball team.”- Youth Team Captain

Engaging youths through sports

Another significant aspect of our youth work is connecting themwiththecommunity.Withsupportfromthecommunity,wewereabletoenhanceouryouthactivities.Ouryouthswereabletoenjoymusicalsandtheatre,S-leaguesoccertournaments,Dinner&Danceevent,participationinfamilycarnivals,outdoorcampsandmanyothers.Thankstoourcommunitypartnersandsponsors,wewereabletoofferagreatvarietyofactivitiesandprogrammeswhilstservingouryouths.

U@Workwillcontinue tonurtureyouthsandencouragethemwithadesiretoservethecommunity.

Night Cycling

Youths from HC went on a night cycling organised inJuly last year. The activity aims to teach the youths


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We will fill up the bucket

Project COPE

ProjectCOPE (CanOvercomeProblemsEveryday)wasconductedbyHCasacentre-basedprogrammeforyouthsinJune2006.Theobjectiveswere toengageyouths inmeaningfulactivitiesduringtheirschoolholidaysaswellastolearnlifeskillsthatcanhelpthemtoberesilientandcope with daily living. Some of the activities organisedinclude inline skating, laser quest, paintball and outingtoEscapeThemePark.Some40youthsparticipatedintheseactivities.

A2-day-1-nightcampatPulauUbinwasalsoorganisedfortheyouths.Fromthevariousactivities,85%ofyouthssharedthattheyhadlearnttheimportanceofperseverance


duringthecamp.Duringthedebrief,manyyouthssharedthat theycouldapply thespiritofperseverance in theirownpersonallives.

FromtheparticipantsofProjectCOPE,approximately20youthsvolunteeredtohelporganisethedunkingmachineandhauntedhouseduringtheSCSFamilyDay.Thishadhelpedustoachievetheobjectiveofengagingyouthsinmeaningfulactivitiesanddevelopingthemintheareasofleadership,teamworkandcooperation.

Service and fun can go together!


6. VOLUNTEER PROGRAMME

Last year, our centres had many opportunities to workwiththemanyindividualandgroupvolunteersofseveralcorporations like EDB’s Smile Club, Jurong TownCorporation,SSMC,HongKongandShanghaiBankingCorporationandSembawangShipyard.

Overseas Community Project

Together with EDB’s Smile Club, we embarked on anOverseasCommunityProjectentitled“HeartsatWork”,from11-18March2006.Theaimsaretodevelopourvolunteers’passionandspiritofservice,adventureandteamwork; strengthen affiliation to SCS through working closelyonaproject,andprovideanopportunitytoservein a different context. It was the first time an overseas communityserviceprojectwasorganised forourdirectservice volunteers to serve at Kien Kleang orphanage,Kulap4orphanageandtheKohRumduelvillageinPhnomPenh, Cambodia, in March 2006. The project was financed byEDBSmileClubandthevolunteersthemselves.

Extending the spirit of service to Cambodia

G.LO.W Camp

Atwo-daycampwasheldatPulauUbinAdventureCentrefor30preteensandyouthsfrom8to9September.Thecamp brought volunteers and participants out into therugged, yet safe outdoor environment. For the first time,

theparticipantsexplorednewteambuildingactivities;raftbuilding, telematch,morning runson littleknown treks,andsleptunder thestars.Thecampwasabreak fromtheirdailyroutine.Itwasatimeforparticipantstodiscoverthemselvesandlearnnewskillsthroughtheactivitiesandhavefunatthesametime.

Building tents and character!

“Star Light Star Bright” Charity Carnival

The“StarLightStarBright” ChristmasCharityCarnivalwasconceivedtoraisefundsforsomeEPSprogrammesaswellastoprovideaplatformforourvolunteersandclientstoservethecommunity.TheeventwasheldattheChongPangCommunityClubon17December.Itgotofftoagreatstart with the chairmen of SCS and EDB officiating at the openingceremony.Thehallbustledwithactivitieswhilethestageperformancesbyvolunteers,youthsandchildrenweremostentertainingandheart-warming.


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Serving by selling!

“Sleeping with Beasts” Camp

Excitement filled the air when some 35 children learnt that SembawangShipyardPteLtdwassponsoringanovernightcamp for them at the Singapore Zoological Gardens.Allthechildrenfoundthecampanexciting,uniqueandunforgettableexperienceastheyspent17and18Junetogetherwiththevolunteersin“animalkingdom”.

A slippery experience!


Volunteers and children having fun in “animal kingdom”

Domino Challenge

Thedominochallengewasorganised forchildrenwithlearningissues.JurongTownCorporationhadsponsoredthe venue and recruited their staff as volunteers tosupportthisactivity.Atotalof106childrengottogetherinNovemberlastyeartodesignandsetupthetiles.Thischallengecalledforcreativityandpatience,andtaughtthechildrentopersevereasmanyhadtoppledtheirtilesbeforejudgingandhadtore-startandre-build.Wesawall the children as winners and awarded them medalstorecognisetheirparticipationandeffort.Parentswerealsoinvitedtoseetheirchildren’sotherabilitiesbeyondtheirstudies.

A starry creation


the secondary three students were found to have thelowestlevelofself-esteem,morality,communicationskillsandempathy. In timesofstress, theyaremore likely torelyonnegativestressmanagementmethodslikeventingtheiremotionsandengaginginnegativebehaviours,likesmokingandgambling.

Stress, Coping and Protective Factors in “O” Level Students (Project O)

ThisresearchstudyisajointinitiativebetweenSCSandFeiYueFSC.Theaimofthisresearchistounderstandtheneedsofstudentstakingthe“O”levelexaminationsintermsoftheirsourcesofstress,signsofstress,copingstylesandprotectivefactorsthatmitigatestress.

More than 1,500 students from 12 north-easternneighbourhoodsecondaryschoolsthathadparticipatedinProjectOroadshowsweresurveyed. ProjectO isanationwideproject,whichSCShadstartedin2004. Itistargeted at helping “O” level students buffer the stressexperiencedduringthishighstakeexamination.

Thetopthreestressesexperiencedbythestudentsincludethefearofnotbeingabletoscorewellintheir“O”levels;failingtheir“O”levelsandobtaininglowergradesthanexpected.Whentheyarestressed,theytendtodisplayemotionalsignslike difficulties in concentrating and sleeping, fear, panic and impatience.Tohelpthemcopeinstressfulsituations,theyutilisedactive coping strategiesmostoften, followedbyfocusingontheproblemandseekingsocialsupport.

The State of School Social Work in Singapore

SCS,togetherwiththeNationalCouncilofSocialServiceembarkedonastudy togainabetterunderstandingofschool social work services in Singapore. The targetpopulation of this study includes Voluntary WelfareOrganisations,schoolsocialworkers,schoolcounsellors,andschoolpersonnelintheschoolsocialworksector.ThestudyisexpectedtobecompletedinJune2007.

Emotional Well-being and Coping Strategies of Secondary One and Two Students

Thestudyaimstoachieveanin-depthunderstandingoftheproblemsthatsecondaryoneandtwostudentsfaceandto

7. TRAINING, CONSULTANCY & RESEARCH

During the reporting year, besides organising a majorseminar,severalresearchstudieswerecompletedbySCS.Theyare:

An Exploratory Study on Same-sex Attraction IncollaborationwithAngMoKioFamilyServiceCentre,an exploratory study on same-sex attraction (SSA) wasconducted.Thisstudyseekstounderstandsocialworkers’professional and personal perceptions on the issue ofSSA,theirlevelofcompetencywhenworkingwithclientsexpressingSSA,trainingneedsofsocialworkers,currentneedsofSSAclients,theservicegapsandfutureresearchareas. Some of the findings from the study are as follows:

1 Majorityofthesocialworkerssurveyedhighlightedthat there are insufficient services in Singapore to meettheneedsofSSAclients.

2 TheyalsofeltthattheydonothaveadequateknowledgeandskillstoworkwithSSAclients.

3 AlltherespondentsfeltthatthesocialworkprofessionneedtopaymoreattentiontotheareaofSSAintermsifitsknowledgebase,practiceissuesandresearchdevelopment.

Needs Assessment

Tomeettheneedsoftheknowledge-basedeconomyofthe21stcentury,itisimperativethatschoolsdonotjustfocusonacademicexcellencebutonthetotaleducationof their students. Acknowledging the importance of aholisticeducationfortheirstudents,StJoseph’sConventhadapproachedStudentsCareService(SCS)todesignaneedsassessmenttoolbasedontheMinistryofEducation’ssocialandemotionallearningframeworkofself-awareness,self-management,social-awareness,responsibledecision-makingandrelationshipmanagement.One of the key findings from the pilot study was a trend of several social emotional competency components(for e.g., efficacy, internal locus of control, motivation, problem-solvingskills,morality,communicationskillsandempathy)decreasingovertheyearsandthenincreasingasthestudentsapproachschoolleavingage.Inaddition,


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developrelevantprogrammes/services.Fourhundredandeightsecondaryoneandtwostudents(fromallacademicstreams)fromtwosecondaryschoolsthatreceivedschoolsocial work services were selected. Two focus groupdiscussionswerealsoconductedtoexplorethetypesofproblemsstudentsfaced.ThedatacollectedfromtheFGDaidedinthedevelopmentofthequestionnaire.Thereafter,thesurveydatawascollectedthroughself-administeredpenandpaperquestionnaire.

Itwasfoundthatthemainsourceofstressforstudentscomes from their studies. The source of pressure foracademic excellence came from their parents and thestudents, themselves. They also viewed school as aboringplace,citingthefailureofteacherstoengagethemmeaningfully.Whenqueriedabouttheircopingstrategies,itwasfoundthatthestudentstendtoturntoproductivemethods of coping like talking to someone, and takingdirect action to solve the problem. However, as theirstresslevelincreases,theytendtoturntonon-productivemethodslikeignoringtheproblem,ventingtheirangerbyscreaming,andcrying.Thissignalstheneedtointroducestressmanagementtechniquestothestudents.

Sharing of Research Project at MCYS Research Symposium 2006

MrsPeaceKoh-WongandMrLeeSengMengpresentedattheMCYSResearchSymposiumon13February2006.Theysharedonhowevidence-basedresearchcaninformpractice.MrsPeaceKoh-Wong’sstudyon“Risk&Coping:Afollow-upstudyonyouthsundertheGuidanceProgramme(GP)” aimed at examining the effectiveness of GP indeterringyoungpeoplefromcommittingfurtheroffence.Itwasfoundthatthemajorityoftheyouthswerecopingwellwith life’s challenges despite some difficulties. A salient learningthemebytheGPyouthsisthedevelopmentofanorientationtowardsunderstandingtheconsequencesandconsiderationforotherpeople’sthinkingandfeelings.

Informed by this research finding, the C.H.O.I.C.E (Choosing HealthyOptionsInChallengingEnvironment)Packagewasdeveloped.C.H.O.I.C.Eprovidedconstructive,experientialandinterestingactivitiesfortheyouthsduringtheschoolholidayperiod.

Internal Staff Seminar (ISS) This year’s ISS focused on the “3Ps”- namely, Pause,PonderandPursue.Itisintendedtoencourageourstaffteam to take a pause to reflect on our work and think throughsomeoftheissueswewishtopursueasresearchstudies,therebycreatingavibrantresearchculturewithinSCS.Assuch,speakersfromtheNationalYouthCouncilandHealthPromotionBoardwereinvitedtosharewithourstaffonthebroaderperspectiveonthestateofyouthinSingapore.Besidesexternalspeakers,someofourstaffalsosharedontheirresearchworkdonelastyear.

Professional Seminar

InSeptember,weorganisedourthirdprofessionalseminar,“BreakingBarriers,BuildingBridges:HelpingYouthsPursueExcellence”,whichbroughtprofessionalsfromthedifferentdisciplinestogethertodiscuss,shareandlearnfromeachother.Itwasalsoanopportunitytotapandpresentlocalexpertsattheworkshopsandplenarysessionstoshareknowledge, insightsandperspectivesonvariousissuesthatconcernyouths. Itwasalsoanopportunity for theprofessionalsfromthevariousdisciplinestonetworkandexplorepossibilitiestoworktogethertohelpyouthspursueexcellenceinourSingaporecontext.

Mr Teo Ser Luck, Parliamentary Secretary, MCYS, addressing participants of the seminar



8. EVENTS, PROJECTS AND OTHERS

SCS 30th Anniversary Family Day

YouthsfromtheHougangCentrewereinvitedtoactivelyparticipateinourSCS30thAnniversaryFamilyDayheldon2July.Theyweretaskedtoplanandmanagethechildren’scornerandthechildren’sartcompetition.TheseyouthsareknowntoSCSthroughcentreorschool-basedcounsellingprogrammes,schoolsocialworkandtheGP.

In the process of their participation, they got to learnandpractisebudgeting,marketingandorganisingskills.Theyouthsweregivenvarious responsibilitiesandalsoopportunities to be leaders in the various committees.Theplanningandorganisingprocessalsooffered themopportunitiestolearnteamworkandcommunication.

During the event, the youths showed responsibility inensuringthesafetyandneedsoftheparticipantsandthesmooth-runningofthewholeevent.Forexample,theyhadplansforcrowdcontrolinthechildren’scorner.Theyalsoencouragedthechildrenandtheirparentstoparticipateintheactivities.Beyondtheirallocatedduties,theyouthswerealsohelpfultootherstaffmembersduringtheFamilyDay.Theywereverywillingtoprovidelogisticalsupportsuchassettingupsignage,decoratingtheeventsiteanddistributingprizes.

Project ONE (O-level & N-level Examinations)

ProjectONEaimstoprovidesupportforstudentstakingtheir O- and N-level exams. Last year, we distributed80,000postcardstoallO-andN-levelstudentsfrom163secondaryschools.TheProjectONEwebsiteregisteredits highest number of page loads and first-time visitors in September(preliminaryexaminationsperiod).ThenumberofreturnvisitorswasthehighestinOctober,suggestingstudentsrevisitedtocontinueaccessingthewebsitefortips and other help. The email counselling service sawstudentsseekingadviceonstress,lackofmotivationandstudy tips. Roadshows were conducted at 13 schools,reaching 5,000 students. The SMS Buddy Support(Broadcast)wasmadeavailable to1,403students from13schools,andtheSMSBuddySupport(Interactive),to591studentsfrom5schools.

In general, most of the students said they found thestressmanagementtalksuseful.TheSMSBuddySupport(Interactive)wasalsopopularamongthe5schoolsthatsubscribedtoit.Thisservicewasfoundtobemorepopularthan email counselling, suggesting that youths prefertocommunicate throughSMS insteadofemailasSMSprovidesashorterresponsetime.

Visit By Foreign Delegates

OurClementiCentrehosted8delegatesfromMalaysia’sDepartment of Social Welfare on 28 Feb 2006. Thedelegation, led by the Director-General of Welfare -Dato’Shamsiah,werehereinSingaporefrom27Febto1 March to learn about the programmes and servicesunderourMinistryofCommunityDevelopment,Youth&Sports. Our centre was chosen by the Ministry to hostthedelegationandshareourexperience in running theGuidanceProgramme

First South East Asian Children’s Conference

TwoofouryouthswereselectedtorepresentSingaporeattheSouthEastAsianChildren’sConferenceinManilaon10-14December.OrganisedbyUNICEFandtheCouncilfor the Welfare of Children, Philippines, the conferencewas attended by 34 child delegates from the differentASEANcountries.Thedelegatesdiscussedissuesfacingthe South East Asianregion, such as access to qualityeducation, HIV/AIDS, trafficking and the impact of natural disasters.TheyalsogettoassesstheprogressmadeontheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsandtheWorldFitfor


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Children Goals of the United Nations. The conferenceconcluded with the formulation of a South East Asiaregional children statement which was presented atthe 13th ASEAN Heads of State Summit in Singaporein2007.

Special Scheme: Pupil Persevere

PupilPersevere(PP)waspilotedin2006withtheobjectiveto sustain the potential beneficiaries to persevere and completetheirsecondaryeducationbyrecognisingandrewardingtheireffort.Thefollowingisthesuccessstoryof how a youth at our Clementi Centre has benefited from PP.

Zee studies in the normal technical stream of aneighbourhoodschool.Comingfromasingle-parentfamilywithminimumparentalsupervision,Zeewouldhangoutatthevoiddecksofhisneighbourhoodtilllateatnightwithhisfriends,someofwhomwereschooldropouts.Thisaffectedhisattendanceinschoolandconcentrationinclass.

OursocialworkerwasconcernedthatZeeriskeddroppingout of school if he continued to be uninterested in hisstudies.OursocialworkerdecidedtomotivateandsustainZeetopersevereandcompletehissecondaryeducationthroughthePupilPersevereawardscheme.

Indeed,PupilPerseverecreatedaplatformforoursocialworkertoworkoutasetofgoalsforZeetoworktowardsand achieve. Driven by the award, Zee became verymotivated and eager to do well in his studies. He wascommittedtoworkwiththesocialworkerandevendrewupaworkplanwiththesocialworkeronhowhecouldachievethegoalsthathehadsetforhimself.

TofurtherhelpZeeachievehisgoals,oursocialworkerarranged for group tuition for Zee and his friends. Somotivated was he to achieve his goals that two weeksbefore his examinations, Zee requested for additionaltuitionsessions tobeconductedeveryday.His requestwasgrantedandhefaithfullyturnedupfortheextratuitionwithhisfriends.

ThroughPupilPersevere,oursocialworkerwasabletowork closely with Zee and engaged him in our centre-basedactivities.Hewasmotivatedtoparticipateinmany

ofouractivities like theovernightcycling,bowling,anddomino challenge. He was also a member of our ALLSTARSsoccerTeam.Theseplatformsallowedoursocialworker to build a good relationship with him and influence himinapositivemanner.Zeeevensharedthatheaspiredtobeasocialworkerinfuture!

Zee passed his final exams and received the award. On topofthat,hisattendanceinschoolhadimprovedfrom82 days (of 93 days) in the first semester to full attendance in the second semester. Zee’s conduct in school alsoprogressedfrom“Poor”to“Fair”.

OursocialworkerwaspleasantlysurprisedwhenZeeandhisfriendsturnedupatourcentrerecentlytorequestforthegrouptuitionagaineventhoughtherewasnopromiseofanyPPawardforhimaswehadwantedtohimtomovefromextrinsictointrinsicmotivation.Zeesharedthatheenjoyedthegrouptuitionsessionsandhaddevelopedalikingforstudyinginagroup.Hewasalsoawareheneededtodowellinhis‘N’LevelforadmissiontotheITE.Itismostsatisfying and fulfilling for the social worker to hear this fromZee.Hehadindeedsuccessfullyshiftedfrombeingextrinsicallymotivatedtointrinsicallymotivated.

PupilPersevere,beinganextrinsicrewardschemeprovedtobeausefulandattractiveincentiveforstudents.Besides,itallowedthesocialworkerto introduceconcreteeffortonthepartofthestudents.Theprocessofworkingwiththesocialworker,theenjoymentitprovides,thelearningitpermits,andthefeelingsofaccomplishmentservetoallcreateaplatformforstudentstobeintrinsicallymotivated.Zee’s story testifies to it.




“ If you sit down at the set of sunAnd count the acts that you have done,

and counting findOne self-denying deed, one work

That eased the heart of him who heard;One glance most kind,

That fell like sunshine where it went --Then you may count that day well spent. ”

George Eliot



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“ Like painting a portrait, writing a blockbuster, or building a house, building a life comes much easier when you tackle it as a unified project…

Self. Relationships. Work. Parts of one integrated, balanced life. As you work on creating this masterpiece called your life,

you’ll want to be able to say you’ve done your personal best so that you can sign your name to what you have lived. ”

From Your Signature Life®


Financial Report for the financial year ended 31 December 2006

“ Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. ”

Pablo Picasso

48 StatementbytheBoard49 Auditor’sReport50 IncomeandExpenditureStatement51 StatementofChangesinAccumulatedFunds52 BalanceSheet53 CashFlowStatement54 NotestotheFinancialStatements



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Statement by the Board

Inouropinion,theaccompanyingbalancesheet,statementofincomeandexpenditure,statementofchangesinaccumulatedfunds and cash flow statement together with the notes thereto are drawn up so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of Students Care Service as at 31 March 2007 and of the results, changes in accumulated funds and cash flow of StudentsCareServicefortheyearendedonthatdate.

On behalf of the Board,

Mr Po’ad Bin Shaik Abu Bakar MattarHon.Treasurer

16July2007


Auditors’ Report to the Board of Students Care Service

We have audited the accompanying financial statements of STUDENTS CARE SERVICE, which comprise the balance sheet asat31March2007,andthestatementofincomeandexpenditure,statementofchangesinaccumulatedfundsandcashflow statement for the year then ended, and a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes.

The Board is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in accordance with the Societies Act,Chapter311andSingaporeFinancialReportingStandards.Thisresponsibilityincludes:designing,implementingandmaintaining internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement,whetherduetofraudorerror;selectingandapplyingappropriateaccountingpolicies;andmakingaccountingestimatesthatarereasonableinthecircumstances.

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordancewithSingaporeStandardsonAuditing.ThoseStandardsrequirethatwecomplywithethicalrequirementsandplanand perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements.Theproceduresselecteddependontheauditor’sjudgment,includingtheassessmentoftherisksofmaterialmisstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to designauditproceduresthatareappropriateinthecircumstances,butnotforthepurposeofexpressinganopinionontheeffectivenessoftheentity’sinternalcontrol.AnauditalsoincludesevaluatingtheappropriatenessofaccountingpoliciesusedandthereasonablenessofaccountingestimatesmadebytheBoard,aswellasevaluatingtheoverallpresentationofthe financial statements.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Inouropinion:-

(a) the financial statements are properly drawn up in accordance with Singapore Financial Reporting Standards so as to giveatrueandfairviewofthestateofaffairsoftheSTUDENTSCARESERVICEasat31March2007andtheresults,changes in accumulated funds and cash flows of the Society for the year ended on that date; and

(b) theaccountingandotherrecordsrequiredbytheregulationsenactedundertheSocietiesAct,Chapter311,tobekeptbytheBoardhavebeenproperlykeptinaccordancewiththoseregulations.

On behalf of the Board,

Robert Tan & Co.Certified Public AccountantsSingapore

16July2007


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Note 2007 2006 $ $

INCOME DonationsunderNCSSCentralFundScheme 286,837 157,568 Otherdonations 385,623 101,901 Centre-basedincome 423,525 691,299 School-basedincome 14,075 16,022 Trainingincome 35,143 29,890 Schoolsocialworkincome 327,021 237,638 SDF/VCFgrants 3,929 7,342 Miscellaneousincome 9,445 1,700

1,485,598 1,243,360

Less : EXPENDITURE Employee benefits 4 1,815,272 1,752,378 Depreciation 96,076 98,225 Otheroperatingexpenses 432,171 683,005

2,343,519 2,533,608

OPERATING DEFICIT (857,921) (1,290,248)

Bankinterestincome 34,811 15,047CommunityChestFunding 5 –InitialBudgetAllocation 1,499,626 1,425,945 –Over-funding (136,868) (71,629)

SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR 6 539,648 79,115

Surplus/(deficit) allocated to :

GeneralFund 11,141 4,431CommunityChestFund 20,568 (63,262)Y’sMen’sClub(BetaChapter)ScholarshipFund 1,258 210AssetEnhancementFund 381,558 (85,983)FinancialAidFund (2,122) 1,399StudentMentorshipProgramFund – (12,210)VCFFund(NCSSFunding) – 1,850OtherProgrammesFund 127,245 232,680

539,648 79,115

Statement of Income and Expenditure For the year ended �� March 2007

The attached notes to financial statements form an integral part of these financial statements


Y’s Men’s Club Student Community (Beta Chapter) Asset Financial Mentorship VCF Fund Programme Other General Chest Scholarship Enhancement Aid Program (NCSS Development Programmes Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Funding) Fund Fund Total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Asat31.3.05 440,120 109,335 51,823 328,497 85,395 12,210 (1,850) 6,749 598,723 1,631,002Surplus/(deficit)fortheyear 4,431 (63,262) 210 (85,983) 1,399 (12,210) 1,850 – 232,680 79,115TransferofFund – (3,665) – – – – – 3,665 – –

Asat31.3.06 444,551 42,408 52,033 242,514 86,794 – – 10,414 831,403 1,710,117Surplus/(deficit)fortheyear 11,141 20,568 1,258 381,558 (2,122) – – – 127,245 539,648UsageofFundfortheyear – – – – – – – (8,262) – (8,262)

Asat31.3.07 455,692 62,976 53,291 624,072 84,672 – – 2,152 958,648 2,241,503

Statement of Changes in Accumulated Funds For the year ended �� March 2007


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Note 2007 2006 $ $

ASSETSNon-current assetsRenovations&equipment 7 61,012 130,835

Current assetsTradedebtors 8 147,148 113,412Sundrydeposits,prepayments&otherdebtors 9 24,507 9,463Fixeddeposits 10 1,104,597 136,565Cash&bankbalances 1,385,185 1,716,921

2,661,437 1,976,361

Total assets 2,722,449 2,107,196

FUNDS AND LIABILITIESFunds and reserves GeneralFund 455,692 444,551CommunityChestFund 62,976 42,408Y’sMen’sClub(BetaChapter)ScholarshipFund 53,291 52,033AssetEnhancementFund 624,072 242,514FinancialAidFund 84,672 86,794ProgrammeDevelopmentFund 2,152 10,414OtherProgrammesFund 958,648 831,403

2,241,503 1,710,117

Current liabilitiesTradecreditors 11 480,946 397,079

Total fund and liabilities 2,722,449 2,107,196

Balance Sheet As at �� March 2007



2007 2006 $ $

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIESSurplusfortheyear 539,648 79,115Adjustmentsfor: Depreciation 96,076 98,225 Bankinterestincome (34,811) (15,047) Equipmentwrittenoff 806 – Gainondisposalofofficeequipment – (5)

Operatingsurplusbeforeworkingcapitalchanges 601,719 162,288(Increase)/decreaseintradedebtors (33,736) 61,068(Increase)/decreaseinsundrydeposits,prepayments&otherdebtors (15,044) 3,009Increase/(decrease)intradecreditors 83,867 (94,851)

Cash generated from operations 636,806 131,514Interestreceived 34,811 15,047

Net cash from operating activities 671,617 146,561

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIESPurchaseofequipment (27,059) (21,226)Proceedsfromdisposalofequipment – 5

Netcashusedininvestingactivities (27,059) (21,221)

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES DecreaseinProgrammeDevelopmentFund (8,262) –

Net cash used in financing activities (8,262) –

NET INCREASE IN FIXED DEPOSITS, CASH & BANK BALANCES 636,296 125,340

FIXED DEPOSITS, CASH & BANK BALANCES AT BEGINNING OF YEAR 1,853,486 1,728,146

FIXED DEPOSITS, CASH & BANK BALANCES AT END OF YEAR 2,489,782 1,853,486

Cash Flow Statement For the year ended �� March 2007



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1. GENERAL

Students Care Service (Society) is registered with the Registrar of Societies and affiliated to the National Council of Social Service (NCSS). The Society is supported and partly funded by the Community Chest. The registered office of theSocietyisatBlock463HougangAvenue10,#01-964,Singapore530463.

The financial statements are authorised for issue by the Board on the date stated on the Statement by the Board on page2.

TheprincipalactivityoftheSocietyistoprovidesocialservicestoenablestudentstoattaintheirmaximumpotential.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

(a) Basis of accounting

The financial statements of the Society, which comply with Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) includingInterpretationsofFRS,areexpressedinSingaporedollars.

The financial statements of the Society have been prepared under the historical cost convention except for financial assets and liabilities which are stated at fair value.

Duringtheyear,theSocietyadopted,whereapplicable,theneworrevisedFRSandInterpretationstoFRS(INTFRS)thatareeffectiveforthecurrentaccountingperiod.Theadoptiondidnotresultinanychangeinaccountingpolicies. For new FRS and INT FRS that are not yet mandatory, there is no impact on the financial statements.

(b) Accounting estimates and judgements

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with FRS requires the management to make judgements, estimatesandassumptions that affect theapplicationofpoliciesand reportedamountsof assets, liabilities,income and expenses. The estimates and associated assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis andare based on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under thecircumstances,theresultsofwhichformthebasisofmakingthejudgementsaboutcarryingamountsofassetsandliabilitiesthatarenotreadilyapparentfromothersources.

(c) Revenue recognition

(1) Donation income

Donationsarerecognisedonacashbasis.CashcontributionsforcapitalexpenditurearesubsequentlyallocatedtoAssetEnhancementFund.

(2) Other income

Incomeotherthandonationsandexpenditurearetakenupatfairvalueonanaccrualbasis.

Notes to Financial Statements For the year ended �� March 2007


2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont’d)

(d) Depreciation

Depreciationiscalculatedonthestraightlinebasistowriteoffthecostoftheassetsovertheirestimatedusefullivesasfollows:-

Renovations - 5years Furniture, fittings and equipment - 5 years

Thecarryingamountsofrenovationsandequipmentarereviewedforimpairmentateachbalancesheetdate.Impairmentlossorreversalofimpairmentlossrecognisedinprioryearsisrecordedintheincomestatement.

The useful lives and residual values, if not insignificant, are re-assessed annually. Fully depreciated assets are retained in the financial statements until they are no longer in use.

(e) Government grants & subsidies

Grantsandsubsidiesfromthegovernmentarerecognisedattheirfairvaluewherethereisreasonableassurancethatthegrant/subsidywillbereceivedandallattachingconditionswillbecompliedwith. Whenthegrantorsubsidyrelatestoanexpenseitem, it isrecognisedasincomeovertheperiodsnecessarytomatchthemonasystematicbasis tothecostswhich it is intendedtocompensate. Wherethegrantorsubsidyrelatestoadepreciableasset,thegrantisrecognisedintheincomestatementoverthelifeofthedepreciableassetbywayofareduceddepreciationchargethroughthereducedcarryingamountoftheasset.

(f) Trade and other receivables

Trade and other receivables are classified and accounted for as loans and receivables under FRS 39. An allowanceismadeforuncollectibleamountswhenthereisobjectiveevidencethatthecompanywillnotbeableto collect the debt. Bad debts are written off when identified.

(g) Employee benefits

Defined contribution plan The Society contributes to Central Provident Fund (“CPF”), a defined contribution plan regulated and managed

by the Singapore Government. The Society’s obligation in regard to CPF is limited to the amount it has tocontributetoit.CPFcontributionsarerecognisedasanexpenseinthesameperiodastheemploymentthatgivesrisetothecontributions.

3. INCOME TAX

TheSocietyhasbeengazettedasaninstitutionofapubliccharacterunderSection37(2)(c)oftheSingaporeIncomeTaxActanditstaxationisgovernedbySection13MoftheActwherebyanysurplusofincomeoverexpenditureforafinancial year is not taxable where expenditure for the year exceeds 80% of income received.



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4. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS 2007 2006 $ $

Wages&salaries 1,598,449 1,538,042 Providentfundcontributions 198,328 194,606 Skilldevelopmentlevy 2,924 2,125 Other benefits 15,571 17,605

1,815,272 1,752,378

TheBoarddidnotreceiveanyremunerationduringtheyear.

5. COMMUNITY CHEST FUNDING

2007 2006 $ $

InitialBudgetAllocation 1,499,626 1,425,945 Currentyearoverfundingadjustment(seenotebelow) (136,868) (71,629)

1,362,758 1,354,316

TheoverfundingadjustmentrelatestotheexcessoftheinitialbudgetallocationreceivedfromNCSSoverthequalifyingexpensesincurredundertheNCSSfundingprogrammeandsuchadjustmentisrecordedasliabilitytoNCSS.




6. SURPLUS/ (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR Funded by Community Chest Educational 2007 2006 Psychology Clementi Hougang Yishun Total Total Headquarters Service Centre Centre Centre Funded Funded $ $ $ $ $ $ $

IncomeDonationsunderNCSSCentralFundScheme: -CommunityChestDonations - - - - 600 600 53,000 -OtherDonations - - 253 - 4,788 5,041 2,623OtherDonations - - - - - - 500CentreBasedIncome -Programmefees - 27,201 1,222 1,032 1,951 31,406 28,071 -Consultation - 10,242 1,700 905 1,591 14,438 16,964School-BasedIncome - - 11,175 - 2,900 14,075 16,022SchoolSocialWork - - 29,204 99,937 48,354 177,495 237,638SDF/VCFGrant - 1,197 743 698 499 3,137 3,815SingaporeTelecomSponsorship Scheme(STSS) - - 540 540 540 1,620 1,620

TotalIncome - 38,640 44,837 103,112 61,223 247,812 360,253

ExpenditureExpenditureonManpower:Salaries 126,828 212,606 220,574 190,399 225,287 975,694 953,075Employer’sCPF&SDL 16,475 34,704 33,344 29,936 37,641 152,100 150,011AWS/VariableBonus/ PerformanceBonus 23,937 47,556 56,646 65,730 45,346 239,215 222,125Staff Welfare/Benefits 1,717 583 1,994 2,611 2,757 9,662 11,592 Medical Benefits 150 240 180 420 267 1,257 1,473 Dental Benefits 70 120 168 70 233 661 523

169,177 295,809 312,906 289,166 311,531 1,378,589 1,338,799

Depreciation 142 468 815 2,131 2,376 5,932 6,608


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6. SURPLUS/ (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR (cont’d) Funded by Community Chest Educational 2007 2006 Psychology Clementi Hougang Yishun Total Total Headquarters Service Centre Centre Centre Funded Funded $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Other Operating ExpensesStaffTraining&Development 835 4,312 2,645 4,439 1,232 13,463 14,051Rental of Offices - 3,255 12,355 5,625 11,313 32,548 32,897RentalofEquipment - 1,031 3,109 3,109 3,110 10,359 11,259Utilities - - 7,730 10,768 6,218 24,716 25,377Communications 549 - 2,510 2,895 2,613 8,567 11,078Maintenance-Land&Building 100 - 905 1,528 546 3,079 7,296Maintenance-Equipment 868 2,131 4,798 3,681 3,352 14,830 11,745Insurance 4 - 316 284 284 888 888Supplies&Materials 3,970 8,409 13,259 33,400 19,299 78,337 67,129SchoolSocialWork - - 1,141 5,383 1,398 7,922 234,014Transport 2,375 291 892 887 1,937 6,382 5,447VolunteerDepartment - 99 696 832 963 2,590 8,859ProfessionalFees&Services 2,625 - - - - 2,625 1,500BankCharges 84 - - - - 84 114RecruitmentExpenses 817 653 428 592 183 2,673 973PublicEducationExpenses 4,100 - - - - 4,100 5,756

DisposalofEquipment - - - - 806 806 (5)

16,327 20,181 50,784 73,423 53,254 213,969 438,378

TotalExpenditure (185,646) (316,458) (364,505) (364,720) (367,161) (1,598,490) (1,783,785)

FinanceIncome 8,488 - - - - 8,488 5,954

InitialBudgetAllocation - 298,268 400,242 411,207 389,909 1,499,626 1,425,945

OverfundingAdjustment - 1,435 (17,777) (92,095) (28,431) (136,868) (71,629)

(Deficit)/Surplus for the Year (177,158) 21,885 62,797 57,504 55,540 20,568 (63,262)



6. SURPLUS/ (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR (cont’d) Non-Funded Y’s Men’s Club Student (Beta Chapter) Asset Financial Mentorship Other 2007 2006 General Scholarship Enhancement Aid Program Programmes Total Total Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Non-Funded Non-Funded $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

IncomeDonationsunderNCSSCentral FundScheme - - 120,000 4,045 3,000 154,151 281,196 101,945OtherDonations - - 345,000 (2,557) - 43,180 385,623 101,401CentreBasedIncome -ProgrammeFees - - - - 51,202 326,479 377,681 646,264Training - - - - - 35,143 35,143 29,890SchoolSocialWork - - - - - 149,526 149,526 -MembershipFee - - - - - 90 90 -MiscellaneousIncome - - - - - 7,735 7,735 80SDF/VCFGrant - - - - 350 442 792 3,527

TotalIncome - - 465,000 1,488 54,552 716,746 1,237,786 883,107

ExpenditureExpenditureonManpower:Salaries - - - - 30,982 270,012 300,994 298,480Employer’sCPF&SDL - - - - 5,521 43,631 49,152 46,720AWS/VariableBonus/ PerformanceBonus - - - - 8,626 73,918 82,544 64,362Staff Welfare/Benefits - - - - 448 3,243 3,691 3,504Medical Benefits - - - - 10 140 150 342Dental Benefits - - - - - 152 152 171

- - - - 45,587 391,096 436,683 413,579

Depreciation - - 84,729 - - 5,415 90,144 91,617

Other Operating ExpensesStaffTraining&Development - - - - 30 2,569 2,599 2,058Supplies&Materials - - - - 8,833 191,027 199,860 240,606SchoolSocialWork - - - - - 10,476 10,476 846Transport - - - - 102 1,505 1,607 -BankCharges - - - - - 50 50 50FinancialAssistance - - - 3,610 - - 3,610 1,067 - - - 3,610 8,965 205,627 218,202 244,627

TotalExpenditure - - (84,729) (3,610) (54,552) (602,138) (745,029) (749,823)

FinanceIncome 11,141 1,258 1,287 - - 12,637 26,323 9,093

Surplus/(Deficit) for the Year 11,141 1,258 381,558 (2,122) - 127,245 519,080 142,377



60


6. SURPLUS/ (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR (cont’d)

Variousfundshaveunrestrictedusageforthefollowingpurposes:-

Fund Designated use

CommunityChest Forsupplementingoperatingexpenses.

Y’sMen’sClub(BetaChapter)ScholarshipFund Financialassistanceforneedystudentseducation.

AssetEnhancementFund For expected general capital expenditure. It also includes thebuilding fund set aside for the relocation of Clementi Centreamountingto$465,000.

ProgrammeDevelopmentFund Comprisesyearlyretentionof50%ofunsoliciteddonationstobeusedforoperatingexpenses.

OtherProgrammesFund From fund raising,donations, grants andother incomederivedfromprofessionalservicesrenderedtorunprogrammesthathelpstudentsandyouthdevelopmentaswellasotherprofessionals.

7. RENOVATIONS & EQUIPMENT Furniture, fittings & Renovations equipment Total $ $ $ Cost At31.3.05 777,082 119,293 896,375 Additions - 21,226 21,226 Disposals (8,400) (76) (8,476)

At31.3.06 768,682 140,443 909,125 Additions - 27,059 27,059 Disposals (7,600) (19,363) (26,963)

At31.3.07 761,082 148,139 909,221

Accumulated depreciation At31.3.05 590,819 97,722 688,541 Depreciationchargefortheyear 87,055 11,170 98,225 Disposals (8,400) (76) (8,476)

At31.3.06 669,474 108,816 778,290 Depreciationchargefortheyear 86,983 9,093 96,076 Disposals (7,600) (18,557) (26,157)

At31.3.07 748,857 99,352 848,209 Net carrying amount At31.3.07 12,225 48,787 61,012

At31.3.06 99,208 31,627 130,835



8. TRADE DEBTORS 2007 2006 $ $

Tradedebtors 128,222 21,840 AmountduefromMCYS 17,744 39,774 AmountduefromNCSS - 38,650 Expensesrecoverable 1,182 13,148

147,148 113,412

9. SUNDRY DEPOSITS, PREPAYMENTS & OTHER DEBTORS

2007 2006 $ $

Sundrydeposits 5,531 6,091 Prepayments 866 1,838 Advancestoemployees 1,290 800 Bankinterestreceivable 16,820 734

24,507 9,463

10. FIXED DEPOSITS

Fixeddepositsareplacedmainlyon6monthsand1yeartermandcarriesinterestat0.575%to3.3%(2006:0.375%to1.7%)p.a.

On 2 July 2007, 3 new fixed deposits of $440,000, $250,000 and $250,000 at 2.1875% had been placed for 12 months, 6monthsand5monthsrespectively.


62

11. TRADE CREDITORS 2007 2006 $ $

NCSS 302,590 165,722 JTC - 52,083 Othertradecreditors 73,650 13,818 Advancefeesreceived 21,000 - Accruals 83,706 73,030 MCYSSTEP-UpFunding - 92,426

480,946 397,079

12. LEASE COMMITMENT

TheSocietyhaspremisesonthreelocationsandpaysamonthlyrentaltotalling$2,611(2006:$2,611).Thereis no specified period of lease in respect of each of the three locations.

13. INSTITUTION OF A PUBLIC CHARACTER (IPC) STATUS

TheSociety’sIPCstatusisobtainedundertheNationalCouncilofSocialServiceCentralFund(GeneralFund)andisvalidfrom1October2005to30September2010.TheSocietyisalsoallowedtoraisefundsundertheNCSSCentralFund(BuildingFund)intheperiod1May2006to30April2007fortherelocationcostofClementiCentretoBlk329ClementiAvenue2.

Donations received under the above for the financial year ended 31 March 2007 amounted to $286,837 (2006 : $200,722)whichincludes$120,000(2006:Nil)fortheBuildingFund.

14. FINANCIAL RISKS AND MANAGEMENT

(i) Interest rate risk

TheSociety’sexposuretointerestrateriskisminimalandrelatesprimarilytothedepositsplacedwithreputablefinancial institutions on short term tenures on a fixed rate basis.

(ii) Credit risk

The Society has no significant concentration of credit risk. Procedures are in place to ensure on-going credit evaluationandactiveaccountmonitoring.

(iii) Foreign exchange risk

TheSocietyhasnoexposuretoforeignexchangerisk.



14. FINANCIAL RISKS AND MANAGEMENT (cont’d) (iv) Liquidity risk

The Society monitors and maintains sufficient working capital to fund its operations through effective cash management.

15. COMPARATIVES

Several classifications of 2006 income account balances were streamlined to provide a clearer and more precise presentationinthecurrentyear:-

2006 As previously As restated reported $ $

DonationsunderNCSSCentralFundScheme 157,568 200,722 Fundingfornon-fundedprogrammes - 705,011 Otherdonations 101,901 - Centre-basedincome 691,299 45,035 Governmentsubvention - 237,638 Schoolsocialworkincome 237,638 -

1,188,406 1,188,406

“Fundingfornon-fundedprogrammes”waspreviouslymadeupofgrantsandotherdonationsaswellasincomefromnon-fundedprogrammes.Currentlyincomefromnon-fundedprogrammesareincludedunder“Centre-basedincome”whereasgrantsandotherdonationsareincludedunder“Otherdonations”.

“School social work income” is now used instead of “Government subvention” to better reflect the gross value of servicesprovidedunderthe“Step-UpProgramme”partlyfundedbytheMinistryofCommunityDevelopment,Youth&Sports.

The previous year’s figures were reported by a firm of certified public accountants other than Robert Tan & Co.


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