One was an engineering assistant in the semiconductor industry and later a programme coordinator at a family service centre. The other was a child protection officer. Their paths converged in SPD when they followed their hearts and took a leap of faith on a career switch that allowed them to work with young children.

Yap Wai Ching and Nor Jannah Binte Muhammad Sabri, both senior learning support educators (LSED) with SPD never looked back. Their passion and dedication earned them the Outstanding Early Intervention Professional Award 2023 from the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) recently.  

Wai Ching operates from SPD@Tampines while Jannah from SPD@Jurong, but both spent a considerable amount of time providing in-class support to the children in their pre-schools relating to language, literacy as well as social skills and fine motor skills. In addition, LSEDs also conduct screening of the children, and help equip the principals and teachers with the know-how to identify those children who require intervention.

We caught up with Wai Ching and Jannah, who have 20 years and 9 years of early intervention (EI) experience respectively, to find out what have kept them going and what this award means to them.

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UPDATES (U): Congratulations on winning the Outstanding Early Intervention Professional award! How do you think your work has made a difference in the lives of our clients and their families you’re serving?

Jannah (J): Supporting children and families through targeted intervention has helped families gain more knowledge about their children’s needs and better understand their role in supporting their children’s development. As our programme is provided at the pre-school, we could support these children better in their natural environment.

Wai Ching (W):   Our work allows us to adjust and adapt our intervention to the learning level of the children. It is important that we work together with them and within their means and abilities.

U: How do you stay updated and relevant in your EI practice?

J: Undergoing relevant courses and attending conferences and talks pertaining to Early Intervention and its practices have helped me stay updated and current, in addition to ongoing support from the consultancy team.

W: Attend training and courses help to keep me abreast of the latest developments in the early intervention space.

U: What motivates you?

J: The children I work with, motivate me the most. Their smiles and seeing them achieve little milestones make me feel that all the hard work is worthwhile. I have always believed that the most credit should be given to the children, as I can only help them, as much as they want to help themselves.

W: The children and teachers are my greatest motivation. Seeing the children progress and benefit from the teaching and guidance, and when they are more confident in their learning or when the teachers know how to support these children and are using the strategies that I share… these give me great satisfaction and I know I am doing something right in my career.

U: Can you share some of the most memorable success stories or positive outcomes that have resulted from your interventions?

J: I had worked with children whose literacy skills showed marked improvements through the process of intervention, whose parents have feedback that they are doing well in primary school as well. Some of these parents have approached me to ask if I could continue supporting them, or their younger siblings.

W: The parents of a child sat in my sessions and eventually they were able to teach and guide their child along who showed great improvement.  

U: Looking to the future, what do you see as the most pressing challenges and opportunities in the field of early intervention, and how do you plan to address them?

J: Presently, I feel that the challenges come from managing the increasing demands on the early intervention sector to provide immediate services, and inclusivity. Meeting to demands is not easy, and I am unsure how I can address them on my own. I will continue to work closely with different stakeholders and discuss ways on how we can fine tune strategies/ resources to better suit children with developmental needs in classrooms.

W: I hope that there will be more talks and workshops for parents to create awareness on topics such as the developmental milestones of children and identifying red flags in their learning and development. These will provide caregivers with a step-by-step guide on what they should do and look out for in their young child’s developing years.

U: Share your thoughts with us on winning this award from ECDA!

J: This award is very meaningful to me. It is an honour and a recognition to the work that I have put in throughout the years. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the team at SPD@Jurong, and as much as this is my award, I would like to dedicate this to those who have stood by me through such hard times.

W: I am really grateful to SPD and my manager for always being there for me, and recognising the efforts that is put into my work.

U: What advice would you give to aspiring EI professionals who wish to make meaningful impact on the children and their families they are supporting?

J: It is important to adopt an open mindset, and to be flexible when working with children and their families. Every step the child makes is going to impact on the upcoming steps they are going to take in their lives, and you play an important role, in helping the child take that first step. Acknowledge the efforts each child makes, no matter how small, and that goes a very long way in making the child feel appreciated.

W: Stay on! Strive on! These children need us.

The Outstanding Early Intervention Professional Award recognises the achievements of exemplary infant educators and early years educators who expand the boundaries of professionalism and scale up the quality of their curriculum and pedagogical practices. These are educators committed to delivering high quality early childhood care and education. They make a positive difference in the lives of infants and toddlers and their families.