PS21 is a people-centred mass movement that encourages public officers to embrace change in their work in order to keep the organisation at the leading edge.

SEAB, as a statutory board of the Ministry of Education is committed to PS21. Changes are welcomed and all officers are encouraged to find new and better ways of doing things. Group and individual awards have been created to recognise innovations that have resulted in cost-savings; quality service is celebrated and suggestions that could lead to improvements in work processes are documented for follow-up actions.

This issue of the SEAB-ling Newsletter provides a snapshot of the innovative efforts of the PS21 committees in SEAB and their contributions to the betterment of the organisation.

Issue 11 Jul 2010

Integrity. Value People. Commitment. Professionalism. Team Work

Capture Ideas on the Spot (CIS) is an initiative by the ExCEL Committee to encourage the documentation of ideas and suggestions raised during meetings.

Title: Capturing Ideas on the Spot

Area for Improvement:Officers often do not submit ideas and suggestions, via the Electronic Staff Suggestion System (ESSS), for a variety of reasons such as “no time” and “forgot to submit”.

Suggestion for Improvement:GoodGood ideas on ways to improve work processes are often raised and discussed during meetings. Since the secretaries of meetings are already recording notes of meeting, they could forward these ideas and suggestions to the ExCEL Committee for collation. This would be another way, in addition to ESSS, in which suggestions for improvements could be documented.

TheThe introduction of CIS in SEAB have led to improvements in the documentation and recognition of officers’ contributions. In addition, ideas and suggestions captured on the spot during meetings bore greater relevance to work processes as compared to suggestions captured via ESSS. There were also clear follow-up actions and implementation plans to the suggestions since the suggestions directly impacted the departments concerned. In FY09, there were more ideas and suggestions documented via CIS than ESSS.

Excellence through Continuous Enterprise and Learning

A big thank you to the following SEABlings for their contribution to the improvement of work processes in SEAB.

Angeline Song Thomas Tan

Easy Accessibility for Tracking of Re-Print Certificates

Kow Cheok Hui, Louis Woon Keith John Lenden-Hitchcock

Norhuda JumatDistribution of Examiner Reports

Tang Kar Tian, Jesser Png Ramesh Sambandam

Gopala KrishnanDespatch of Examination Scripts

to Cambridge

Bronze Award Keith John Linden-HitchcockChecking of CD recordings

Bronze Award Winnie Tan, Azizah Bujang, GunasundareElectrical installation at Tiong Bahru Exams Centre

Special AwardWinnie Tan, Azizah BujangAnti-bacterial Soaps

Innovation is the application of creativity to produce something of significant value

The Innovation Committee initiated the Bright Spark Award to encourage individuals or project teams to propose innovative business ventures that can generate profits for SEAB, or suggest workable solutions that can reduce costs for SEAB.

The Bright Spark Award is given to individuals or project teams whose innovations have translated into actual cost savings for SEAB.

What is ISO 27001?The ISO 27001 is an Information Security Management System (ISMS) standard published in October 2005 by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). This standard formally specifies a management system to address information security requirements within an organisation.

SEAB is now ISO 27001 certified !

In 2008, SEAB embarked on ISO 27001 certification to further finetune our security processes, and benchmark them against a recognised international security standard.

After a year of extensive preparation, SEAB underwent a formal compliance audit and was awarded the ISO 27001:2005 certification in July 2009.

ThisThis achievement affirms our efforts and commitment towards information security. It is our assurance to stakeholders, schools and the public that stringent information security controls are in place in the administration of the national examinations to ensure the confidentiality and security of examination information and candidate results. SEAB will continue to undergo regular surveillances under ISO 27001.

SEAB strives to uphold information security by monitoring and reviewing our security processes on a regular basis to ensure that they remain relevant and of the highest standards.

we Value your ViewsWe invite SEAB-ling readers to give us your feedback on this issue. Let us know how to make SEAB-ling a publication truly worth reading. Please write in to: SEAB_Seabling@seab.gov.sg

SEAB would like to thank the following persons for providing and promoting quality service.

EXSA silver awardNorhuda Jumat Koh Hoe Kuan Chew Ying Choy Lee Hui Gek David Chiang Chee Meng

Excellent Service Award (EXSA) is a national award that recognises individuals who have delivered outstanding service, contributed to the culture of service excellence andinspired others to do so.

The Sustained Service Excellence Award was given out for the first time this year to Mr Koh Hoe Kuan. The award recognises officers who haveconsistently delivered exceptional quality service.

SEAB Service Excellence AwardThe SEAB Service Excellence Award is given out annually to recognise outstanding officers in their efforts in providing quality service to customers.

Haslindah Atan David Chiang Chee Meng Toh Pei Xuan ShaniceAzizah Bujang Keith John Lenden-HitchcockNagalingam Sathia Kesumawati Binte Mohamed Sahid

Contributed by SEAB DAY Organising Committee

1st April is a day which all SEABlings look forward to – for this day marks the birth of the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board. To commemorate the 6th Anniversary of SEAB, all the staff came together to celebrate, united by the theme of “One Team, One Dream”.

TheThe morning started with an opening address by our Chief Executive, Ms Tan Lay Choo who shared and inspired SEABlings on how the concept of Blue Ocean would take SEAB to greater heights. Following this was the presentation of awards to honour and congratulate SEABlings on their promotions, long service as well as excellent service. Then we headed outdoor to Bottle Tree Park at Yishun where SEABlings spent a fun-filled afternoon posing for photographs, bonding over team games, singing karaoke songs, and chasing after prawns in the pond. As sunset approached, we bade each other farewell, happy not only with an enjoyable day but also with deeper bonds with each each other and a common excitement of what the future means for SEAB.

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

EL / FEL / MT / FMT 19, 20

NTIL / FNTIL 20

17

6 - 8, 11 - 12

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

31

MTL 6 - 19

MTLB 27

Foreign Languages 4 - 8

MTL 21

MTLB 18

French (H1 & H2) 25

German (H1 & H2) 25

Japanese (H1 & H2) 25

Practical

ExaminationMusic Performing 5 - 7

22, 25, 291, 8 - 12, 15 - 16, 18 -

19, 22 - 26, 29 - 301 - 3

For details (i.e. date, time and duration of papers), please visit our website at www.seab.gov.sg. Examination calendar is accurate as of 7 June 2010

Written (Year End)

Oral

Listening

Comprehension

Exam Event

Oral

Listening Comprehension

Written

Exam Event

Mid-year MTL (Written)

GCE A-Level Examination Dates

Examination Calendar 2010

PSLE Examination Dates

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

EL 6 - 19

MTL

Listening

ComprehensionMTL 7

6 - 8 4 - 8, 11 - 12

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

EL 6 - 19

BMTL

EL (Syll T) 6

BMTL 7

Practical

Examination

Computer

Applications13

6, 8, 14-16 4 - 8, 11 - 12

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

31

EL 13 - 26

MTL 1 - 15

CL / ML

(Special Programme)11 - 12

MTLB 27

Foreign Languages 5 - 12

MTL 20

MTLB

CL / ML

(Special Programme)

16

Foreign Languages 15, 27

Music Performing 29 - 30 1, 5

Science 12, 14, 19, 21

11, 13, 15, 18,

20, 22, 25 - 291 - 4, 8 - 12, 15 - 16

For details (i.e. date, time and duration of papers), please visit our website at www.seab.gov.sg. Examination calendar is accurate as of 7 June 2010

Examination Calendar 2010

Exam Event

GCE N(A)-Level Examination Dates

GCE O-Level Examination Dates

26 Jul - 5 Aug

Exam Event

Oral26 Jul - 5 Aug

Listening

Comprehension

Written

GCE N(T)-Level Examination Dates

Written (Year End)

Practical

Examination

Mid-year MTL (Written)

Oral

Listening

Comprehension

Written

Exam Event

Oral