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| EXTENSION OF STEP-UP PROGRAMME IN 2009 |
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STEP-UP is a 5-year pilot programme initiated in 2004 by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), in collaboration with National Council of Social Service (NCSS), to bring social work programmes into schools. The goal is to complement the school system with programmes to build and strengthen socio-emotional resilience within students, in particular students at risk.
With STEP-UP coming to the end of its 5-year pilot run, MCYS has begun its evaluation of the programme to ensure the programme's usefulness, effectiveness, and relevance in today's context. Given the scale of the programme, we expect to complete the review by the end of March 2009.
In the meantime, for STEP-UP Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) with the respective partnering schools that are already on the STEP-UP programme, we are pleased to inform that funding for STEP-UP will be extended for another year to Calendar Year 2009 (i.e. till 31 December 2009). MCYS will support 50% of the programme costs, per school, up to a maximum cap of $25,000 for Primary and Secondary Schools and Junior Colleges; and up to a maximum cap of $32,167 for ITE and Vocational Training Institutes.
In view of the current review, however, we will not be accepting new applications, replacement of agencies or budget revisions to STEP-UP. For agencies/ schools that do not intend to continue STEP-UP programmes in 2009, we seek your assistance to send in the termination letter to NCSS by end October 2008.
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| Termination |
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The termination of STEP-UP programme can be executed at any time of the year but should be mutually agreed upon between the school and VWO. A hardcopy letter should then be sent to NCSS, addressed to:
Ms Susie Tan
Senior Executive
Children, Youth and Family Services
Service Development
170 Ghim Moh Road, #01-02
Singapore 279621 |
The letter does not require a particular format, but should include the following information:
- Brief description of the reason(s) for termination
- Effective date of termination
The letter should be co-signed by the School Principal and the Agency Head. Alternatively, the school and the agency can send in separate termination letters, signed by the School Principal and Agency Head respectively.
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| Programme Change |
VWOs are requested to notify NCSS at least 1 month before implementation of the programme changes, through submission of programme change forms. Please refer to templates attached below. Programme changes should align with STEP-UP guiding principles and outcomes. Please feel free to contact NCSS staff should you have further enquiries.
All agencies are required to submit a STEP-UP Annual Report to NCSS for assessment and evaluation purposes. The forms will be sent out to the VWOs in November and are to be submitted in January of the next calendar year. |
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| Contact for Enquiry |
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If you have any queries on STEP-UP, please get in touch with the following staff from NCSS:
For Programme Enquiries
Ms Susie Tan
Senior Executive
Children, Youth and Family Services, Service Development Division
DID: 6210 2494
Email: susie_tan@ncss.gov.sg
Ms Robyn Tan
Senior Executive
Children, Youth and Family Services, Service Development Division
DID: 6210 2630
Email: robyn_tan@ncss.gov.sg
For Funding Enquiries
Ms Annie Won
Principal Executive
VWO Funding, Resource Allocation Division
DID: 6210 2548
Email: annie_won@ncss.gov.sg
Ministry's Contact
Mr Wang Kecheng
Youth Development Officer
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports
Youth Division
DID: 6354 8005
Email: wang_kecheng@mcys.gov.sg |
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