ANNUAL REPORT 2010 / 2011 - MINDS

ANNUAL REPORT 

2010 / 2011

VISION ........................................................... 

To be a world-class voluntary welfare organisation 

that advances the development, well-being and 

aspirations of persons with intellectual disability 

and their integration into society 

MISSION ...................................................... 

To maximise the development and well-being of 

persons with intellectual disability through the 

provision of a comprehensive range of quality 

services 

To empower persons with intellectual disability and 

their families so as to enable them to maximise 

their potential and fulfill their aspirations 

To advocate the interests and causes of persons 

with intellectual disability so as to enable them to 

participate as fully as possible in society 

SHARED VALUES ............................... 

M - Move on with confidence 

I - Innovate for improvement 

N - Nurture with patience 

D - Determine to succeed 

S - Service with love

CONTENTS 

02 

Principal Officials .............................................................................. 

04 

Management Team .......................................................................... 

06 

Organisation Chart ........................................................................... 

07 

President’s Review .......................................................................... 

12 

School Management Committee ..................................................... 

Social Enterprise & 

17 

Employment Development Committee ........................................... 

Residential, Training & 

21 

Development Services Committee .................................................. 

26 

Allied Health Professionals Services ................................................ 

28 

Finance and Investment Committee ................................................ 

30 

Audit Committee .............................................................................. 

31 

Human Resource Committee ........................................................... 

33 

IT Committee ................................................................................... 

34 

Volunteer and Donor Management Committee ................................ 

39 

Building and Facilities Committee .................................................... 

Public Relations, Education 

40 

and Communications Committee ..................................................... 

42 

MINDS CSG .................................................................................... 

44 

MINDS MYG ..................................................................................... 

46 

Past Years’ Office Bearers ................................................................

PRINCIPAL 

OFFICIALS 

Mr Conrad Campos 

Executive Committee 

President 

Mr Gabriel Lim 


Vice President 

Mr Jeffrey Tan 


Honorary Secretary 

Mrs Mimi Tan 


Honorary Assistant Secretary 

Mr Ong Wee Gee 


Honorary Treasurer 

Mr Daniel Tan 


Member 

Mr Wilson Tan 


Member 

Mr Lim Yeow Khee 


Co-opted Member 

Mr Augustin Lee 



Mr Manojit Sen 




President 

Vice President 

Honorary Secretary 

Honorary Assistant Secretary 

Honorary Treasurer 

Honorary Assistant Treasurer 

Members 




Mrs Mimi Tan 


Mr Boo Chong Han 

Capt Roger Loh 

Mr Kenneth Chua 

Mr Chng Ho Kiat 

Mr Daniel Tan 

Mr Wilson Tan 

2 

MINDS ANNUAL REPORT 2010 / 2011

Patron 

Vice-Patron 

Dr Cheong Choong Kong 

Dr Aline Wong 

Advisors 

Dr S Vasoo 

Prof Tan Ser Kiat 

Mrs Jaya Mohideen 



Honorary Assistant Treasurer 



Member 



Member 



Member 

Ms Doreen Yap 



Mr Gerald Ng 



Mr Lim Jun Han 


Honorary Internal Auditor 

Mr Lee Ju Song 


Honorary Internal Auditor 

Co-opted Members 

Honorary Auditors 




Ms Doreen Yap 

Mr Gerald Ng 



Representatives on the following organisations: 

National Council of Social Service 

Children’s Charities Association 

Singapore Disability Sports Council 

Singapore Special Olympics 

Asian Federation on Intellectual Disabilities (AFID) 







MINDS ANNUAL REPORT 2010 / 2011 3

MANAGEMENT 

TEAM 

Seated from left to right: Mr Christopher Jap, Mr Keh Eng Song, Mr Terence Wong, Mr David Chan 

Standing from left to right: Ms Koh Gee May, Ms Yuen Lye Yong, Mrs Jeannie Ho, Ms Lai Aun Leng, 

Ms Sia Siew Lan, Mrs Rosaline Chee 

Headquarters 

Chief Executive Officer 

Director, Allied Health 

Professionals Services 

Director, Finance 

Director, Human Resources 

& Admin 

Mr Keh Eng Song 

Ms Koh Gee May 

Ms Lai Aun Leng 

Mrs Jeannie Ho 

Manager, Volunteer & 

Donor Management 

Manager, Facilities/ 

Procurement 

Accountant (Association) 

Accountant (Schools) 

Mrs Rosaline Chee 

Mr Terence Wong 

Mr David Chan 

Ms Sia Siew Lan 

Manager, Human Resources 

& Admin 

Ms Yuen Lye Yong 

Internal Auditor 

Mr Christopher Jap 

Standing from left to right: Ms Suzana Soo, Ms Josephine Ong, Ms Chia Poh Hong, 

Mr Anthony Tan, Ms Sharon Ng 

Special Schools 

Director, Schools Services & 

Head – Curriculum 

Development Unit 

Principal, Fernvale Gardens 

School 

Ms Chia Poh Hong 

Mr Anthony Tan 

Principal, Towner 

Gardens School 

Principal, Woodlands 


Ms Josephine Ong 

Ms Suzana Soo 

Principal, Lee Kong Chian 


Ms Sharon Ng 

4 


Standing from left to right: Ms Prema Thevarajah, Mr Ng Mun Wai, Mr Stephen Shi, 

Mr Chao Ye Peng, Ms Ng Rei Na, Mr Leroy Lee 

Social Enterprise & Employment Development Centres 

Director, Social 

Enterprises 

Senior Manager, 

SIA-MINDS EDC 

Manager, Idea EDC 

Mr Chao Ye Peng 

Ms Prema Thevarajah 

Mr Stephen Shi 

Manager, Woodlands EDC 

Senior Manager, Social 

Enterprises 

Manager, Social 

Enterprises 

Mr Ng Mun Wai 

Ms Ng Rei Na 

Mr Leroy Lee 

Seated from left to right: Ms Shafiyah Sarwan, Ms Koh Gee May, Ms Rosalyn Peng, 

Standing from left to right: Ms Rose Kwek, Mr Mike Koh, Mr Ling Chong Beng 

Residential, Training & Development Services 

Director, Residential, Training 

& Development Services 

Head, MINDSville@Napiri - 

Children’s Wing 


Ms Rose Kwek 

Head, Ang Mo Kio TDC 

Head, Clementi TDC 

Head, Napiri TDC 

Ms Rosalyn Peng 

Ms Shafiyah Sarwan 

Mr Mike Koh 

Head, MINDSville@Napiri - 

Hostel/Group Home 

Mr Ling Chong Beng 


ORGANISATION 

CHART 

CONRAD CAMPOS 

President – Executive Committee 

Sub Committees: 

KEH ENG SONG 


• CONRAD CAMPOS, Chairman & Supervisor - 

School Management (SMC) 

• GABRIEL LIM, Chairman -Social Enterprise & 

Employment Development (SEED) 

• ROGER LOH, Chairman - Residential & Training 

Development Services (RTDS) 

• AUGUSTIN LEE, Chairman – Allied Health 

Professionals (AHP) Services 

• KENNETH CHUA, Chairman - Finance and 

Investment 

• LIM JUN HAN, Chairman – Audit 

• MANOJIT SEN, Chairman - Human Resource 

• ONG WEE GEE, Chairman – IT 

• CHNG HO KIAT, Chairman - Volunteer & Donor 

Management 

• BOO CHONG HAN, Chairman - Public 

Relations, Education & Communications 

• LIM YEOW KHEE, Chairman - Building & 

Facilities 

• JEFFREY TAN, Chairman - Membership 

• MIMI TAN, Chairman - MINDS CSG 

• GERALD NG, Chairman – MINDS MYG 

SPECIAL SCHOOLS 

CHIA POH HONG 

Director, Schools & 

Head, Curriculum Development Unit 

Principals: 

ANTHONY TAN 

Fernvale Gardens 

SHARON NG 

Lee Kong Chian Gardens 

JOSEPHINE ONG 

Towner Gardens 

SUZANA SOO 

Woodlands Gardens 

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE & EMPLOYMENT 

DEVELOPMENT CENTRES 

CHAO YE PENG 

Director, Social Enterprises 

Senior Managers: 

PREMA THEVARAJAH 

SIA-MINDS EDC 

NG REI NA 

Social Enterprises 

Managers: 

STEPHEN SHI 

Idea EDC 

NG MUN WAI 

Woodlands EDC 

LEROY LEE 


RESIDENTIAL, TRAINING & 

DEVELOPMENT SERVICES 

KOH GEE MAY 

Director, Residential Training & 

Development Services 

MINDSVILLE@NAPIRI 

Heads: 

KOH GEE MAY 

Home 

ROSE KWEK 

Children’s Wing 

LING CHONG BENG 

Hostel/Group Home 

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT CENTRES 

Heads: 

ROSALYN PENG 

Ang Mo Kio TDC 

SHAFIYAH SARWAN 

Clementi TDC 

MIKE KOH 

Napiri TDC 

CORPORATE SERVICES 

ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS (AHP) 

SERVICES 

Director, KOH GEE MAY 

FINANCE 

Director, LAI AUN LENG 

Accountant, DAVID CHAN 

Accountant, SIA SIEW LAN 

HR & ADMIN 

Director, JEANNIE HO 

Manager, YUEN LYE YONG 

FACILITIES/PROCUREMENT 

Manager, TERENCE WONG 

IT 

Administrator, CHIA SIEW TONG 

VOLUNTEER AND DONOR MANAGEMENT 

Manager, ROSALINE CHEE 

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS 

Executive, BRENDA LEE 

CHRISTOPHER JAP 

Internal Auditor

PRESIDENT’S 

REVIEW 

In recognition of the success of the Community Group Home 

project, MINDS was awarded the NCSS Outstanding VWO Award 

2010 – Special Mention in Innovation, during the NCSS Members 

Conference in 2010. 

With the success of the Community Group Home, there is now 

greater impetus to provide a range of residential options for special 

needs persons. 

We thank the residents of the local community for accepting our 

clients into their midst. 

Open Employment and Productive Work 

As at March 2011, a total of 36 clients have been placed in open 

employment at hotels, fast food restaurants, warehouses and 

leisure outlets under the Job Placement and Job Support Program 

(JPJS) Programme, and more than 80% of them were able to 

maintain their employment for at least 6 months. In addition, 41 

clients and 16 of our staff successfully completed the WDA’s WSQ 

Food Hygiene course. 

The year under review has been a fruitful year as we made 

incremental and concrete strides towards increasing the capacity 

of our Training and Development Centre (TDC) services, improving 

the employment opportunities for our adult clients in both 

open employment and sheltered environments, enhancing our 

professional knowledge and expertise to raise the quality of our 

services, improving how we engage our stakeholders, and last but 

not least, building management leadership, developing talent and 

nurturing a culture of passion for service. 

A Fourth TDC 

After a fairly extensive period of advocacy and consultation, the 

Ministry of Community Development Youth & Sports (MCYS) has 

granted our appeal for a new TDC in view of the long waitlist for day 

activity services. We are now working with the National Council of 

Social Service (NCSS) and the Housing Development Board (HDB) 

to identify a suitable site and are targeting 2012 for the opening of 

our 4th TDC. 

We have operated our TDCs as enhanced versions of Day Activity 

Centres (DACs) to cope with the high support needs of our clients. 

We are able to do this because of our economies of scale. Based on 

our projections, more TDCs will be required to meet the demands 

of our clients with high support needs. We will continue to engage 

and consult with our funding bodies to meet this demand. 

Community Group Home goes into operation at Bedok 

After considerable planning and preparation, 5 of our clients 

moved into 2 rented flats at Bedok in May 2010 to form the first 

Community Group Home in Singapore. This provision of a wider 

range of residential options for special needs persons is a significant 

milestone in improving the quality of life of special needs persons 

and a major step towards a more inclusive society. 

In going operational, our staff, together with the local Residents 

Committee, worked hard to create understanding and acceptance 

of the Community Group Home and our clients within the local 

community. 

I am told that having enjoyed the independence of community 

living, none of the 5 of them could ever imagine going back to living 

in an institutional home. I am also told that quite a few residents 

within the local community have come forward to befriend our 

clients and to volunteer their assistance. 

For many years, our sheltered workshops and social enterprises 

have been providing productive work for our adult clients. The 

recycling of headsets for Singapore Airlines and Singapore Airport 

Terminal Services has been and will continue to be a mainstay of 

productive work at our sheltered workshops. Our social enterprise 

units, MINDS Shop, MINDS Food, MINDS Perform, MINDS Craft 

and MINDS Wash also have provided a varied range of productive 

work beneficial to our clients. Over the year, we have built upon 

these viable platforms for productive work. 

Building a social enterprise to meet the needs of our clients is by 

any reckoning a challenging task. I am nevertheless confident that 

the work we have done over the year will yield results in the near 

future. 

Celebrating Caregivers, Families and Volunteers 

The combined MINDS Caregivers Support Group annual party and 

MINDS MYG family day saw the largest turnout of nearly 1,000 

caregivers, family members, clients and volunteers on 5 March 

2011 at the Toa Payoh Community Club. It was heartening to 

see families and volunteers come together for a day of fun and 

friendship. 

Over the course of the year in review, each of the schools and adult 

centres conducted a range of activities for families and volunteers. 

We also improved our channels of communication with caregivers 

and volunteers. This included a revamp of our MINDS website at 

www.minds.org.sg and the revamp of MINDSpeak, which I believe 

better reflect the vibrancy, colour and potential of our clients, and 

the dedication, hard work and professionalism of our staff and 

volunteers. 

MINDS will continue with its efforts to build capacity and expertise 

in supporting caregivers, families and volunteers. 

‘Schools of Excellence where Every Individual Matters’ 

That is the Vision Statement which the teachers and allied health 

professionals at our four schools, led by their Principals, came up 

with as their Vision Statement. In keeping with that Vision, the 

schools have in the course of the year been focusing their efforts 

on enhancing the quality of their services both at the macro and 

individual student level. 

Through a process of self-evaluation, the Schools have been 

preparing for the Quality Assurance Framework developed by 

the Ministry of Education (MOE) and NCSS and will be ready 

when external validation commences later this year or next year. 

The school curriculum was also further refined and rolled out in 


November 2010 together with an assessment tool. The Reading 

Mastery Programme and Paths Programme initiated by MOE have 

also been rolled out with commendable outcomes. 

I am pleased to note that Lee Xin Xiang of Woodlands Gardens 

School and Abdul Halim Bin Abdul Jalil of Towner Gardens School 

(TGS) participated in the 5th Special Olympics held in Fuzhou, 

China and returned with 2 Gold and 2 Silver medals. Two teachers, 

Agnes Sim and Jeanie Morgan from TGS received the MOE/NCSS 

Commendation SPED Teacher Award in 2010. 

A parents’ survey was conducted in 2010 across the 4 schools to 

gauge parents’ satisfaction in respect of the quality of MINDS’ 

education programs, facilities, resources, and communication with 

parents. I am pleased to report that a 98% satisfaction level was 

achieved collectively based on a 66.6% participation rate. 

Medical and Health Screenings for Clients 

Medical and health screenings for the Napiri Home residents and 

TDC clients were stepped up to ensure prompt medical intervention 

and quality medical care. This was enabled through collaborations 

with the Singapore National Eye Centre, NUS School of Dentistry, 

SATA, volunteer doctors and MINDS’ in-house medical team. 

Human Resource Management & Training 

Over the years, we have consciously made an effort to distinguish 

between management and governance. This required improving 

our processes for transparency and accountability, and building a 

core management leadership team, led by the CEO, Mr Keh Eng 

Song, of directors, principals and centre heads to take the lead 

on operational and management matters, with the Executive 

Committee taking a step back on management matters and 

focusing on governance and strategic direction. 

We have developed a MINDS’ HR Management Framework with 

policies for recruitment and selection, orientation, performance 

management, recognition and retention, learning and development, 

and succession planning. With better performance evaluation 

at all levels, we are now better able to identify training needs as 

well as staff with potential. Succession planning has been put in 

focus not only as an aspect of HR management, but of corporate 

governance. In addition, a comprehensive 5-year training roadmap 

at each level and category of staff has been drawn up to enhance 

competencies. 

At the management leadership level, we welcomed Ms Josephine 

Ong as principal of TGS, Ms Sharon Ng as principal of Lee Kong 

Chian Gardens School and Mr Chao Ye Peng as Director of Social 

Enterprises. Both Josephine and Sharon were Vice Principals in 

mainstream schools and seconded by MOE to our schools. Ye Peng 

brings with him relevant experience in managing social enterprises. 

MINDS recognised that structured career pathways, leadership 

building and professional mentoring schemes are critical to raising 

the professional practices of allied health professionals, improving 

retention and supporting management in strategic development 

of services. The introduction of the AHP Bill (passed in January 

2011) served as an additional impetus to upgrade our professional 

standards so as to meet the requirements of an Approved Centre. 

In January 2011, senior AHPs with the relevant experience and 

qualifications were appointed AHP Heads and Team Leaders for 

each discipline, with the responsibility for providing feedback 

on industry trends, evaluating service gaps and to develop new 

strategies, policies, processes, and solutions that will create value 

for the organisation and clients. 

Corporate Governance 

The hallmarks of corporate governance at MINDS are transparency, 

accountability and strong processes. I am pleased to inform you 

that as a large charity, we continue to comply fully with the refined 

Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs. 

We continued to build on our processes last year. An Internal 

Audit Charter was drawn up and implemented. A full time internal 

auditor, who reports to the CEO and Audit Committee, implements 

an internal audit plan. Purchase requisition procedures, IT and HR 

Manuals were reviewed and management staff were briefed and 

updated on internal control procedures and compliance. 

We also use technology to ensure that our processes are efficient. 

The electronic payment system was implemented to enhance the 

efficiency of the payment process and to enable better financial 

management and audit. The e-purchasing system was also 

refined to improve documentation standards, transparency and 

accountability at all levels. 

We continue to be conservative in the investment of our financial 

reserves, and with an eye on inflation on a longer time horizon, 

high quality fixed income assets with shorter durations and fixed 

deposits remain the preferred asset class. 

Moving Forward 

MINDS will celebrate its 50th Anniversary in 2012. This is a 

major milestone in MINDS’ history and development and a time 

to celebrate. We celebrate not only the organisation, but more 

importantly, the lives of persons with intellectual disabilities. The 

occasion of our 50th Anniversary would be a fitting opportunity to 

create public awareness of the needs and potential of persons with 

intellectual disabilities with a view to promoting their integration 

into a more inclusive society. We will inform you in due course of 

the programme and activities of the 50th Anniversary, and we hope 

that all of you will join us in our celebrations. 

In the Committee of Supply debates in 2011, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, 

the then Minister for Community Development, Youth & Sports 

announced the MCYS 5-year Enabling Masterplan (2012 to 2016), 

with its focus on early intervention, and adult care and caregiver 

support for persons with special needs. MINDS will participate and 

contribute actively to the Enabling Masterplan so as to meet the 

needs of our clients and their caregivers. 

Acknowledgement and Appreciation 

MINDS has been very fortunate to enjoy strong support and 

goodwill of many corporate and individual donors and volunteers, 

who have very generously contributed money, resources or their 

time in furtherance of our cause over the past year and consistently 

over many years. To all our donors and volunteers, we say a big 

thank you. 

I would also like to thank my fellow board members and our staff 

for their passion, dedication, and hard work over the course of the 

year to deliver on the many initiatives of MINDS, as well as on the 

services, care and support that our clients require on a daily basis. 

Last but not least, I would like to thank the MOE, MCYS, 

NCSS, Community Chest and Tote Board for the funding of our 

programmes, as well as for their guidance and support. 

Conrad Campos 

President 

8 


GOVERNANCE EVALUATION 

CHECKLIST FOR ADVANCED TIER 

Applicable to large IPCs with gross annual receipts of $10 million or more 

For the financial year 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. 

S/N Description Code ID Response Reasons for Non-Compliance 

A 

Board Governance 

Are there Board members 

holding staff appointment? 

(Skip items 1 and 2 if “No”) 

No 

1 If the governing instrument 

permits staff to become Board 

members, they should comprise 

not more than one-third of the 

Board. 

2 Staff does not chair the Board. 1.1.2 Not Applicable 

1.1.2 Not Applicable Although MINDS’ Constitution does not specifically state 

whether staff can become Board members, we do not have 

any staff as Board member currently. 

3 There is a maximum limit of 

four consecutive years for the 

Treasurer position (or equivalent, 

eg Finance Committee 

Chairman). 

1.1.6 Complied MINDS’ Constitution states that the Honorary Treasurer shall 

serve not more than two consecutive terms (or a maximum 

of four consecutive years). Further re-appointment to the 

Honorary Treasurer position shall be allowed after a lapse of 

at least one financial year. 

4 The Board conducts regular 

self-evaluation to assess its 

performance and effectiveness. 

1.1.10 Complied The last self-evaluation was done in early 2009. We are 

planning to conduct the next self-evaluation in November 

2011. 

5 The Board has an audit 

committee (or designated Board 

members) with documented 

terms of reference. 

6 The Board meets regularly with 

a quorum of at least one-third 

or at least three members, 

whichever is greater (or as 

required by the governing 

instrument). 

Conflict of Interest 

7 There are documented 

procedures for Board members 

and staff to declare actual or 

potential conflicts of interest to 

the Board. 

1.2.1 Complied MINDS’ Constitution provides for two voting members, 

not being members of the Board to be elected as Honorary 

Internal Auditors at the Annual General Meeting and will hold 

office for a term of two years only and shall not be re-elected 

for a consecutive term. Together with other volunteers, 

they form the Audit Committee with one of the two elected 

Honorary Internal Auditor being the chairperson of the 

Committee. 

1.3.1 Complied Although MINDS’ Constitution stipulates Board Meetings 

to be held at least once every 2 months, the Board 

actually meets every month whenever possible, except for 

December. 

According to the Constitution, five members shall form a 

quorum, with one of whom shall be the President, Vice- 

President or Honorary Secretary in order for its proceeding 

to be valid. 

2.1 Complied Board members and staff are required to declare potential 

conflicts of interest annually in the Conflict of Interest 

Declaration Form. 



8 Board members do not vote or 

participate in decision-making 

on matters where they have a 

conflict of interest. 

Strategic Planning 

9 The Board reviews and approves 

the vision and mission of the 

charity. They are documented 

and communicated to its 

members and the public. 

10 The Board approves and reviews 

a strategic plan for the charity to 

ensure that the activities are in 

line with its objectives. 

Human Resource Management 

11 The Board approves 

documented human resource 

policies for staff. 

12 There are systems for regular 

supervision, appraisal and 

professional development of 

staff. 

13 There is a system to address 

grievances and resolve conflicts. 

Financial Management and 

Controls 

14 The Board ensures internal 

control systems for financial 

matters are in place with 

documented procedures. 

15 The Board ensures reviews 

on the charity’s controls, 

processes, key programmes 

and events. 

16 The Board approves an annual 

budget for the charity’s plans 

and regularly monitors its 

expenditure. 

2.4 Complied All Board members are prohibited from any business 

dealings and contracts with MINDS. 

A Board member with a declared conflict of interest is not 

allowed to vote or participate in decision making on the 

matter. 

3.1.1 Complied The review is carried out periodically. The vision and mission 

are published in MINDS’ website (http://www.minds.org.sg) 

as well as in the Annual Report. 

3.2.2 Complied Strategic directions are set by the Board at the beginning of 

each term. 

The 3 key sub-committees, namely School Management 

Committee, Social Enterprise and Employment Development 

Committee, and Residential, Training and Development 

Services Committee will review and approve the schools and 

centres’ workplans and budgets annually. 

5.1 Complied HR policies for staff are endorsed by the HR Committee and 

approved by the Board. 

5.6 Complied Annual appraisal and training road maps and plans are in 

place for all staff. 

MINDS attained the People Developer Standard Award (now 

known as People Excellence Award) in December 2006 and 

renewed in December 2009. 

5.11 Complied Staff Grievance Procedure is documented within the 

Collective Agreement with the Union. 

6.1.2 Complied This is under the supervision of the Finance and Investment 

Committee and documented procedures are approved by the 

Board. 

6.1.3 Complied Compliance is ensured by the Audit Committee which is 

supported by an Internal Auditor reporting to the CEO and 

the Audit Committee. 

6.2.1 Complied The sector sub-committees are responsible for the annual 

budget and its subsequent monitoring. 

The annual budget is then endorsed by the Finance and 

Investment Committee and approved by the Board. 

17 The charity discloses its 

reserves policy in the annual 

report. 

Quarterly budget reviews are conducted for both the schools 

and the adult sector. 

6.4.1 Complied Reserves policy is disclosed in MINDS’ Annual Report. 

B 

Does the charity invest its 

reserves? 

(Skip item 18 if “No”) 

Yes 

10 



18 The charity invests its reserves 

in accordance with an 

investment policy approved by 

the Board. It obtains advice 

from qualified professional 

advisors, if deemed necessary 

by the Board. 

Fundraising Practices 

19 Donations collected are 

properly recorded and promptly 

deposited by the charity. 

Disclosure and Transparency 

20 The charity makes available 

to its stakeholders an annual 

report that includes information 

on its programmes, activities, 

audited financial statements, 

Board members and executive 

management. 

6.4.3 Complied MINDS invests its surplus funds according to written and 

Board-approved Investment Policy guidelines via the Finance 

and Investment Committee. 

7.2.2 Complied In addition, donations received are reported monthly to the 

Board. 

8.1 Complied An Annual Report is published yearly. Other than distributing 

the hard copy, it is also available in MINDS’ website. 

C Are Board members 

remunerated for their Board 

services? 


21 No Board member is involved 

in setting his or her own 

remuneration. 

22 The charity discloses the exact 

remuneration and benefits 

received by each Board member 

in the annual report. 

D Does the charity employ paid 

staff? 


No 

Not Applicable 

Not Applicable 

Yes 

No Board member is paid for his/her service. 

No Board member is remunerated by MINDS. 

No Board member is remunerated by MINDS. 

23 No staff is involved in setting his 

or her own remuneration 

24 The charity discloses in its 

annual report the annual 

remuneration of its three 

highest paid staff who each 

receives remuneration 

exceeding $100,000, in bands 

of $100,000. If none of its top 

three highest paid staff receives 

more then $100,000 in annual 

remuneration each, the charity 

discloses this fact. 

Public Image 

25 The charity accurately portrays 

its image to its members, 

donors and the public. 

2.2 Complied MINDS follows very closely the salary scales provided by 

NCSS. Where deviations are necessary, they are approved 

by the HR Committee. 

8.3 Complied This is disclosed in MINDS’ Annual Report. 

9.1 Complied MINDS’ vision, mission, programmes and activities are 

contained in the Annual Report which is distributed to key 

stakeholders. In addition, such information are also available 

in MINDS’ website. 


SCHOOL MANAGEMENT 

COMMITTEE 

Seated from left to right: Mr Boo Chong Han, Ms Toh Leng Leng, Mr Conrad Campos, Mr Justin Lim, Mr Kenneth Chua 

Standing from left to right: Ms Josephine Ong, Ms Suzana Soo, Mr Anthony Tan, Ms Chia Poh Hong, Dr Bhavani Sriram, Ms Sharon Ng, 


Supervisor & Chairman 

Treasurer 

MOE Representative 

Members 


Director, Schools Services & Head, 

Curriculum Development Unit 

Principal, Fernvale Gardens 

Principal, Lee Kong Chian Gardens 

Principal, Woodlands Gardens 

Principal, Towner Gardens & 

SMC Secretary for 2011 

Observers: 

Director, Human Resources & Admin 



Mr Justin Lim 

Ms Toh Leng Leng 




Dr Bhavani Sriram 



Mr Anthony Tan 

Mrs Jenny Alexander (up to 31 Dec 2010) 

Ms Sharon Ng (from 15 Dec 2010) 

Ms Suzana Soo 

Ms Josephine Ong 

Ms Jeannie Ho 


12 


The Schools had a vibrant year, highlighted by the achievements of 

its students and staff, the roll out of key professional initiatives, active 

participation of parents in school activities, and community support for 

the schools’ learning and co-curricular activities and projects. 

A parents’ survey was conducted in July 2010 with 66.6% participation 

rate. 98% of the parents who responded indicated that they were 

satisfied with the quality of the educational programme, facilities and 

resources, and schools’ engagement and communication with parents 

and caregivers. 

We welcomed Josephine Ong as principal of Towner Gardens School 

and Sharon Ng as principal of Lee Kong Chian Gardens School. Both 

are on secondment from the Ministry of Education and bring with them 

the experience of vice-principals in mainstream primary schools and 

passion for special education. We thank Salha Soo and Jenny Alexander 

for their many years of contribution as teachers and principals at MINDS 

Schools. 

MINDS schools are committed to the vision of building Schools of 

Excellence where every individual matters, and delivering on its mission 

of providing a vibrant learning environment that inspires our students 

towards independence and integration into society. 

Current School Programmes 

Our schools provide three levels of education: 

• Junior - 7 to 12 years old 

• Senior - 13 to 18 years old 

• Special - 7 to 18 years old who have high behaviour support 

needs 

With the start of the new school year from 1 January 2011, we stopped 

accepting children between the ages of 4 and 6 for our pre-school 

programme. This was part of the rationalization of our school services 

and is consistent with the provision of education in mainstream schools 

for children from age 7 onwards. 

A. Core curriculum content : 

• Academics - numeracy and literacy skills 

• Social Competency 

• Health Education 

• Domestic Science 

• Social Studies 

• Physical Education 

• Aesthetics/art and craft, music and dance 

• Pre-vocational skills 

• Science and Technology 

B. Co-curricular and Pupil Enrichment Activities 

• Uniformed groups 

• Educational visits 

• Drama, dance, arts and sports programmes 

• Camping 

Pupil Enrollment as at 31 March 2011 

Junior Senior Special Total 

School Non ASD ASD Non ASD ASD Non ASD ASD Non ASD ASD Total 

FGS 78 2 101 9 16 27 195 38 233 

LGS 93 2 92 19 24 18 209 39 248 

TGS 84 4 139 7 29 26 252 37 289 

WGS 110 6 97 7 32 15 239 28 267 

Total 365 14 429 42 101 86 895 142 1037 

ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder 

Staff Strength as at 31 March 2011 

FGS LGS TGS WGS Total 

Principal 1 1 1 1 4 

Vice Principal 1 0 1 0 2 

Teachers including contract teachers 42 37 51 41 171 

Teacher Assistants including contract TAs 5 8 7 8 28 

Social Workers 2 2 2 2 8 

Psychologists 2 2 2 2 8 

Physiotherapists 1 1 1 1 4 

Occupational Therapists 1 0 1 1 3 

Speech Therapists 1 2 1 1 5 

Administration cum Operations Manager 1 1 1 1 4 

Clerical/Accounts Staff 4 3 2 4 13 

SW Assistant cum Clerical 0 1 1 1 3 

General Workers 5 4 4 5 18 

Total 66 62 75 68 271 

Curriculum Developers Shared by all schools 4 


ACHIEVEMENT HIGHLIGHTS 

Student Achievements 

In recognition of the ability of persons with special needs, special 

education schools were provided with funding for awards for 

students who made significant progress or excelled in the course 

of the year. A total of 71 ‘Good Progress’ Awards and 27 ‘Special 

Achievement’ Awards were presented to deserving students 

across all levels at the end of the calendar school year in November 

2010. 

Lee Xin Xiang of Woodlands Gardens School and Abdul Halim Abdul 

Jalil of Towner Gardens School were selected by Special Olympics 

Singapore to participate in the 5th Special Olympics Games held in 

Fuzhou, China from 19 to 25 September 2010. Both returned with 

2 Gold and 2 Silver medals. 

The Scouts Groups of Woodlands Gardens School and Lee Kong 

Chian Gardens School were awarded the Frank Cooper Sands Silver 

Awards 2010, in recognition of the units’ good performance. The 

Scouts Group of Towner Gardens School was awarded the Frank 

Cooper Sands Bronze Award 2010 in recognition of the unit’s active 

participation in scouting activities. 

Staff Awards 

Two teachers from Towner Gardens School, Agnes Sim-Gee Lee 

Kien and Jeanie Morgan received Commendation Certificates at the 

MOE-NCSS SPED Teacher Award Ceremony held on 12 November 

at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. Madeline Ho from Towner 

Gardens School was given the Chief Scout’s Commendation 

Award. 

Chin Ngeet Hin, psychologist of Woodlands Gardens School 

received a sponsorship from MOE to attend the Diploma in 

Educational Psychology in NIE. 

Two teachers from Woodlands Gardens School, Santha Raman and 

Sidah Jasmin received a special award for their contribution to the 

Extension Scouts Movement. 

Professional Initiatives 

The refined ‘MINDS Curriculum’ was rolled out for implementation 

in November 2010 together with the beta copy of the assessment 

tool. The curriculum is uploaded into MINDS School Intranet for 

easy access by staff. The final copy of the assessment will be 

uploaded into the system to measure students’ achievement of 

the curriculum learning outcomes. 

On 9 October 2010, MINDS organized the MINDS Symposium 

– Curriculum In Partnership with Stakeholders at the Furama 

Riverfront Hotel. The Guest-of-Honour was our Patron, Dr Cheong 

Choong Kong. It was attended by senior representatives from the 

Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Community Development 

Youth, & Sports, the National Council of Social Service, members 

of MINDS Executive Committee, staff from all sectors in MINDS, 

caregivers and volunteers. The key achievement of this Symposium 

was that it provided a platform for the exchange of ideas among 

stakeholders. MINDS staff also had the opportunity to present 

their action research studies and the innovative programmes that 

have been implemented in their centres and schools. It was a day 

of professional sharing and learning for the staff and stakeholders, 

creating better awareness and understanding of MINDS work and 

achievements. 

14 


The transition programme for graduating students expanded with 

many more work attachments at businesses and corporations. 

Towner Gardens School was able to place students in Shangri-La 

Hotel’s F & B section to do napkin folding besides the on-going 

attachment in the housekeeping department. Woodlands Gardens 

School successfully attached 2 graduating students with a KFC 

branch and this provided a good opportunity for employment 

possibilities for them upon graduation. Fernvale Gardens School 

continued to engage the students in job experiences within the 

Fernvale Community and feedbacks from these employers were 

very positive. 

As an initiative to enhance communication skills for all students, 

training on the use of a Basic Key Word Signs was conducted for 

staff by Eva Loh, speech therapist of Lee Kong Chian Gardens 

School. It is hoped that with this extra support, our students will 

be able to express themselves better. 

School Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) for School 

Evaluation 

MOE/NCSS introduced and piloted the QAF tool for evaluation of 

the quality of school’s operational and professional processes and 

performance outcomes. Each school submitted a self-evaluation 

report in January 2011, in readiness for the QAF when it will be 

implemented in 2012. 

MINDS 23rd Sports Meet 

Students participated in MINDS Sports Meet held on 24 April 2010 

at Yishun Sports Stadium. There were 13 events including one that 

involved the students/clients and their family members. Mr Oon 

Jin Teik, CEO of the Singapore Sports Council graced the event as 

the Guest-of-Honour. 

Recycling Outreach Programme by National Environment 

Agency 

Fernvale Gardens School was awarded the Recycling Outreach 

Programme – Sustained Achievement Award (Silver) on 19 Feb 

2011. Staff and students had been engaged in recycling efforts 

since 2008. 

Staff Development 

To build staff capabilities, 14 staff from the four schools went on a 

Learning Journey to Adelaide during the June holidays. The objective 

was to learn more about the Australian special education practices 

and post school provisions. Upon their return, the group made two 

major recommendations with respect to the transition programme 

for preparing students for adult life namely, streaming of students 

age 13 to programmes suited to individual capabilities, and building 

of individual student portfolios. These two recommendations were 

accepted and implemented in January 2011. 

Erni Noorhaidah of Woodlands Gardens School went on a two 

weeks learning visit cum educational attachment in Sydney to 

acquire knowledge on most school provisions for persons with 

special needs. She now heads a team to look into enhancing the 

transition training programme of her school. 

Senior staff were encouraged to organize learning journeys for 

their colleagues as part of their leadership training. The schools 

also initiated peer classroom observations to enhance teachers’ 

instructional skills besides sending staff on courses and seminars 

by SSTI and other training providers. 

Parental Involvement 

School-based workshops were conducted for parents on tips for 

working with their children at home. These workshops were well 

attended, indicating that parents were very keen to contribute 

to their children’s learning. Parents also attended workshops on 

various topics conducted by the allied health professionals across 

MINDS on Saturdays. 

About 70% of parents participated in the Teacher/Parent 

conferencing held twice a year to discuss their child’s progress 

and education plans. Parents were very responsive to feedback 

requested or given by teachers on their child’s learning and needs. 

Parents also volunteered their time and assistance in many 

school functions and activities in the course of the year. They also 

participated in school events such as the MINDS Symposium and 

the MINDS 23rd Sports Meet 


Community Involvement Programme (CIP) 

Throughout the year, schools were actively involved in numerous 

community projects and activities with mainstream schools as 

well as with businesses and corporations. These community 

projects and activities strengthened community relationships, 

promote better understanding of persons with special needs and 

their acceptance into the mainstream of society. Some corporate 

employers opened their doors to work attachments for our senior 

students, providing them the opportunity to enhance their open 

employment possibilities. 

The community involvement activities carried out during the year 

include: 

• Collaboration between the schools and SCDF on safety and 

emergency drills. 

• Woodlands Gardens School had been and will continue 

collaborating with Innova Junior College in IT activities for 

the senior level students. The school also maintained close 

partnership with Raffles Institution Junior College Interact 

Club which assisted in classroom activities, Singapore Armed 

Forces Ammunition Command which organised visits to 

places of interest, and the SAFTI Military Institute voluntary 

work with the senior students. 

• Fernvale Gardens School engaged partners like Raffles 

Institution and NatSteel to carry out activities that enhanced 

the curriculum. Raffles Institution students planned and 

carried out simple science activities to assist our students 

to learn and understand the world around them. The school 

also linked up with Fernvale Primary School on the Satellite 

Partnership Programme initiated by MOE. 

• Towner Gardens School maintained close partnership with 

Shangri-La Hotel in the work preparation programme for the 

senior students. Other partners included ITE East College 

which provided the students with hairdressing training, and 

Paya Lebar Airbase which assisted in school activities. 

• Lee Kong Chian Gardens School maintained partnership 

with United World College for many years and participated in 

celebration of special events like Racial Harmony Day, Lunar 

New Year Celebration and other festive occasions with various 

schools in the neighbourhood. 

FY 2011/12 WORKPLAN 

The workplans and targets are categorized under these key 

strategic thrusts: 

A Building on curriculum, programmes and teaching and 

learning resources: 

• Implement MINDS curriculum and beta copy of the 

assessment across all levels, and review the delivery of the 

curriculum in the classrooms. 

• Review and build upon the delivery of the Reading Mastery 

Programme and PATHS Programme. 

• Make available the curriculum and assessment documents to 

staff through the intranet. 

• Make available teaching and learning resources to parents and 

caregivers. 

• Improve the use of IT in schools for teaching, learning and 

communication. 

• Streamline and improve the transition of graduating students 

to after-school centres. 

B Building Student Capabilities: 

• Develop and strengthen literacy, oral and IT skills of students. 

• Enhance the preparation of students for transition to afterschool 

services with the implementation of the 3-tracks 

forecast and building of individual student portfolios. The 3 

tracks identified are: 

a. Open Employment 

b. MINDS Employment Development Centres 

c. MINDS Training & Development Centres 

• Enable qualifying students to obtain certification in work 

skills. 

C Building Staff Capabilities: 

• Instil in schools a staff learning and sharing culture. 

• Implement the staff learning and training roadmap, in line 

with schools’ areas of focus and individual staff development 

needs. 

• Identify and groom staff for leadership roles and succession 

plan. 

• Encourage staff to conduct school-based research and be 

involved in research studies by other professional bodies. 

• Encourage greater inter-disciplinary case management 

approaches for students’ learning. 

D Building Better Partnership with Family and the 

Community: 

• Enhance platforms for communication with caregivers. 

• Encourage parent volunteerism in school projects and 

activities. 

• Establish relationship with and engage local community 

groups, corporate bodies and mainstream schools for more 

effective CIP programmes and professional initiatives. 

16 


SOCIAL ENTERPRISE & EMPLOYMENT 

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 

Seated from left to right: Ms Prema Thevarajah, Mrs Jeannie Ho, Mr Gabriel Lim, Ms Lai Aun Leng 

Standing from left to right: Mr Keh Eng Song, Mr Daniel Tan, Mr Chao Ye Peng, Mr Ng Mun Wai, Ms Ng Rei Na, Mr Wong Loke Kuan 

Not in picture: Mr Wilson Tan, Mr Stephen Shi, Ms Chia Poh Hong, Mr Leroy Lee 

Chairman 

Members 


Director, Social Enterprises 



Director, School Services & Head of CDU 

Senior Manager, Social Enterprises 

Senior Manager, SIA-MINDS Employment Development Centre (SMEDC) 

Manager, Idea Employment Development Centre (IEDC) 

Manager, Woodlands Employment Development Centre (WEDC) 

Manager, Social Enterprises 


Mr Wong Loke Kuan 

Mr Wilson Tan 

Mr Daniel Tan 


Mr Chao Ye Peng 




Ms Ng Rei Na 

Ms Prema Thevarajah 

Mr Stephen Shi 

Mr Ng Mun Wai 

Mr Leroy Lee 


The Social Enterprise & Employment Development (SEED) 

Committee was spun out of the Service Development Committee 

to provide more attention and resources to MINDS social 

enterprises. 

Terms of Reference 

1. To provide strategic guidance to the development and viable 

management of social enterprises, including: 

a. Specifying the “policy statement/objectives” 

b. Translating the “policy statement/objectives” into 

operational guidelines for the management and 

implementation; 

c. Monitoring and evaluating the various social enterprises’ 

viability, the operations of the Employment Development 

Centres, and the employment opportunities via regular 

reports/updates provided by the management team; 

d. Assisting to identify potential business opportunities for 

further consideration; and 

e. Providing guidance to the social enterprise and operations 

teams to achieve the above goals. 

2. To approve the establishment of social enterprises within 

the delegated limits of authority provided by the Executive 

Committee. 

3. To support the Executive Committee in its strategic 

management, including inter alia: 

a. Ensuring proper governance, policies, processes and 

controls in the social enterprises; and 

b. Overseeing the implementation of major decisions made 

by the Executive Committee 

The clients and staff at SMEDC continued to attend external training 

programmes to enhance their skills and behaviours. 10 clients and 

2 staff completed a course on Mosaic Art Creations. 5 clients also 

learnt paper coiling craft from the Japanese Association. A total of 

41 clients and 16 staff across the 3 EDCs successfully completed 

the WSQ Food Hygiene course. 

The IEDC was successful in securing a contract with a local DIY 

hardware company to carry out packaging and assembling of 

household items including nails and screws. 

IEDC also sent one of its clients, Tan Yu Ping, to participate in the 

bowling competition at the 5th Special Olympics Games held in 

Fuzhou, China, from 19 to 25 September 2010. Yu Ping successfully 

won 2 Silver medals in the men’s single and double categories. Yu 

Ping’s self-confidence was boosted by the overseas trip and his 

good performance. 

EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT 

CENTRE (EDCs) 

Clients Muster and Staff Strength as at 31 March 2011 

Centre Clients Staff 

SMEDC 383 51 

IEDC 318 56 

WEDC 287 39 

Total 988 146 

MILESTONES AND ACHIEVEMENTS 

Programme Highlights 

The SIA headset recycling contract was successfully renewed for 

another two years. In addition, the SMEDC took on new ad hoc 

contract work such as the assembling and packing of fun packs, 

annual passes and book wrapping for a large leisure company. 

SMEDC also took on additional ad hoc jobs for the SAF. 

SMEDC continued with the attachment programme for senior 

students of Lee Kong Chian Gardens School (LGS) to prepare them 

for work demands and expectations. The students were closely 

assessed for their abilities and areas for improvement. 

18 


The Woodlands Employment Development Centre (WEDC) 

continued to carry out headset recycling for SATS. WEDC also 

managed to secure other contract jobs with local companies 

including packing and assembling of goody bags, snacks, wallpaper 

catalogues and cards. 

WEDC was also engaged with various volunteer programmes. 

One such programme was the “job shadowing” programme with 

Pioneer Junior College that had continued into the second year. 

Both the students and WEDC’s clients benefited from the social 

interaction and planned activities. 

Grace’s supervisor commended her for being a hardworking and 

co-operative staff. When there was a shortage of front-end staff, 

Grace also had to do the lobby crew’s work, as she could handle 

the customers and treat them with respect. 

Grace’s mother is very happy that her daughter is given the 

opportunity to be placed in open employment. She looks forward 

to better work opportunities with higher pay for Grace in future. 

In the area of sports, one of WEDC’s special achievements was the 

selection of two of its clients to be torch bearers for the Singapore 

2010 Youth Olympics Games. Both Woodlands Gardens School 

and WEDC formed a cheering team comprising teachers, training 

officers, students and clients, and cheered the torch bearers as 

they passed by Bendemeer Road. 

Job Placement/Job Support Programme (JPJS) 

The JPJS programme met with much success. As at March 2011, 

a total of 36 clients had been placed in jobs in hotels, fast food 

restaurants, warehouses and leisure outlets. More than 80% of 

the clients were able to maintain their employment for at least 6 

months. After graduating from the JPJS programme, they would 

be transferred back to their respective EDCs for further support. 

OPEN EMPLOYMENT 

SUCCESS STORY 

Kanmalar d/o Veeraian 

Kanmalar, a capable and independent young woman, is one of the 

8 clients who have graduated from the JPJS Programme. 

Kanmalar was enrolled with SMEDC in January 2006 where she 

received vocational and social skills training and was deemed 

suitable for open employment. Prior to her referral to the JPJS 

Programme, she had previous work experience in an office, helping 

to scan and file documents. She returned to SMEDC when the 

company closed down, thereafter she was placed successfully 

as an administrative assistant at Freshening Industries Pte Ltd. 

Her job scope included sorting documents, matching invoices, 

photocopying materials and running simple errands in the office. 

On February 2011, Kanmalar got married in India at her parents’ 

hometown. She was overjoyed to be a bride and also happy to 

return to work. She was grateful to her employer for supporting 

her employment aspirations. 

Grace Sangeetha 

Grace Sangeetha worked as a part-time dishwasher cum kitchen 

helper at Sakura Cuisine at Yishun Northpoint. She was placed in 

open employment since February 2009 through the WEDC open 

employment initiative. 

Grace shared that her tasks included washing dishes and clearing 

tables. She was happy working at Sakura and started to build 

friendships with Shareyzza, another MINDS client working there 

as well as her Manager. She said that her co-workers are friendly 

and helpful, and her Training Officer, Melissa Teo and Occupational 

Therapist, Aariyapillai Rajagopal Reena had both been very 

supportive in her work. 


New Contract Works and Social Enterprises 

New jobs were introduced into the programme. These jobs 

provided good training opportunities for clients and generated 

more revenues that were channelled back as allowances for the 

clients. New contract works include the following: 

• Assembling and packing of fun packs, snacks and goody 

bags 

• Packing of annual passes and book wrapping 

• Quality check for raincoats for Force21 

• Pasting of labels on brochures 

• Rolling of gift wrappers 

• Napkin folding 

• Packaging of nails and screws 

• Assembling of catalogues for print companies 

• Card packing services 

The 5 social enterprise units, MINDS Shop, MINDS Food, MINDS 

Perform, MINDS Craft and MINDS Wash performed well during the 

period of 2010/11 and met their respective targets. 

EDC - AHP Research Project: Client Profile Checklist 

The Client Profile Assessment project was launched in November 

2009. A set of Client Profile Checklist (CPC) was developed by the 

EDCs’ Psychologists with input from training officers. The function 

of the CPC is to map each client’s unique needs, strengths and 

weaknesses through factors spread across 9 domains: 

Domain 1 - Activities of Daily Living 

Domain 2 - Sexuality Awareness and Relationship Management 

Domain 3 - Basic Vocational Skills 

Domain 4 - Advanced Vocational Skills 

Domain 5 - Emotional and Behavioural Regulation 

Domain 6 - Levels and Forms of Support Required 

Domain 7 - Leisure and Recreation 

Domain 8 - Social and Communication Skills 

Domain 9 - Basic Functional and Cognitive Skills 

Most of the clients (485 males and 391 females) in the 3 EDCs 

were screened on the above 9 domains. A group of final year NUS 

Psychology interns participated and assisted resident psychologists 

at the respective EDCs to conduct the screening exercise. It was 

found that there was close correlation between the scores and their 

required level of support. The CPC shows promise as a screening 

instrument to determine the support needs of clients in the EDCs. 

In conjunction with the CPC, another analytical exercise using a 

Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis was conducted 

to determine the optimal level of client’s support needs. It was 

found that clients who scored below 99 on the CPC are most likely 

to be categorized under the High Support group while those who 

scored above 111 are more likely to fall into the Low Support group. 

Those whose score fall in between would fall into the Moderate 

Support group. The use of these analytical tools would be useful 

for the screening of trainees entering the EDC and would allow 

better identification of trainees who are likely to benefit from 

more activity-based training and those more suited for vocational 

training. 


In the coming year, the focus of the EDCs will be on 5 areas: 

• Improve the productivity of the Sheltered Workshops 

• Develop new skills to secure bigger and more sustainable 

contract work for the Sheltered Workshops 

• Enhance the quality of products and businesses of the existing 


• Develop new sustainable Social Enterprises 

• Increase the number of clients placed in open employment 

through the JPJS programme 

20 


RESIDENTIAL, TRAINING & 

DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE 

Seated from left to right: Ms Rose Kwek, Ms Shafiyah Sarwan, Ms Koh Gee May, Ms Rosalyn Peng, Mrs Jeannie Ho, Ms Lai Aun Leng 

Standing from left to right: Mr Ling Chong Beng, Mr Chia Wee Peng, Mr Tan Beng Hai, Capt Roger Loh, Mr Mike Koh, Mr Keh Eng Song 

Not in picture: Mrs Mimi Tan 

Chairman 

Members 


Director, Residential, Training & Development Services 

Director, Schools Services & Head of CDU 



Head, Ang Mo Kio Training & Development Centre (ATDC) 

Head, Clementi Training & Development Centre (CTDC) 

Head, Napiri Training & Development Centre (NTDC) 

Head, MINDSville@Napiri Childrens Wing 

Head, MINDSville@Napiri Hostel/Group Home 


Mr Chia Wee Peng 

Mr Tan Beng Hai 

Mrs Mimi Tan 






Ms Rosalyn Peng 

Ms Shafiyah bte Ahmad Sarwan 

Mr Mike Koh 

Ms Rose Kwek 

Mr Ling Chong Beng 


RESIDENTIAL SERVICES - 

MINDSVILLE@NAPIRI 


Services Residents Staff 

Home 100 65 

Hostel / Group 

Home 

47 14 

Community Group 

Home 

5 3 (shared with 

Hostel) 

Children’s Wing 20 21 

Total 172 103 


Outcome Management (OM) 

OM is a framework adopted by NCSS to track the effectiveness 

of the programme through the achievement of client successes/ 

changes. It focuses on the benefits of the programme to the clients’ 

outcomes rather than inputs and processes of the programme. The 

results are reported to NCSS half yearly. 

For the Home, the residents’ progress and achievements were 

closely monitored to assess the effectiveness of the Adaptive Daily 

Living (ADL) Skills and Community Living Skills (CLS) programmes 

implemented. For FY 10/11, the Home was able to achieve both 

outcomes stipulated in the OM. The Hostel/Group Home was 

able to achieve the outcome stipulated which was to track the 

effectiveness of Community Living Skills (CLS) implemented. The 

Children’s Wing also achieve the 2 outcomes stipulated which was 

to increase clients’ functional independence and the ability for 

them to access and use different types of community facilities. 

MINDSVILLE@NAPIRI HOME 

Programme Development 

One of the main focuses of the Home is to look into providing 

quality nursing care for ageing residents. The nursing and care staff 

carried out regular body check (i.e. blood pressure taking, blood 

glucose test, weight measurement etc.) and wound management 

to maintain residents’ physical well-being. For residents with longterm 

chronic medical conditions such as epilepsy, high cholesterol, 

diabetes mellitus, hepatitis B etc., the nursing/care staff regularly 

reviewed all their medications and monitored their progress from 

their routine blood test or ultra-sound test to ensure prompt 

medical intervention. 

nursing intervention would be promptly referred to nursing homes 

for more effective management. Regular medical screenings 

were conducted by volunteer doctors to ensure prompt medical 

intervention. With the two in-house Healthcare Consultants (both 

foreign trained doctors) and two volunteer doctors to manage the 

medical needs of the residents, the quality of medical care had 

been greatly enhanced. 

Home training programmes focused on promoting residents’ 

independence and participation in purposeful activities. These 

training programmes would be regularly reviewed and revised 

to meet the residents’ individual needs. For aged clients, 

programmes on health & wellness, exercises, age-appropriate 

games & activities, weight management and health screening 

improve physical and mental well-being. Care and engagement 

programmes cater to residents with high support need, and 

resources such as music, visuals, assistive devices are used to 

engage residents with challenging behaviours. With these training 

programmes implemented, the EPES milestones agreed with 

NCSS were effectively achieved. 

MINDSVILLE@NAPIRI HOSTEL/GROUP HOME 


The Hostel successfully supported 9 residents or 17% of the total 

Hostel and Community Group Home muster into open employment. 

6 were employed by McDonald's and 3 worked as kitchen helpers 

in the food sector. 

In line with promoting sports participation, an athletic team 

coached by one of the Hostel Community Facilitators was formed 

in February 2009. The residents trained every week at the Hougang 

Stadium, two of them Azizah Bte Karim and Wanita d/o R Nagappen 

were selected for the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer 

Games held in Athens, Greece from 20 June 2011 to 4 July 2011. 

Both were exuberant that their hard work paid off and gave them 

the strong foundations to be selected for the competition. The 

Hostel would continue with the training and work towards securing 

more opportunities for the residents to participate in Sports Meets 

within the disabilities sector and also to have friendly matches with 

competitors from the general public. The exposures would better 

prepare the residents for the competitions. Such activities raised 

the residents’ self-confidence and motivation to do their best. 

Selected nursing staff attended upgrading training at ITE to be 

equipped in tube feeding and catheterisation. As residents aged, 

more of such intensive nursing care would be needed. Senior staff 

and allied health professionals were also equipped with training 

related to ageing and geriatric care. 

Nursing care protocols were reviewed quarterly to ensure they 

meet residents' needs. Aged residents requiring intensive 

22 


Community Group Home 

3 male and 2 female residents moved into the 2 units of Community 

Group Home located in Bedok on 10 May 2010. The Community 

Group Home was set up to train the residents to live with minimum 

support in the community and to enhance their quality of life 

through social inclusion and provision of choices. To ensure their 

success, support such as regular needs assessments, individual 

and group counselling are provided. Smart home technology, 

physical accessibility modifications and assistive technology 

devices were also installed. The Community Group Home was 

featured in an article published by TODAY on 20 Sep 2010 portraying 

how the residents had benefited from the project. MINDS was 

also awarded the NCSS Outstanding VWO Award 2010 – Special 

Mention in Innovation during NCSS Members Conference. Rozana 

Bte A Talib, the Community Facilitator responsible for the training 

and care of this group of residents has been selected to present 

a paper titled “Journey towards Community Living – Challenges, 

Lessons Learnt, and Outcomes” in the 20th AFID Conference in 

Jeju, Korea in August 2011. 

MINDSVILLE@NAPIRI CHILDREN’S WING 


The activities and programmes designed for the Children’s Wing 

aimed to promote and prepare children with intellectual disability 

to re-integrate into their families. All new admissions are assessed 

through the “Psychological Adaptive Behaviour” instrument 

within 2 months of admission. Based on this assessment and 

consultations with the allied health professionals and the child’s 

family, individualized care plans (ICPs) are drawn up. The ICPs 

include a section on family intervention and are reviewed quarterly 

to ensure that the intervention programmes and targeted outcomes 

benefit the children. Two contract therapists were also engaged to 

provide occupational therapy programmes and to help the children 

develop social skills. 

An integral part of case managing these young children is to help 

their families develop strategies to understand and meet the 

children’s needs. Family events are held quarterly to strengthen 

family ties and provide a platform for parents to meet and support 

one another. Family members are also encouraged to join the 

outings and special events organised by MINDS CSG (caregivers 

support group) and corporate partners. Allied health professionals 

also conducted workshops and siblings’ camp to empower and 

support the families and their siblings. Out of the 25 children, 

one child successfully re-integrated into his family whilst two 

others were transferred to the Hostel for more independent living 

arrangements. 

Family Involvement, Caregivers' Support and Training 

Training programmes conducted by the allied health professional 

staff for families and caregivers aimed at enhancing family 

relationships and providing them the skills to better manage their 

children. Parents also attended several family events (outings, 

parties and camps) organised for them. In the caregiver's 

satisfaction survey feedback collected in April 2010, majority of the 

caregivers gave high ratings on the services provided. 

Community Partnership 

To build up our community capital, volunteers and professionals 

were recruited to support in conducting creative and stimulating 

programmes for the clients. MINDSville has an active pool of 

corporate and long serving individual volunteers who would come 

in regularly to assist in our programmes. Throughout the year, many 

activities such as outings and community mobility programmes 

were also conducted with the help of the volunteers including 

MINDS MYG volunteers. Two memorable and meaningful events 

organised by Temasek Holdings together with Special Olympics, 

and Standard Chartered Bank saw mass participation of all the 

residents and staff. 


Staff Training and Development 

Staff were identified for specific and targeted local and overseas 

courses, conferences and seminars to equip them with updated 

knowledge on global best practices. Allied health professionals 

were encouraged to embark on research relevant to their area 

of work and to present their findings. Several of them will be 

presenting papers at the AFID Conference in August 2011. 

Training roadmaps are in place for staff to attend relevant training 

related to their professional development. Two consultant trainers, 

Mr Tony Harman from University of Sydney and Dr Scott Modell 

from California State University Sacramento were engaged to 

provide in-house training in behavioral management techniques 

and active support. These critical skills equipped staff to work 

more effectively with the clients especially those with challenging 

behaviours. Three foreign nursing aides passed their Licensure 

Exams with the Singapore Nursing Board Licensure Exam, and 

were promoted to assistant nurses. The skills and qualification 

upgrade enabled them to take on more nursing responsibilities. 


• To prepare and sustain the Group Home residents in open 

employment through assessments, regular feedbacks with 

employing agencies and regular dialogue sessions. 

• To rework the admission criteria for the Community Group 

Home so as to reach out to more clients (i.e. clients in EDCs 

or in open employment) who are in need of this service. 

• To conduct a caregivers’ satisfaction survey so as to solicit 

caregivers’ feedbacks and concerns which can be used to 

improve our services 

• To conduct at least two caregivers’ events in the year, with the 

aim to provide support for caregivers and to enhance family 

relationships. 

• To look into financial subsidies for caregivers who are unable 

to pay for their children’s maintenance fees. 

• To identify suitable training courses for the caregivers and 

actively encourage participation. 

• To monitor staff training in accordance with their training 

roadmap 

• To identify foreign nursing aides for the ITE Skills Certificate in 

Health Care (Home Care) to upgrade their skills and to retain 

them longer in employment. 

• To identify foreign nursing aides for the Singapore Nursing 

Board Licensure Exams so that they can take on the positions 

of state-enrolled nurses and help alleviate the shortages of 

registered nurses for the residential sectors. 

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT 

CENTRES (TDCs) 


Programme Clients Staff 

Ang Mo Kio TDC 54 19 

(ATDC) 

Clementi TDC (CTDC) 58 15 

Napiri TDC (NTDC) 54 13 

Total 166 47 


Outcome Management 

The 3 TDCs successfully achieved the targets set in the areas of 

ADL and CLS training. The TDCs would be working towards the 

higher targets proposed by NCSS. 

Curriculum / Activities Development 

The TDCs allied health professionals developed a caregiver 

questionnaire that was administered during the TDC annual parents’ 

dialogue sessions. The questionnaire was designed to identify 

training, health and behavioural issues that clients have at home 

not known to the training officers, and also ensure standardized 

documentation across all TDCs. Through the findings, training 

officers could set goals and plan more meaningful and efficient 

interventions for the clients and their caregivers. 

On 26 February 2011, CTDC organised an educational trip to 

Pengerang, Johor Bahru to reinforce the ADL and CLS skills in a 

different environment, away from their caregivers. It was the first 

trip out of Singapore for the 15 selected clients. 

Health & Wellness/ Medicare Services 

In April 2010, 13 TDC clients participated in the free eye screening by 

SNEC. Visual acuity assessment, ophthalmoscopy and retinoscopy 

were successfully conducted for all the clients. 

Between January to March and October to November 2010, a 

total of 7 TDC clients were involved in the free dental screening 

by NUH. Most of the clients were co-operative and allowed the 

dental students from the NUS School of Dentistry to carry out the 

procedures. 

In March 2011, 97 TDC clients participated in a health screening 

exercise by SATA organised by MINDS Medicare. Caregivers of 

some of the clients met up with volunteer doctors to discuss the 

necessary follow-up after the screening exercise. 

Regular physiotherapy programmes conducted at the TDCs 

include exercise therapy, gait training, water activities, weight 

management, PAT and sports training. The TDCs also actively 

24 


ehaviour at home. Support was given to the families during the 

clients’ follow-up with psychiatrist on psychopharmacological 

interventions. 

Community Involvement Programmes 

The TDCs were actively involved in many projects and activities with 

mainstream schools as well as corporate organisations. Some of 

these groups: Energy Market Company, Standard Chartered Bank, 

Church of Christ the King (SCC Zone 100), Young Men’s Christian 

Association, United World College, Jurong Junior College (Interact 

Club) and St Joseph Institute International School, volunteered 

regularly and engaged in the clients’ recreational activities and 

community mobility programmes. Programmes with such 

collaborations enhanced the clients’ social interaction, motivation 

and self-esteem, especially when parental involvements were 

included. 

participated in sports events organised by MINDS and external 

agencies. The clients bagged medals and awards in the Special 

Olympics Track & Field event, SDSC Track & Field Championship 

and MINDS Sports 2010. 

Attachment and Placement into the Employment Development 

Centres (EDCs) 

The TDCs constantly identified and trained clients with the 

potential and interests to receive pre-vocational skills training so 

that they could progress to the EDCs. 2 ATDC clients passed their 

attachment programme at WEDC and were transferred there in 

February 2011. 

Case Management System 

To ensure quality service delivery, case review meetings were 

held monthly, with the head of centre, training offices and allied 

health professionals. During the meetings, intervention plans and 

outcomes were discussed to monitor the progress of our clients. 

Programme with Families 

After the launch of the Caregivers’ Support Group TDC Chapter in 

2009, the Social Workers organized several workshops to promote 

self-care and foster bonding and support between caregivers 

across all 3 TDCs. 22 caregivers participated in the ‘Caregivers’ 

Carefree Day’ which included a series of farm tours and 8 parents 

attended the “Caregivers First” workshop which included an art 

and dance therapy session. 

A camp titled “A Fun-filled Day for Siblings and Students” was 

organised by MINDS social workers on 5 June 2010 for siblings 

of clients between the age of 7 to 12. 4 TDC young siblings 

participated along with siblings from other MINDS’ schools and 

centres. The theme “I Am Special” focused on encouraging siblings 

to see themselves as special individuals with their own strengths 

and aspirations. The first segment consisted of exciting games for 

the siblings as well as reflections and sharing session. The parents 

and TDC clients then joined in the second segment, which included 

a parents’ discussion session, an art and craft session between 

students and siblings, and a family telematch. The day concluded 

with a dinner and prize-giving ceremony, with siblings and families 

going home with prizes and goodies! 

Staff Development and Training 

The TDCs’ commitment to providing quality training programmes 

to staff throughout the year. Key courses attended by staff include: 

• Diploma in Disability Studies 

• Basic Approaches to the Management & Training of Adults 

with ASD 

• Positive Behaviour Support 

• Active Support 

• Strategies in Managing Challenging Behaviour 

• The Spark of Life Approach Series 

• The 1st Asia Pacific Conference & Meeting on Mental Health 

• MINDS School Curriculum Briefing 

• WSQ Advance Certificate in Community and Social Service 

• Standard First Aid Course 


• To conduct caregivers’ satisfaction survey so as to solicit 

caregivers’ feedback and concerns which can be used to 

improve our services 

• To conduct at least two caregivers’ events in the year, with the 

aim to provide support for caregivers and to enhance family 

relationships 

• To identify suitable training courses for caregivers and to 

encourage active participation 

• To work with NCSS on the site selection, funding, and 

preparation work to set up the 4th TDC 

• To adopt a person-centered approach to help improve or at 

least maintain the clients’ functional levels and promote good 

quality of life 

• To recruit volunteers and professionals to form an active 

support base to conduct creative and stimulating activities 

and programmes 

• To collaborate with CDU and tap on their resources for staff 

training and development needs 

• Plan staff trainings according to their learning and development 

roadmap. 

The psychologist worked closely with the families to identify clients’ 

needs, provide recommendations on behavioural management and 

follow through on implementing strategies to address challenging 


ALLIED HEALTH 

PROFESSIONALS (AHP) SERVICES 

Chairman 


Director, Allied Health Professionals Services 






The AHP Hub’s vision is to be a Centre of Competence in Intellectual Disability with the ability to influence and lead national policy changes 

on issues pertaining to intellectual disabilities and advise how the disability sector can integrate with other sectors such as healthcare 

and education to advance the holistic development of persons with intellectual disabilities. 

AHPs employed within the sectors: 

Social Workers Psychologists Occupational Physio-therapists Speech Therapists 

Therapists 

Schools 8 8 4 4 5 

EDCs 6 6 3 - - 

Residential & TDCs 5 3 2 2 - 

Total: 56 19 17 9 6 5 


Monthly Multidisciplinary Hub Meetings 

In order to cultivate and sustain a workplace that will attract and 

retain AHPs, MINDS set up a virtual hub for these professionals 

in 2008 to sustain team morale, support career development and 

actively build individual professional capabilities. From its inception, 

monthly multidisciplinary hub meetings were held for AHPs from 

all MINDS sectors. These half-day sessions served as a platform 

for discussions about professional concerns, consensus seeking 

for enhancing ways of working, identification of gaps in service 

provision and ideas generation for programme development. 

Meanwhile, intra-disciplinary meetings (by profession) facilitated 

by voluntary co-ordinators for each discipline group continued 

to meet regularly. Both the hub and intra-disciplinary meetings 

have strengthened teamwork, professional sharing and peer 

affirmation. 

Training, Research and Clinical Supervision 

All AHPs received at least 40 hours of training per year and 

many also attended overseas training and presented papers 

at international conferences. Several papers were selected for 

presentation at the AFID conference in Jeju, Korea in August 2011. 

A research paper by 2 Speech Therapists – “Sharing of a journey 

towards developing and implementing a common signing approach 

within an organisation for persons with intellectual disabilities in 

Singapore” – was accepted for oral presentation at the 2011 Speech 

Pathology Australia National Conference held in Darwin, Australia 

in June 2011. The AHPs also worked closely with academics and 

related professionals in research projects pertaining to ageing, 

communication, and sexuality issues in persons with intellectual 

disabilities. 

In order to grow AHP capabilities, several external consultancy 

services were used to provide clinical supervision and case 

consultation for the psychologists and social workers. Dr Hoili 

Lim (Senior Consultant Psychologist, Adam Road Medical Centre) 

provided clinical supervision for all the psychologists. The Students 

Care Service’s principal social workers, Mrs Chuah Yin May and Mrs 

Wong Cher Meng, provided individual and group case consultation 

sessions for all social workers. Participating AHPs found these 

consultations beneficial. Nonetheless, one of the hub’s priorities 

is also to consciously expand and strengthen in-house capacity for 

case consultation and clinical supervision where these services 

can be provided by the more senior and experienced AHPs within 

MINDS. 

Career Structure and Professional Development 

There is growing recognition that it is no longer enough that the 

AHPs’ role be confined to providing clinical interventions and 

support just within the schools and centres. The AHPs’ specialist 

knowledge and skills are important components for the formulation 

of strategic directions for MINDS’ future services and the AHPs must 

play an active role, not merely a supporting one. In driving services 

26 


planning or representing clients’ interest when coordinating with 

other service providers, the quality of professional support from 

our AHPs will be needed. Developing such deep competencies 

requires an environment with the right structures and incentives 

where the AHPs could flourish. The timely introduction of the AHP 

Bill also serves as an impetus to upgrade MINDS’ professional 

standards, put in place a peer review system and case range 

exposure so as to meet the requirements of an Approved Centre. 

Career Pathway and Professional Leadership Appointments 

A career development pathway was implemented so that young 

AHPs can look forward to a progression within MINDS. To ensure 

sufficient focus on the AHPs’ development, two professional 

leadership appointments (PLAs) were created from the senior level 

AHPs who had demonstrated professional leadership potential. 

They are the Head of Discipline and Team Leaders. Together with 

Chairman and Director of AHP Services, these appointment holders 

are entrusted to think strategically; and to anticipate, embrace, 

and lead changes. These positions may also have operational or 

resource management responsibility of small discipline teams. As 

of 1 January 2011, 6 PLA holders across the 5 AHP disciplines were 

appointed. The PLA holder’s responsibilities also include disciplinewide 

strategic planning which seize opportunities and trends in 

the industry or profession to develop new strategies, policies, 

processes, and solutions that will create value for the organisation 

and clients. They will develop and monitor workplans aligned to 

MINDS strategic direction; conduct intra- and inter-disciplinary 

research and projects to identify service gaps, and recommend 

relevant policy and service development changes. 

Job Rotation/Posting 

Job rotation and posting will enrich the AHPs’ professional 

experience and expose them to greater opportunity to apply 

different intervention skills and techniques with different clientele 

groups. For disciplines covered by the new AHP Bill, such rotation 

is also a requirement. This will introduce variation to their work 

repertoire, increase job satisfaction, and decrease feeling of 

burnout, fatigue, boredom and apathy. Rotation and posting to 

different MINDS schools and adult centres will also provide case 

range exposure across age groups such as paediatrics, adults, and 

geriatrics. This can be a motivating factor for those AHPs who want 

to work with greater breadth of cases and enhance professional 

satisfaction, retention, and leadership development. 

The duration of each posting would generally increase with seniority, 

but will be subject to exigencies of service. Where feasible, the 

guiding principle in the rotation would be to ensure that all AHPs 

have the opportunity to be exposed to all MINDS’ sectors. 


• To provide and organize the necessary networks internally 

and externally which can enhance the professional standards 

of the AHPs through clinical supervision, case consultation, 

career coaching, mentoring and team building. 

• To develop professional development plans and training 

roadmaps for the various AHP disciplines and the SOP for job 

posting/rotation. 

• To contribute AHP expertise for programmes and service 

development through the AHP study teams on various subject 

matters related to intellectual disability. 

• To grow the practitioner research culture in MINDS through 

the development of multidisciplinary proposals for conference 

papers and scientific journal publications. 

• To develop public education materials and give public talks to 

raise awareness on intellectual disability, educate caregivers, 

public, and stakeholders etc. 


FINANCE AND INVESTMENT 

COMMITTEE (FIC) 

Seated from left to right: Mr Keh Eng Song, Mr Kenneth Chua, Ms Lai Aun Leng 

Standing from left to right: Mr Boo Chong Han, Mr Cheo Hock Chin, Mr Ong Wee Gee, Mr Justin Lim 

Chairman 

Members 


Finance Director 



Mr Justin Lim 


Mr Cheo Hock Chin 




Electronic Payment System 

The manual cheque system was successfully migrated to an electronic payment system (the DBS Integrated Direct Electronic Access 

Link), to enhance the efficiency of the payment process in MINDS. The new web-based system provides 24/7 access to MINDS’ cash 

position, raises financial responsiveness to clients’ needs, frees up manpower to other priority areas in MINDS and reduces paper usage. 

Rigorous security features are in place to ensure the integrity of the transactions. 

Investments 

In treasury management, FIC aims to maximise returns on investments within acceptable risk levels. The investment planning approach 

is based on asset allocation, and diversification of investments to minimise risk. Investments are placed in high grade bonds and fixed 

deposits with reputable financial institutions. Within these parameters, the average rate of return on our surplus funds improved over the 

previous year, and no losses were sustained. 

Electronic Purchasing Software Module Enhancement 

The e-purchasing system was refined to improve documentation standards, transparency and accountability at all levels. The FIC will 

continue to promote sound governance among operational staff in MINDS. 

28 


Capital Management 

FIC oversaw the budgeting processes in MINDS. The annual 

budget for 2010 was discussed, endorsed and adopted by EXCO. 

In spite of the challenges of rising employment costs and inflation, 

spending had been prudent. 


Continuous Improvement of Financial Processes 

The FIC is committed to raise the efficiency and effectiveness of 

Finance operations in MINDS. Wherever possible, system checks 

are incorporated into existing accounting or payment systems to 

reduce incidence of human errors or oversight. 

Electronic Banking 

Other functionalities within the electronic payment system IDEAL 

will be explored to further automate and simplify workflow and 

processes. Examples of new functionalities for consideration 

include Telegraphic transfers, MEPS (MAS Electronic Payment 

System), Giro collection, payroll, and payment processes for 

trainee allowances. 

Budget 

FIC will continue to ensure responsible budgeting, that sufficient 

capital is maintained to meet liabilities and fund activities, and 

regular budget reviews and reminders to staff to uphold their 

positions of trust in the conservation and expenditure of funds. 

Upgrade Accounting System 

MINDS’ external reports are mandated by the regulatory bodies and 

the local Financial Reporting Standards. In view of the upcoming 

issue of the Charity Accounting Standards by Accounting Standards 

Committee, the current accounting system will be configured and 

codified for compliance with the new reporting requirements. 

FIC would explore providing adequate project and job costing 

through the accounting system to manage the social enterprise 

contracts. 

Finance Manual Review 

Financial policies will continue to be reviewed and refined. A 

rigorous approval process for these reviews would be put in place 

to ensure compliance with financial and operating procedures and 

minimise the possibility of fraud. 

Investments 

In light of market volatility (eg. the civil war and political unrest 

in the Middle East that caused oil prices to escalate, and Japan’s 

disasters), risk appetite would continue to be conservative, with 

emphasis on capital preservation, stable returns and modest growth 

potential on portfolios. Market developments would be closely 

monitored and adjustments made on portfolios accordingly. 

Compliance with Revised Code of Governance and other 

Statutory Regulations 

Both the refined Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs and 

the amendments to the Charities Act were issued in 2011. In the 

spirit of upholding donor confidence in MINDS, FIC will continue 

to observe the regulations and continually improve corporate 

governance within MINDS. 


AUDIT 

COMMITTEE 

From Left to right: Mr Lee Ju Song, Mr Jason Lee, Mr Lim Jun Han, and Mr Christopher Jap 

Not in picture: Ms Ivy Wong 

Chairman 

Members 



Mr Jason Lee 

Ms Ivy Wong 

Internal Auditor 

Mr Christopher Jap 


The Audit Committee met 7 times during the financial year to review the Internal Auditor’s findings, management’s responses to those 

findings, and make recommendations where appropriate to improve controls. The Committee also met up with the external auditors to 

discuss their findings for last year and their audit schedule for the current year. 

The audit of investments and fixed deposits were added to the list of regular audits of payroll, asset sighting, muster reports, etc. The 

Internal Auditor completed a review of the purchase requisition procedures and made recommendations for improving the purchasing 

standard operating procedure. He also carried out ad hoc reviews on the Human Resource Department’s policies and manual on IT, 

payroll, and performance management procedures. 

The Internal Audit Charter was drawn up defining the roles and functions of MINDS’ Internal Auditor. This was endorsed by the Executive 

Committee in March 2011. 

A briefing on risk management and internal controls was conducted for management staff, heads and principals. 


The Audit Workplan for FY2011/12 will focus on the procurement and revenue systems. The Internal Auditor will continue to conduct 

briefing sessions for HODs over his audit findings. 

30 


HUMAN RESOURCE 

COMMITTEE 

Standing from left to right: Mrs Jeannie Ho, Mr Keh Eng Song, Mr Manojit Sen, Mr Mohan Dass, Mrs Doreen Yap, 


Chairman 

Members 


Director, HR & Admin 



Mr Mohan Dass 

Ms Doreen Yap 



Human Resource Key Performance Indicators as at 31 March 2011 

Headcount: 584 

Benchmarks / KPIs Achievements Explanation of Key Performance Indicators 

1 Turnover: 

13% Turnover decrease from 14% to 13%. 


Talent Management 

The following MINDS’ Talent Management Framework and Manual 

was developed and implemented: 

i. Recruitment and Selection 

The policies were updated to ensure: 

1. Candidates with the passion to work in a social service sector 

are identified 

2. Continuity of services through various strategies of 

recruitment 

3. Corporate governance guidelines and internal controls are in 

place and proper accountability for manpower budgets 

ii. Orientation 

Two orientation sessions were organised instead of one. The 

orientation programme encompasses: 

1. Formal Orientation - MINDS’ Strategic directions, challenges, 

the differences between working in the Social Service Sector 

vs the Commercial Sector, HR policies and processes are 

communicated. 

2. Centre based orientation where Job Scopes, specific school/ 

centre standard operating procedures and career development 

opportunities are explained. 

3. Informal on-boarding programmes such as buddy or mentoring 

scheme, clinical or structured supervision are provided. 

iii. Learning & Development for Career Progression 

As a ‘world-class’ service provider, having a professionally 

competent and qualified workforce is essential to support the 

standard of service delivery. The Learning & Development strategy 

aligns with MINDS’ future needs and plans and promotes retention 

and talent management. 

A Comprehensive Learning & Development Strategic Framework, 

Training roadmap and revision of MINDS Scholarship Scheme were 

implemented. 

iv. Performance Management 

The Performance Management procedures were updated to 

simplify the administrative processes for ranking. The e-appraisal 

system was also customised to link training needs to annual 

targets set by the operating units. 

v. Recognition & Retention 

The Bi-Annual Outstanding Teacher/Training Officer/Care Staff 

Awards scheme was revamped and expanded to identify 

passionate and creative staff who had significantly contributed to 

the development of the clients and the organisation. 

In line with NCSS’ recommendations, Social Workers’ salaries were 

revised to enhance retention. Speech Therapists’ salaries were also 

revised which enhanced the attractiveness of MINDS. 

New positions of Operations Assistants and Project Officers were 

created to cater to the Social Enterprises operations and needs, 

thus freeing Training Officers to focus on clients’ training, behaviour 

management and interventions. 

vi. Succession Planning 

The systematic and intentional annual exercise of identifying 

potential successors for the next level of job responsibility had 

been implemented. 

Two teaching staff were seconded to the adult sector, one as a 

supervisor for CTDC, and the other as a senior Training Officer for 

WEDC. 

HR Department Manual 

The HR Department Manual was revamped and completed 

covering: 

• Payroll 

• Compensation & Benefits 

• Talent Management 

• End of Service 

• Management of Discipline, Termination, Dismissal, Inquiry 

Procedures and Grievances 

Enhancing Staff Long-Term Healthcare 

With the change of Hospitalization and Surgical Insurer, eligible staff 

were encouraged to enhance their Medishield plan for life-time 

coverage. The co-payment for hospitalization was also removed. 

FY2011/12 WORKPLAN 

1. Review Manpower Norms, Costs and Wage Structure 

2. Review and update HODs JDs – to more accurately reflect 

their role enlargement over the years – and hence the need 

for greater empowerment. 

3. Review and update JDs for all other positions together with 

respective HODs – again to reflect more accurately if there 

had been job enlargements that are not reflected in the 

current JDs. 

4. Review and update appraisal forms to align expectations with 

job requirements. 

5. Succession Planning – to implement the next phase of 

competency development and grooming. 

6. Review and update Staff Manual 

32 


IT 

COMMITTEE 

Seated from left to right: Ms Tan Soo Fang, Ms Chia Siew Tong 

Standing from left to right: Mr Keh Eng Song, Mr Manikandan Palanivel, Mr Chua Koon Teck, Mr David Tio, Mr Henry Asikin Cheung, Mr Ong 

Wee Gee, Mr Ng Boon Hong, Mr Gerard Teotonio Lima Vaz 

Not in picture: Mr Tan Yuh Woei, Mr Wilson Tan 

Chairman 


IT Engineer 

Mr Ng Boon Hong 

Members 


IT Administrator 

Mr David Tio 

Mr Chua Koon Teck 

Mr Tan Yuh Woei 

Mr Wilson Tan 

Mr Henry Asikin 

Cheung 


Ms Chia Siew Tong 

Senior Teacher 

- FGS 

Acting Head 

- Occupational Therapist 

Curriculum Developer 

Senior Training Officer 

Mr Gerard Teotonio 

Lima Vaz 

Mr Manikandan 

Palanivel 

Ms Tan Soo Fang 

Mr Hsu Hsia Yang 


MINDS Website 

MINDS website went through a revamp and was re-launched in 

January 2011. 

eClient Database System 

The eClient Database system was enhanced to improve efficiency 

of the system and to integrate the Schools and Homes to this 

common platform so that clients’ information can be shared and 

utilized amongst all the programmes within MINDS. New modules 

like Fees & Subsidy, Case Management and CDU Assessment will 

also be added. 

Volunteer Management System 

The volunteer management system is in the User Acceptance 

Testing phase. The system will be used to record volunteers’ 

information including their years of service and contribution to 


IT Curriculum 

The IT Curriculum was rolled out to all the schools to: 

• Introduce the various ICT tools and equipments, and different 

types of computers and peripherals in everyday life 

• Help pupils acquire basic skills in using the computer, 

peripheral and multi-media 

• Provide hands-on experience to pupils in simple 

documentation, simple desktop publishing, basic digital audio 

and image processing, and internet surfing 

• Teach pupils the proper, safe, responsible and ethical use of 

ICT tools 

Assistive Technology 

Singapore Polytechnic completed and handed over the Speech-to- 

Text project to MINDS. 


• Complete eClient Database System enhancements and 

additional modules 

• Roll out Volunteer Management System 

• Roll out IT curriculum in adult services 

• Enhance IT infrastructure to improve system performance 


VOLUNTEER AND DONOR 

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 

Standing from left to right: Mr Keh Eng Song, Mr Daniel Tan, Mr Chng Ho Kiat, Mr William Teo, Mrs Rosaline Chee 

Chairman 

Members 


Manager, Volunteer and Donor 

Management 


Mr Willian Teo 

Mr Daniel Tan 

Ms May Tan 

Ms Li Xinyi 


Mrs Rosaline Chee 


Community support provides a critical resource for MINDS’ services. 

We record our deep appreciation for the valuable time, talent and 

contributions of our volunteers and donors. From celebrities and 

corporate supporters to individual and school volunteers, many 

have taken time off busy schedules to give back to society. We 

wish to highlight some of these. 

prints on a canvas banner as a sign of commitment “to always 

inspire and encourage children, that they are not alone and that 

there are people who genuinely care for them and are willing to 

lend a helping hand.” The banner now adorns one of the walls in 

the school’s courtyard. 

JJ Lin 

Away from bright stage lights and showbiz glamour, JJ Lin used 

his fame to work for MINDS Towner Gardens School (TGS). On 

Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2011, JJ Lin made a special visit with 

Kiehl’s, his supporting partner in promotions, to TGS to spread 

some love and cheer. During the visit, JJ Lin took part in a cooking 

class and guided the students as they whipped up a simple meal. 

He also led the students in a sing-along session during a music 

class. The visit culminated in a ‘Wall Mural’ activity, involving JJ Lin, 

Michelle Chew, Brand Manager-Kiehl’s, Keh Eng Song, MINDS’ 

CEO, and some pupils from TGS, where they placed their hand- 

34 


Saradha Anantharaman 

Ms Saradha Anantharaman, a 19-year-old who graduated from 

National Junior College in 2009 decided to use her talent in Indian 

classical dance to raise funds for MINDS. Through her one-night 

recital at Jubilee Hall at Raffles Hotel on 31 July 2010, she raised 

$29,000 for MINDS. 

During the eight-month break following her A-level examinations 

in 2009, Ms Saradha wanted to brush up on her skills in Indian 

classical dance and to continue the community service projects 

that she was involved in before. That was when the idea of a solo 

dance performance to raise funds was born and MINDS was the 

chosen beneficiary. 

The funds raised will go towards supporting MINDS’ public 

education programme. Ms Saradha is now studying at National 

University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. 

Our MINDS Taiko Drummers wowed delegates of Mandarin 

Oriental Hotel Group HR Regional Conference on 16 May 2010 to a 

standing ovation for their performance at the conference’s closing 

ceremony. The Taiko Drummers again impressed the hotel’s guests 

at the “Pool Opening Ceremony” on 4 June 2010, under a starlit 

sky and against a panoramic view of the city’s night skyline as the 

backdrop, at the hotel’s outdoor pool. 

Staff from Mandarin Oriental Singapore continued to support 

MINDS Social Enterprises by buying a total of 273 tile coasters 

from MINDS Craft, amounting to $4,190 to give away as gifts to 

family, friends and fellow colleagues. Some of these were used 

as corporate gifts. The rest were used to create a “Charity Wall” 

displaying messages of their support of MINDS. The Charity Wall 

is up but the support continues. To date, they are still buying more 

art pieces for the wall. 

HOTEL PARTNERSHIPS 

Shangri-La Singapore 

Partnership with Shangri-La Singapore entered its third year with 

new collaborations and programmes. The initial work exposure 

programme in 2010 for three pupils from MINDS Towner Gardens 

School (TGS) has now progressed to a regular work attachment in 

the Housekeeping and Banquet Operations for seven pupils. Four 

of whom sweep and mop seven stories of hotel room corridors and 

the rest fold the hotel’s napkins. 

This partnership has been progressing well and by 3 March 2011, 

the hotel has also hired 2 trainees from Woodlands EDC in the 

Housekeeping Department and 1 trainee from Idea EDC in the 

Banquet Department into their workforce 

Weekly culinary classes are still on-going with very positive 

feedback from the teacher in charge. The teacher noted those 

pupils’ food preparation, cooking and utensils handling skills have 

greatly improved. The pupils also appear more confident and are 

interacting well with the hotel chefs. 

In August 2010, a first ever “Healthy Cooking Competition” was 

held and the hotel sponsored dining vouchers as the top three 

prizes. 

On 21 October 2010, Shangri-La Singapore presented MINDS 

Ang Mo Kio TDC with two brand new AIBI Magnetic Steppers to 

support the centre’s physiotherapy programmes. The money was 

raised through their “Opera Rocks” fundraiser. 

Mandarin Oriental Singapore 

Mandarin Oriental Singapore started volunteering for MINDS in 

2009 when some hotel chefs conducted a culinary demonstration 

to a group of Junior and Senior students during one of their house 

craft sessions. 

Hilton Singapore Hotel 

In the spirit of giving, on 14 December 2010, Hilton Singapore 

treated a group of clients from MINDS Clementi TDC (CTDC) to 

High Tea in celebration of Christmas. In addition to a magic show, 

Santa’s appearance, lucky draw and games, each client was given 

a polo tee shirt and a pair of bermudas in a gift set to bring home. 

The celebration that day was special because it was the first 

time that the clients were taken to hotel for a Christmas meal 

and celebration. The hotel’s General Manger, Mr Alain Mahillon 

presented CTDC with a food hamper and cheque donation of 

$2,247, which will be used to fund clients’ activities at the centre. 


CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS 

The year in review saw some new partnerships formed while 

current partnerships with corporate companies continued to grow. 

Motorola 

Our long-time corporate supporter Motorola organised the 

following activities in the year. 

On 21 June 2010, Motorola sponsored a Duck Tour for residents of 

Children’s Wing and their families – a sea and land adventure atop 

a remodelled WWII amphibious Vietnamese warcraft. The children 

and their families spent a wonderful day of splashing fun together 

and were thankful for Motorola’s support. 

6 August was Motorola’s Global Day of Service in 2010. It is a 

community service day set aside at all Motorola’s offices worldwide. 

In Singapore, Motorola continued to support MINDS. 

A team of volunteers spent a day at CTDC to install new cabinets 

and shelves to build a resource centre. In addition, they also 

painted a wall mural in their Physiotherapy Room. CTDC thanked 

the team who responded, “It is we who should thank you for the 

opportunity. Everyone was so kind and we felt so at home. I must 

say that we had a great time at your centre…everyone left your 

centre with a great sense of satisfaction.” 

That same day, MINDS’ Headquarters also hosted a visit for Ms 

Eileen Sweeney, Senior Director of Motorola Mobility Foundation 

and Community Relations at SIA-MINDS Employment Development 

Centre. She was kept updated of all the projects and activities that 

MINDS has been collaborating with Motorola. 

During the annual AmCham Community Day, where Motorola is an 

avid supporter, MINDS MYG participated this year with a combined 

Sports Day, held at Raffles Junior College on 6 November 2010, 

with expenses sponsored by Motorola. The event was a huge 

success with over 300 beneficiaries and volunteers involved. We 

thank Motorola for their generosity in making this event possible. 

Other events organised by Motorola in support of MINDS include 

their annual Christmas Charity Sale on 11 November 2010; purchase 

of MINDS crafts for their corporate special event in May 2010; and 

celebration of Earth Day on 21 April 2011, where sale of MINDS 

crafts was held for staff at their premises. 

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) 

On 15 May 2010, 17 volunteers from SCB sponsored 16 staff and 

18 children on a ride on the Singapore Flyer. The children were 

completely in awe of the sights from the world’s tallest observation 

wheel. They squealed in delight as they identified and named all the 

famous landmarks they could see – the Merlion and Changi Airport 

for example. Ms Rose Kwek, Head of Children’s Wing recalled the 

event, “Yes, I had tears in my eyes when I saw one of the kids with 

autism disorder smiled after the ride on the Singapore Flyer. I was 

also very moved when one of the volunteers made a photo album, 

bought a cartoon DVD, and mailed them to the kids after the event. 

I’m so glad to have the privilege of sharing those special moments 

with the children and volunteers. “ 

The group of philanthropists who started giving groceries and red 

packets to poor families in 2009, through volunteers from SCB, 

continued this exercise again in 2010/11. From the two distributions 

on 4 September 2010 and 15 January 2011 respectively, the total 

donations to MINDS were valued at $95,000. We wish to express 

our heartfelt thanks to the anonymous philanthropists for their 

generosity and blessings to the needy families at MINDS. 

SCB is a company that enjoys a strong CSR reputation in view of its 

commitment to organise community activities, not just for MINDS 

but for other VWOs as well. SCB organised a carnival for Metta 

Welfare Association on 20 March 2011 and extended invitation to 

MINDS’ clients to join the fair, by sponsoring transport and $20 

coupon for each participant from MINDS. MINDS MYG supported 

the event with a total of 49 clients, their family members and 

volunteers. Everyone enjoyed the carnival. 

100 over employees from SCB also celebrated International Day of 

Disabled Persons at SIA-MINDS Employment Development Centre 

(SMEDC) on 3 December 2010, with 400 over clients and staff. 

This was organised in response to the bank’s interest to organise 

a big-scale event at year end. Ms Jolene Chen, Group Head of 

Resourcing, Learning & Talent Development was present at the 

event. She plays a key role in facilitating the support of MINDS 

from the bank these past many years. A token of appreciation was 

presented to Ms Chen. 

36 


Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) 

18 of MINDS’ needy families benefited much from HSBC’s 

Corporate Responsibility Challenge 2010 where volunteers from 

the bank set out to create a more conducive study environment 

for needy children in their homes, with the aim of supporting their 

learning and development. Works carried out included spring 

cleaning, painting and installation of new furniture and these were 

carried out from 9 to 11 June 2010. The makeovers brought much 

delight to all the 18 chosen families. For one family, a sister of a 

MINDS’ pupil, who previously used the ironing board to do her 

homework now has a proper table. 

Singapore Management University (SMU) 

Student group volunteers have continued to pour into the 

volunteer pool at MINDS and the largest group was from SMU 

with 46 volunteers who supported the Inter-EDC Challenge Cup 

on 2 October 2010. This was an opportunity for the students to 

demonstrate their leadership skills and a journey of self discovery 

through service learning. They are thankful to MINDS for the 

opportunity. 

Siemens Singapore 

SMEDC aimed to set a record of making Singapore’s longest 

friendship band but did not have the budget to buy the necessary 

materials. When Siemens was sought to help support the event, 

some staff even offered to pay out of their own pockets. This was 

the dedication of their staff and in this collaborative effort, MINDS 

Friendship Band measuring 462m made it to the Singapore Book 

of Records, beating the previous national record of 221m. This 

long and colourful friendship band was turned into an art piece to 

be sold by MINDS Craft. 

Shineon! School on Stage 

20 Pupils from MINDS Woodlands Gardens School and 20 models 

from Shineon! School on Stage walked the catwalk for “Fashion 

MINDS” in Wisma Atria on Orchard Road on 20 November 

2010. Children with intellectual disability sashaying designer 

wears alongside professional models on the runway, is a unique 

collaboration that showcases the talents of children in a world 

where no discrimination divides them. Fashion MINDS truly raised 

the bar for local charity efforts in a fashionable and visibly powerful 

way. We thank Shineon! School on Stage for their support this 

past 3 years. 

Others 

Many volunteers go the extra mile to help others. A noteworthy 

of these include Mr Joel Tan, who raised funds through his family 

and friends to send an ATDC client’s parent for a knee surgery, so 

that he can continue to work as a cleaner to provide for his wife and 

two intellectually disabled sons. Mr Tan also bought spectacles 

for 8 needy pupils from MINDS Lee Kong Chian Gardens Schools, 

fixed a drinking tap for a CTDC client’s home, and arranged for 

installation of grab bars for ageing clients at CTDC. We wish to 

thank Mr Tan for his generosity. 


MINDS VOLUNTEER AWARDS 

Every year, MINDS Volunteer Awards are given away to recognise 

excellence in volunteers’ contribution. A new category of award 

was introduced in 2010, the “MINDS Distinguished Service Award 

Gold”. Recipients in 2010 were as follows: 

MINDS Distinguished Service Award Platinum (Individual) 

Mrs Jayalekshmi Mohideen 

MINDS Distinguished Service Award Gold (Individual) 

Mr Lee Chak Meng 

Mr Goh Siang Khin 

Ms Goh Siam Imm 

MINDS Distinguished Service Award Gold (Corporate) 

Standard Chartered Bank 

United World College of Southeast Asia 

MINDS Distinguished Service Award (Individual) 

Mr Chng Jong Ling 

Mr Cheo Hock Chin 

MINDS Distinguished Service Award (Corporate) 

KPMG 

Church of Christ The King, SCC Zone 100 

Young Men’s Christian Association of Singapore (YMCA) 

MINDS GoodAsNew Charity Shop 

MINDS Meritorious Award (Individual) 

Mr William Teo Kok Meng 

Mrs Maria Ong 

Madam Lai Poh Yen 

Ms Christina Tan 

Ms Chew Chai Luen 

Mr Ong Chong Tiang 

Mr Ernest Tan 

Mr Jared Foo 

Mr Quek Xiang Hui 

SCDF Bukit Batok Fire Station 

Prosafe Production Pte Ltd 

Energy Market Company Pte Ltd 

Cut Above Hair Saloon 

Three new categories of MINDS Donor Awards were introduced 

for the first time. They are: 

Friend of MINDS: Donations of at least $10, 000 per year 

Supporter of MINDS: Donations of at least $50,000 per year 

Distinguished Supporter of MINDS: Donation of at least $100,000 

per year. 

Recipients were as follows: 

MINDS Donor Awards 2010 

Friend 

Jurong Country Club 

Kim Eng Securities Pte Ltd 

Lee Cheng Peck 

MINDS GoodAsNew Charity Shop 

Republic of Singapore Navy (AFPN 6016) 

South West Community Development Council 

Union Investment Real Estate Asia Pacific Pte Ltd 

Yu Gyo Engineering & Trading Pte Ltd 

Supporter 

Ngee Ann Primary School 

Tee up Dormitory Pte Ltd 

Past Year’s MINDS Donor Awards 

As it was the first time MINDS is giving awards to donors, a review 

of past years’ donors was also carried out and seven donors were 

chosen for recognition. 

Distinguished Supporter 

Children’s Charities Association 

Supporter 

The Great Eastern Life Assurance Co. Ltd 

Friend 

KPMG 

Motorola Electronics Pte Ltd 

Resource Hardware & Trading Pte Ltd 

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) 

Singapore Island Country Club (SICC) 

Conclusion 

When we reflect on the amount of effort and support that we 

have received in the past year from volunteers and donors, we are 

thankful to each of them for their dedication and contribution. We 

look forward to years of continued friendship and hope that more 

will step forward to join us in our journey. 


1. Volunteer’s Handbook - To provide volunteers with important 

information regarding volunteering policies and procedures. 

2. Volunteer Management System Launch - To facilitate 

volunteers’ registration through MINDS’ website 

3. Volunteer Management System SOP - To facilitate various 

volunteer management functions, including volunteers’ 

registration, to ensure that procedures are administered in 

accordance with established policies. 

38 


BUILDING & FACILITIES 

COMMITTEE 

Standing from left to right: Mr Terence Wong, Ms Karen Er, Mr Mike Koh, Mr Howard Yap, Mr Lim Yeow Khee, Mr James Wong, 

Mr Philip Tong, Mr Simon Low, Mr Michael Wang 

Not in picture: Mr Eric Seah 

Chairman 

Member 

Manager, 

Facilities/Procurement 

Facilities Officer 


Mr Howard Yap 

Mr Terence Wong 

Mr James Wong 

Head, NTDC 

Supervisor, SMEDC 

Admin/Ops Manager, FGS 

Admin/Ops Manager, TGS 

Admin/Ops Manager, LGS 

Admin/Ops Manager, WGS 

Mr Mike Koh 

Ms Karen Er 

Mr Eric Seah 

Mr Philip Tong 

Mr Michael Wang 

Mr Simon Low 

The Building & Facilities Committee (BFC) oversees MINDS portfolio 

of facilities and provides guidance to the four schools and the seven 

centres in the area of facilities management, cyclical maintenance and 

upgrading works. 

Composition 

The Committee comprises 2 volunteers and 8 staff members with 

competencies in Building Construction, Civil Engineering, Quantity 

Surveying, Operations and Facilities Management. The diversity of their 

knowledge, skills and experience allows for useful exchange of ideas 

and views to support the BFC objectives. 

MINDS facilities are maintained in good condition and regularly 

upgraded to meet new demands and operational efficiency. 


The committee held five meetings during the financial year. During 

the period, the Committee embarked on cyclical maintenance projects 

for Ang Mo Kio Training & Development Centre (ATDC) and Clementi 

Training & Development Centre (CTDC). 

Cyclical maintenance is carried out at pre-determined intervals to repair, 

refurbish and renew equipment and facilities necessitated from wear 

and tear, breakdown, obsolescence and expiry of their useful life. 

The multi-purpose hall flooring at Towner Gardens School (TGS) was 

upgraded and re-floored with Eco-Green Eco-Art Design Technology 

Engineering Single Plank Flooring. This product is in the Green Building 

Product Listing certified by Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC). 

Numerous minor improvement works were carried out to re-configure 

the respective centres, providing more space to the users, enhancing 

the centres further and giving a fresher look. 

Periodic structural inspections as required by BCA were carried out 

by certified Professional Engineers (PE) at Lee Kong Chiang Gardens 

School (LGS) and SIA-MINDS Employment Development Centre 

(SMEDC). 

At MINDSville@Napiri, Fire Certificate Inspection was conducted 

in September 2010. SCDF inspected the whole building and have 

renewed the Fire Safety Fitness Certificate. 


The work plan for 2011/12 will focus on reviewing cyclical maintenance 

and upgrading works at MINDS-HQ, SMEDC, MINDSville@Napiri, LGS 

and TGS . 

Major renovation work will be carried out in SMEDC and MINDS HQ 

to improve space utilisation and general condition of the operational 

areas. 

The Committee will also look into developing long term maintenance 

programmes for all the facilities and carry out awareness training 

for staff at all levels to build a culture of environment excellence in 


Some of the activities in our work plan for FY 2011/2012 will include: 

• SMEDC – Cyclical Maintenance 

• SMEDC and MINDS HQ – Additions & Alterations and Upgrading 

Works (carried out concurrently with cyclical maintenance) 

• MINDSville@Napiri – Cyclical maintenance 

• IEDC – Washroom facilities at level #01, convert recreation room 

to AHP work areas 

• Building and hygiene inspections 

• Building maintenance inspections 

• Emergency Preparedness and Fire Safety Awareness for Schools, 

TDCs and EDCs 


PUBLIC RELATIONS, EDUCATION & 

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE (PRECC) 

Standing from left to right: Mr Keh Eng Song, Mr Daniel Tan, Mr Boo Chong Han, Ms Doreen Yap, Ms Brenda Lee 

Chairman 

Members 


Corporate Communications Executive 


Ms Doreen Yap 

Mr Daniel Tan 


Ms Brenda Lee 


With 11 schools and centres situated island-wide, and a staff 

strength of 584, internal communication is critical to help all staff 

keep abreast of the latest happenings in MINDS. At the same 

time, external communication allows MINDS to inform the public 

about its mission and services, and enhance public acceptance of 

persons with intellectual disability. The Public Relations, Education 

and Communications Committee aims to bring people together, 

connect people to MINDS and thereby help to bring about a more 

inclusive society. 

MINDSPEAK 

MINDSpeak is a quarterly newsletter circulated to staff, caregivers, 

members, donors and volunteers of MINDS. In the first half of 2011, 

two issues of the newsletter were published and disseminated. 

The content informs readers of important events and activities held 

across MINDS’ different facilities island-wide, educates readers on 

the various aspects of intellectual disability and its management, 

and inspires readers through real life accounts of clients, caregivers, 

and staff who have overcome obstacles and achieved success in 

their own ways. 

MINDSpeak 2011 Issue 1_Final Artwork 

40 


MINDS eNews 

MINDS’ electronic staff newsletter, MINDS eNews, aims to bring 

about timely updates on HR related matters, mini reports on the 

most recent MINDS events and serves as an announcement board 

to broadcast important information. This is an important occasional 

publication that brings staff of MINDS closer. 

Revamp of corporate website 

MINDS’ corporate website was revamped and redesigned. It 

now boasts a brand new look with a more user-friendly interface. 

The new website provides audience-centric information that is 

comprehensive in its coverage. It also carries videos, photographs, 

and useful information for volunteers, donors and caregivers. 

50th Anniversary in 2012 

The PRECC committee has also been tasked to plan and organise the 

celebrations on MINDS’ 50th Anniversary in 2012. The celebrations 

will comprise a Commemorative Book, a Dinner, an Anniversary 

Dinner, a Family Day Extravaganza, a Public Education Exhibition 

and decentralised celebrations at the centre/school level. 

FY2011/12 WORKPLAN 

Review public education resources of MINDS namely: 

• MINDS’ corporate brochures 

• Corporate video 

• Public education exhibition banners and display materials 

• Organise the various activities planned for MINDS’ 50th 

anniversary celebrations 

• Enhance MINDS’ outreach to the broader public to raise 

awareness of persons with intellectual disability 


MINDS 

CSG (Caregivers Support Group) 

Advisor 

Chairperson 


Mrs Mimi Tan 

Secretaries 

Ms Selena Chew 

Ms Jenny Low 

Mr Gary Ng 

Vice - Chairpersons 

Treasurer 

Ms Clara Ng 

Ms Carolina Chan 

Ms Janet Ng 

Coordinator 

Programme Coordinator 

Ms Low Poh Leng 

Mr Patrick Lai 


2010 was a busy year as each CSG chapter geared up their activities 

to reach out to parents. 

MINDS CSG@LGS 

The CSG chapter at Lee Kong Chian Gardens School was officially 

launched in June 2010, and parents started volunteering with 

the school by helping the teachers during travelling lessons and 

semester outings, and collaborating with Excelsior International 

School to celebrate the Inaugural Achievement Awards Ceremony 

on 19 November 2010. 

MINDS CSG@TGS 

A mini carnival was held at Towner Gardens School on 24 September 

2010. The objective was to teach students how to use coupons to 

purchase foods at the carnival. Parent volunteers manage the fishball 

and hotdog bun stall. It was a delight for the parents to work 

with the teachers to carry out the objective. More significantly, the 

event brought a deeper bonding among the parents as they work 

together. 

MINDS CSG@FGS 

The chapter organised several social activities and projects 

throughout the year to promote bonding and support the school 

and organisation. They are: 

• Starlight Night Fever in December 2010 at Toa Payoh Central 

Community Centre 

• Christmas gathering 

• Chinese New Year visiting 

• Indo-Chinese feast gathering in April 2011 

• Art sessions conducted by a caregiver 

• Parents workshops in March, April and Games day in May 2011 

• Social Enterprise paper bags folding project. Together with 

NUSVAC volunteers and caregivers, the group completed 700 

paper bags for the World Down Syndrome Day 

MINDS CSG@TDCs 

The chapter spearheaded a thriftshop project at MINDSville, and 

organised several workshops and activities in the year to reach out 

to parents in the TDCs. They are: 

• Grooming workshop for parents and caregivers - Participants 

learnt to dress for different occasions, body shapes and colour 

matching. They were also taught basic skincare, make-up and 

hairstyling. Caregivers went home motivated to groom and 

dress-up their special children and themselves. 

• Physical activities to improve self-help skills and fitness 

programmes at home and in the community organised by TDC 

physiotherapists - This informative and enriching workshop 

was presented both in English and Mandarin on 21 August 

2010. Participants tried the various exercise equipment, many 

were simple home implements. Balance and coordination 

activities were demonstrated to show how these can help to 

improve and achieve ADL (activities of daily living). 

• Caregivers’ Carefree Day - In collaboration with the TDC 

social workers, the CSG TDCs chapter held its first outing on 

1 December 2010. Themed as “Caregivers’ Carefree Day”, 

the event was attended by 23 caregivers from Ang Mo Kio, 

Clementi and Napiri TDCs. The programme consisted of a 

series of farm tours, followed by a hearty lunch. Set in the 

relaxing ambience of “countryside”, the outing provided a 

fun opportunity for caregivers to make new friends and destress. 

• Joint Care & Self Care: Working with Therabands - In 

collaboration with the TDC social workers, caregivers gathered 

at a caregivers’ home for an informal tea session which 

started with sharing of personal stories. There was much 

laughter and tears as the communication took the form of 

English, Mandarin and Hokkien at the same time. The striking 

similarities of the caregivers’ journeys in raising a special 

needs child brought everyone together in one heart. When 

Geoff Sweeney, the therapist arrived, caregivers were ready 

for a work-out. Armed with a theraband each, Geoff taught 

a series of exercises for strengthening muscles and joints. 

Although the steps were simple, they were challenging. After 

42 


all the stretching and exercises, the host served a delicious 

tea break. It was truly a memorable afternoon. The theraband 

session not only empowered caregivers to take care of their 

health, but banded hearts to know that this amazing journey 

is not travelled alone. 

Combined MINDS CSG Events 

Combined activities connect caregivers on a larger scale, and 

promote solidarity and camaraderie. The 2 major events are: 

• Walk to the Southern Ridges - In November 2010, 53 

caregivers and 31 students ventured down the Southern 

Ridges in two groups together with volunteers and medics 

from Health Promotion Board (HPB). The walk of about 3km 

covered the Forest Walk, Henderson Waves - Singapore’s 

highest pedestrian bridge, and Alexandra Arch Bridge 

connecting to Hort Park, where caregivers ended with lunch 

and fellowship. 

• MINDS CSG 10th Anniversary Party with MINDS MYG Family 

Day - The combined event on 5 March 2011 at Toa Payoh 

Community Club, titled “Under One Roof” saw a turnout of 

nearly a 1000 clients, caregivers, volunteers and guests. Guest 

of Honour, Mr Conrad Campos, MINDS’ President, presented 

tokens of appreciation to nurses from the HPB and volunteer 

photographers, and Mr Keh Eng Song, CEO presented a 

plaque to Attire Foundations who performed the closing 

dance. The event was a smashing success because of the 

strong support from MINDS, the enthusiastic entertainment 

and fun and games that kept everyone engaged. 


MINDS 

MYG 

Chairperson 

Vice Chairpersons 

Secretary 

Treasurer 

Volunteer Reporting 

Training and Development 

Volunteer Administration 

Public Education and IT 

Ang Mo Kio Project Chairperson 

Basic Knowledge Training Group Project Chairpersons 

Children’s Wing Project Chairperson 

East Point Project Chairpersons 

Guillemard Project Chairpersons 

Reach Out Project Chairperson 

RSPID Project Chairperson 

Terra Hope Project Chairpersons 

West End Project Chairpersons 

Mr Gerald Ng 

Mr Jared Foo 

Mr Ernest Tan 

Ms Jasmine Tan 

Mr Quek Xiang Hui 

Mr Siu Zhuo Bin 

Ms Sherlyn Poh 

Ms Phua Li Xian 

Ms Thng Shui Hui 

Mr Felix Chia 

Ms Evon Li 

Ms Ang Jian Yun 

Mr Eugene Nai 

Ms Samantha Tang 

Ms Wang Liangyu 

Ms Chen Pey Shy 

Ching Ting Soon 

Kee Sen Chee 

Mr Qiu Jinyao 

Ms Sylvia Ang 

Ms Samantha Ng 

Ms Esther Koh 

Ms Agnes Tan 

Ms Megan Yao 

MINDS MYG aspires to achieve social integration for persons with 

intellectual disability (PWID) and to enrich their lives by providing 

meaningful programmes and delivering quality outreach. The 

volunteer arm has grown substantially since its formation in 1972 

and currently serves over 200 PWIDs, ranging from children to 

senior citizens. Beneficiaries attend regular weekend sessions at 

one of the 9 projects operating throughout Singapore and work 

closely with the educational institutions for joint outings and 

activities. In addition to the regular project sessions, MINDS MYG 

organises several major events throughout the year, including the 

Annual Camp for the Intellectually Disabled (ACID), Combined 

Sports Day and MYG Family Day. 


Community Involvement 

The 9 projects under MINDS MYG embarked on a concerted effort to 

reach out to the community through a series of community-service 

activities. These included sing-along sessions with the residents 

of Canossaville Children’s Home, a month-long tie-up with the 

students of Nan Hua High School on environmental conservation 

which culminated in a beach clean-up activity, participation in 

the Metta School’s carnival cum walkathon, and combined event 

planning with the Elderly Sector Network. 

The response from both the clients and the external organisations 

had been overwhelmingly positive. In particular, the clients 

benefited from the opportunity to interact with students and the 

community who were involved in the planning process as well. 

The community outreach activities will continue for the next work 

year. 

Inter-Project Collaborations 

With the strong support from MINDS and dedicated volunteers, 

MINDS MYG grew from 5 project groups barely 5 years ago to 

the current family of 9 projects plus another volunteer group from 

44 


NUS. The project groups banded together wherever possible to 

jointly organise festive celebrations. During the year, Guillemard, 

East Point and Basic Knowledge Training Group had a combined 

Mid-Autumn Festival celebration with their beneficiaries and family 

members, and several other project groups held a combined outing 

to the Singapore Flyer, with over 100 beneficiaries for a day out at 

Sentosa and the Underwater World. 

Collaborations with volunteer groups and organisations within 

and beyond MINDS 

MINDS MYG also continued to strengthen partnerships with the 

MINDS Caregivers Support Group (CSG) and external organisations 

such as Special Olympics Singapore, HSBC and the Elderly Sector 

Network (ESN). The partnerships led to more extensive sharing 

of best practices in the areas of volunteer management and 

recruitment, the organisation of special events such as a combined 

health and dental check-up and a highly successful and fun-filled 

Family Day cum CSG Anniversary Party which included hip-hop 

performances from MINDS Towner Gardens School and the MINDS 

Taiko Drums team. 

Continuous Learning for Volunteers 

Training continues to be a top priority to ensure that volunteers 

are equipped to provide optimum learning opportunities for the 

beneficiaries. Volunteers benefited from workshops conducted by 

Special Olympics Singapore, which led to a mini-Special Olympics 

where beneficiaries competed in bocce and floor hockey. Ms 

Caroline Essame, a creative arts therapist who specialises in 

human development and the healing arts was also engaged to 

conduct a dedicated hands-on workshop for the volunteers. 


• To provide a varied range of activities and learning 

environments: 

MINDS MYG will continue with community outreach 

programmes and combined project activities. This year’s ACID 

will evolve around adventure learning, with beneficiaries given 

the opportunity to experience camping within a supervised 

environment and a range of outdoor activities. Several 

project groups would be organising overseas trips, venturing 

to neighbouring countries with the clients, volunteers and 

caregivers. 

There will be partnerships with MINDS CSG, Special Olympics 

Singapore and other organisations to jointly-organise learning 

activities beyond the classroom setting. 

• To equip volunteers with the requisite skill-sets and resources 

to be even more effective friends and role-models: 

In addition to sourcing for relevant courses for our volunteers, 

MINDS’ allied health professionals have agreed to conduct 

dedicated workshops for volunteers. A mentorship system will 

be established where the more experienced volunteers would 

provide guidance to newer volunteers. New volunteers would 

also be required to attend combined volunteer orientation 

programmes held quarterly. 

• To foster strong cohesion between caregivers and volunteers 

through regular dialogue sessions and cohesion activities: 

Activities such as regular meet-the-parents sessions and 

annual Chinese New Year home visits are instrumental in 

fostering cohesion between parents and volunteers. There 

will be conscious efforts to further strengthen the volunteercaregiver 

link, and caregivers will be invited to participate in 

special events such as project groups’ anniversaries, seasonal 

celebrations and project-level annual camps. 


PAST YEARS’ 

OFFICE BEARERS 

YEAR PRESIDENT VICE-PRESIDENT HON SECRETARY HON ASST SEC HON TREASURER 

1961 Mr Warren G Fox 

1962 to 

1964 

1965 to 

1966 

1967 to 

1969 

1970 to 

1976 

1977 to 

1982 

Mr Gerald Evelyn 

De Cruz 

Mr Wong Cheong 

Choon 

Miss D K 

Vaithilingam 

Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Wong Man Kee Mr Ng Fook Kah Miss Betty Lim Mr M N Campos 

Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Wong Man Kee Mr Ng Fook Kah Miss Betty Lim Mr Alwyn Lim 

1983 Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Wong Man Kee Mr Ng Fook Kah Mr Ong Pin Sam Mr Tan Keng Sin 

1984 Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Robin Chua Ms Yong Chui Mr Ong Pin Sam Mr Alwyn Lim 

Foong 

1985 Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Robin Chua Mr Ong Pin Sam Mr Tay Tiong Beng Mr Lim Seng 

Chong 

1986 Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Robin Chua Mr Ong Pin Sam Mr Tan Keng Sin Mr Robin Chua 

1987 Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Ong Pin Sam Mr Robin Chua Mr Tan Keng Sin Mr Tan Joon Hoe 

1988 Mr Lim Ewe Huat Dr Victor Seah Mr Ong Pin Sam Miss Woo Ti Soo Mr Tan Joon Hoe 

1989 Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Robin Chua Mr Ong Pin Sam Miss Woo Ti Soo Mr Tan Joon Hoe 

1990 Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Robin Chua Mr Ong Pin Sam Mr Tan Keng Sin Mr Lee Ju Song 

1991 Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Robin Chua Mr Ong Pin Sam Miss Woo Ti Soo Mr Tan Keng Sin 

1992 Mr Lim Ewe Huat Mr Robin Chua Mr Ong Pin Sam Mr Tan Keng Sin Mr Tan Joon Hoe 

1993 to Dr Tan Ser Kiat Mr Robin Chua Miss Woo Ti Soo Mr Tan Keng Sin Mr Tan Joon Hoe 

1994 

1995 Dr Tan Ser Kiat Mr Ong Pin Sam Mr Tan Keng Sin Mrs Margaret Goh Mr Harphal Singh 

1996 Dr Tan Ser Kiat Mr Ong Pin Sam Mr Tan Keng Sin Mrs Margaret Goh Mr Jeffrey Tan 

1997 to 

1998 

Dr Tan Ser Kiat LTC (RET) Martin 

Zhu 

Mr Tan Keng Sin Mrs Margaret Goh Mr Jeffrey Tan 

1999 to 

2002 

2003 to 

2004 

2005 to 

2006 

2007 to 

2008 

2009 to 

2010 

Dr Tan Ser Kiat 

Mrs Jayalekshmi 

Mohideen 


Mohideen 


Mohideen 

Mr Conrad 

Campos 

Mr Lee Chak 

Meng 

Mr Lee Chak 

Meng 

Mr Lee Chak 

Meng 

Mr Conrad 

Campos 

Col Tay Tiong Beng Mr Kenneth Chua Mr Jeffrey Tan 

Mr Jeffrey Tan Ms Goh Siam Imm Mr Goh Siang Khin 

Mr Jeffrey Tan Ms Goh Siam Imm Mr Chng Jong Ling 

Mr Jeffrey Tan Mr Kenneth Chua Mr John Lee Mong 

Wah 

Mr Gabriel Lim Mr Jeffery Tan Mrs Mimi Tan Mr Ong Wee Gee 

46 


MOVEMENT FOR THE INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED OF SINGAPORE 

HEADQUARTERS 

800 Margaret Drive 

Singapore 149310 

Tel: 6479 5655 Fax: 6479 0706 

Website: www.minds.org.sg 

Email: minds@minds.org.sg 

SPECIAL SCHOOLS 

Fernvale Gardens School 

7 Fernvale Road 


Tel: 64816 697/6315 5346 Fax: 6483 2631 

Email: fgs@minds.org.sg 

Lee Kong Chian Gardens School 



Tel: 6473 8332 Fax: 6473 4776 

Email: Igs@minds.org.sg 

Towner Gardens School 

18 Lengkong Lima 


Tel: 6446 2612 Fax: 6243 7498 

Email: tgs@minds.org.sg 

Woodlands Gardens School 

30 Woodlands Ring Road #01-01 


Tel: 6468 0566 / 6468 0567 Fax: 6468 2142 

Email: wgs@minds.org.sg 

Curriculum Development Unit 

7 Fernvale Road 


Tel: 6312 6837 

RESIDENTIAL SERVICES: HOME, HOSTEL/ 

GROUP HOME, CHILDREN’S WING 

EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT CENTRES 

Idea Employment Development Centre 

29 Rosyth Road 


Tel: 6282 4852 Fax: 6280 5078 

Email: iedc@minds.org.sg 

SIA-MINDS Employment Development Centre 



Tel: 6473 1148 Fax: 6473 3885 

Email: smedc@minds.org.sg 

Woodlands Employment Development Centre 

30 Woodlands Ring Road #01-02 


Tel: 6366 3966 Fax: 6366 7422 

Email: wedc@minds.org.sg 

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT CENTRES 

Ang Mo Kio Training & Development Centre 

134 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, Street 12, #01-1677 


Tel: 6456 4174 / 6456 0570 Fax: 6453 2824 

Email: atdc@minds.org.sg 

Clementi Training & Development Centre 

304 Clementi Ave 4 #01-487 


Tel: 6776 8743 / 6776 8745 Fax: 6776 8741 

Email: ctdc@minds.org.sg 

Napiri Training & Development Centre 

MINDSville@Napiri 

7 Lorong Napiri 


Tel: 6387 7662 Fax: 6387 3357 

Email: ntdc@minds.org.sg 

MINDSville@Napiri 

7 Lorong Napiri 


Tel: 6387 7662 Fax: 6387 3357 

Email: mv@minds.org.sg

MINDS Headquarters 

800 Margaret Drive, Singapore 149310 

Tel: (65) 6479 5655 Fax: (65) 6479 0706 

Email: minds@minds.org.sg 

www.minds.org.sg 

Registered Charity: 0045 

ROS: 21 / 62 WEL 

UEN NO. S62SS0075C

ANNUAL REPORT 2010 / 2011 - MINDS

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