OUR PARTNERS

WORKING TOGETHER WITH OUR KEY STAKEHOLDERS

NIEC is committed to playing a vital role in the early childhood (EC) sector by embracing its strategic approach of Partnering Customers and Stakeholders with the primary objectives of elevating awareness of the NIEC brand, offering enriching experiences for its valued partners, and ensuring the delivery of top-notch training. Collaborative efforts with key stakeholders are also at the forefront of NIEC's mission, with a shared focus on devising forward-looking strategies and shaping the future direction of the EC sector. NIEC is also driven to create a positive and lasting impact on the broader community.

 

Partnering EC Operators

NIEC collaborated with operators closely to meet the training needs of their educators, where in-service educators can upgrade themselves through our full qualification courses or refresh their skill sets through Continuing and Professional Development (CPD) courses.

 

NIEC also regularly held sessions with EC operators to share ​about​ Continuing Education Training (CET) course offerings and obtained feedback on the performance of NIEC graduates and students and their staff training needs. The networking and feedback sessions gave us a greater understanding of prevailing EC practices and ground needs across various preschool centres.  

 

 

NIEC x Little Skool-House @ Temasek Polytechnic (LSH TP)

Year 3 NIEC (TP) Students from the Diploma in Early Childhood Development & Education (Visual Arts Track) worked with LSH TP to plan and conduct a Christmas Celebration activity for the children. 62 children participated in art activities, creating Christmas clay ornaments, tree decorations and reindeer puppets. The children were actively engaged in the activities and were delighted to showcase their creations to our students. 

 

   

 

 

Practicums and Internships

To ensure that our students are competent and work-ready, we worked closely with operators to provide practicum and internship opportunities for our students. Some 1400 students from NIEC (NP) and NIEC (TP) campuses had the privilege of attaching to about 450 preschool centres for the Practicum 1 and Practicum 2 modules, with close to 800 students having internship attachments to about 400 preschool centres. In addition, all our CET students had undergone their practicum in preschool centres as part of their course requirements.  

 

 

ENHANCING THE SECTOR

 

NIEC works closely with the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and other national agencies on strategic matters of staff training and development as well as outreach for the EC sector.

 

Partnering ECDA on Early Childhood Learning Communities

NIEC Lead Lecturer, Ms Nor Jehan Mohamed Salleh, has been appointed as a Resource Person for Early Childhood Learning Communities (ECLC) for Outdoor Learning in collaboration with ECDA to develop professional development (PD) plans for ECLC core members.

 

In this role, Ms Nor Jehan will also assist in the assessment and selection of suitable ECLC core members, offer consultation on domain knowledge to core members, lead Learning Communities among core members, and guide core members in their sector-level projects over two years.

 

 

 

ECDA Training Award

NIEC also facilitated our PET students in taking up the ECDA training award for course sponsorship and monthly allowance, with recipients committing to work in the sector upon graduation. NIEC is committed to ensuring that our students are recognised and supported in their journey towards becoming EC educators who make an impact in meeting the sector's growing needs.

 

 

ENHANCING OUTREACH

 

Outreach Efforts for CET Courses - NIEC Course Previews

NIEC organised outreach activities to enhance awareness and market our courses to in-service EC educators and mid-careerists interested in pursuing an EC career in 2022 and working with our stakeholders collaboratively to reach out to the public effectively. Digital outreach was implemented extensively with six course previews, electronic direct mailers and social media campaigns that enabled potential students to gain insights into the EC sector across topics such as the desired qualities of a preschool teacher, course entry requirements and demands and related training schedules. The content was also cross shared with our partners as we continue to seek new ways of engagement to grow the interest and participation of our courses.

 

As of March 2023, we also participated in seven career fairs organised by industry stakeholders such as ECDA, e2i and Workforce Singapore (WSG). The events attracted close to 500 participants keen to learn more about embarking on a career in the EC sector.

 

Mid-careerists who applied for our CET courses under the Place and Train scheme (part of the Professional Conversion Programme) were referred to ECDA’s list of job portals where they could secure a job before seeking sponsorship from potential employers. This way, they could also be employed in the EC sector during their studies. 

 

 

PARTNERING MOE TO ENHANCE MTL EDUCATION FOR EC SECTOR

 

Mother Tongue Languages Symposium 2022 

NIEC’s Senior Curriculum Specialist, Dr Raudhah Yahya, delivered a pre-recorded session entitled “Building A Garden with Children: A Garden for Them to Explore, Discover, Play and Grow into Confident, Bilingual Communicators and Resilient Learners’ during MOE’s Mother Tongue Languages Symposium 2022.  

 

She provided tips on how parents and educators can co-create meaningful experiences with children that would foster their curiosity in learning and help them grow in confidence as fluent bilinguals in English and Malay Language. 

 

Dr Raudhah also served as a judge for the Outstanding Pre-school Mother Tongue Language Teacher Award 2022. 

 

 

 

Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee (TLLPC) 

Our Senior Curriculum Specialist, Dr Sukuna S. Vijayadevar, spoke at the “Strategies to Engage Pre-Schoolers in Learning Tamil in a Fun Manner” workshop conducted for Tamil Language educators by the Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee.  

 

Dr Vijayadevar shared the benefits of nurturing a love for Tamil in children and provided insights on how parents and teachers of young children can contribute to developing a vibrant MTL learning environment which offers engaging and meaningful learning experiences beyond the classroom for their children. 

 

 

 

Outstanding Preschool Mother Tongue Language Teacher Award

At the Mother Tongue Languages Symposium, NIEC Senior Lecturer Lin An Chi served as a judge for the Outstanding Preschool Mother Tongue Language Teacher Award. Her contributions were invaluable in the selection of outstanding preschool educators in the Chinese Language, who were recognised for their unwavering commitment to providing engaging MTL learning experiences and instilling a genuine love for languages among young children.

 

 

SCHOOL TALKS AND CAREER FAIRS

 

Outreach Efforts for PET Courses – Engaging Secondary Schools 
NIEC maintained a strong partnership with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), and Temasek Polytechnic (TP) for course delivery. Additionally, NIEC collaborated with these institutes to establish its presence in their outreach activities to secondary school students. This included participating in flagship events like open houses such as the Ngee Ann Polytechnic RED Camps for O-Level students, EAE (Early Admission Exercise) talks and joint efforts in secondary school outreach talks.

 

NIEC also partnered with MOE Education and Career Guidance (ECG) Counsellors and secondary schools to reach out to secondary school students keen to explore and pursue a career in EC.

 

A total of 26 secondary school talks and six career fairs were conducted in FY 2022 by NIEC, with over 2500 students attending the events.

 

PARTNERING WITH THE MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AND
FAMILY DEVELOPMENT (MSF)

 

The Family Values and Engagement (FVE) project

The Family Values and Engagement (FVE) project involved the curation and development of resources that aim to inculcate pro-family values in children and work towards strengthening familial relationships within the local context.  

 

Our Lead Curriculum Specialist, Ms Cindy Yew and Lead Lecturer, Ms Elaine Lee, contributed their expertise and professional advice to the initiative. They worked alongside MSF to develop preschool resource packages, including Big Books, lesson plans, interactive props, visual aids, games, songs, and hands-on activities for students to use at the preschool centres.

 

 

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY

 

NIEC x Tampines North Community Club (TNCC) 

Our NIEC (TP) Diploma in Early Childhood Development & Education (ECDE) Interest Group students collaborated with TNCC’s Youth Network in planning and conducting a Puppet Making Workshop for children.

 

In the first session, the 10 children who attended this one-hour session had an amazing time creating fish puppets based on the story theme given and interacting with our students. The workshop was so well-received that there were plans to keep the collaboration going, with extended duration for subsequent sessions.