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Supporting Our Teachers and Parents Through Refreshed Guidelines for School-Home Partnership and New Parenting Resources

Last Updated: 18 Sep 2024

News Press Releases

1. At this year's Schools Work Plan Seminar on 18 September 2024, Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing underscored the importance of a strong collaboration between parents and teachers to foster a positive and supportive environment for the holistic development of our children.

2. To achieve this, the Guidelines for School-Home Partnership has been refreshed to support parents and teachers working together to nurture our children. A new interagency initiative named Parenting for Wellness has also been launched, to equip parents with knowledge and skills to build strong parent-child relationships, strengthen their children's mental well-being and emotional resilience, and parent effectively in the digital age.

3. The Ministry of Education (MOE) will also implement measures to lighten workload of our teachers. From 2026, schools will have autonomy and flexibility to streamline their Applied Learning Programme and Learning for Life Programme. MOE will also conduct a pilot to allow parents to electronically submit their child's documents for absence, such as medical certificates through the Parents Gateway. MOE and schools will also protect teachers from unreasonable expectations and conduct from stakeholders that affect teachers' well-being.

Refreshed Guidelines for School-Home Partnership

4. Recognising the evolving needs and aspirations of parents and teachers, MOE and COMmunity and Parents in Support of Schools (COMPASS) have refreshed the Guidelines for School-Home Partnership1 to provide clearer guidance on how they can work together positively and respectfully. The refreshed guidelines were developed through engagements with more than 300 teachers and parents from diverse backgrounds through a series of conversations from May to August 2024.

5. With the goal to raise a happy, confident and kind generation together, parents and teachers will focus on respectful communication with each other, being good role models to our children, and supporting them to develop strong relationships and healthy habits in the digital age. For example, to enable teachers to focus on their core work in nurturing students, MOE will work with schools to establish boundaries on communication. Teachers will respond to work-related messages during work hours, with the exception of emergencies or exigencies of duty, and use official channels, such as their official email and office number, when contacting parents. See Annex A for the complete guidelines.

Parenting for Wellness

6. As part of the National Mental Health and Well-being Strategy, MOE has worked with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and Health Promotion Board to develop Parenting for Wellness, an initiative to empower parents with key knowledge and skills to build strong parent-child relationships, strengthen their children's mental well-being and resilience, and parent effectively in the digital age. This complements the Guidelines for School-Home Partnership, and includes:

  1. A Toolbox for Parents, which comprises bite-sized practical tips and strategies for parents, such as ways to create a safe and nurturing home environment, build resilience in children, and stay safe online.
  2. A conversation card deck, which is designed to facilitate deeper conversations between parents and their children about common scenarios encountered at home. It aims to strengthen communication between parents and their children by facilitating the sharing of thoughts and feelings. It also encourages parents and their children to explore strategies to overcome challenges, such as managing academic anxiety, setting screen use limits and coping with stress together.
  3. A website will be rolled out in January 2025 on Parent Hub to offer parents convenient and personalised access to the full suite of Parenting for Wellness content, such as parenting skills, caring for their child's mental health and well-being, and parenting in the digital age including on screen use.

7. Parent Support Groups and Social Service Agencies may also use the resources in Parenting for Wellness to enhance their engagement with and support families in the community.

Streamlining of Applied Learning Programme and Learning for Life Programme

8. Since the introduction of the Applied Learning Programme (ALP) and Learning for Life Programme (LLP) in 2014, schools have developed distinctive programmes to better support their students' diverse learning needs and promote a joy of learning. These programmes offer hands-on learning opportunities to help students connect academic knowledge and skills with the real world.

9. From 2026, schools will have the option to offer either an ALP or LLP, instead of both. This integration will provide schools with greater autonomy and flexibility to manage their resources and teachers' workload. Schools will also have the autonomy to continue with both programmes. MOE will support schools to make informed decisions about implementing either programme or both.

Leveraging Technology to Streamline Administrative Work

10. To further streamline administrative work, MOE will pilot a feature in Parents Gateway to allow parents to electronically submit their child's documents for absence, such as medical certificates. Teachers will be notified of their students' medical certificates via the School Cockpit Mobile, and will no longer need to manually collect and verify the documents.

11. The pilot will be conducted in 10 schools across the primary to pre-university level in the first school term of 2025. The feature will be progressively rolled out to all schools by the end of 2025. Teachers and parents will be informed and guided on the new feature prior to its rollout.

MOE's Engagement Charter

12. To role model the right values and behaviours in our students, MOE will place greater emphasis on the expected conduct of parents when interacting with school staff, and the importance of mutual courtesy and respect. MOE will ensure a safe work environment for staff to thrive in and will take firm action against individuals who engage in any form of harassment or abuse towards our staff. These are encapsulated in MOE's Engagement Charter. See Annex B for the Charter.

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About MOE's Schools Work Plan Seminar (WPS)

The annual WPS brings together over 1,700 school leaders and teachers to discuss priorities and innovation in education, with the 2024 edition anchored by the theme "Shaping Possibilities Together".


Footnotes

  1. The Guidelines for School-Home Partnership was first launched in 2019. For more information, please refer to: https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/press-releases/20190216-guidelines-for-school-home-partnership-preparing-students-for-the-future.