​The Circle of Care@Canossian Eduplex project team, comprising members from Canossaville Children and Community Services (CCCS), and the Department of Child Development at KKH (KKH DCD). From left to right: Ms Grace Tan, Principal of Canossa Convent Primary School; Ms Seah Yoon Choon, Senior Education Facilitator and Dr Lily Lau, Principal Psychologist, KKH DCD; Ms Julie Conceicao, Principal of Magdalene Kindergarten, Ms Regina Davamoni, Curriculum Developer, Student Care Centre and Sister Marilyn Lim, Supervisor, CCCS; Ms Angela Tang, Principal Education Facilitator, Dr Hamimah Ahmat, Principal Speech Therapist, Ms Catherine Tan, Medical Social Worker and Ms Quinza Lim, Clinical Research Coordinator, KKH DCD; Ms Veronica Tan, former Executive Director and Ms Catherine Michael, Principal of Canossian School; and Ms Oh Shu Jun, Senior Psychologist, KKH DCD. Not pictured: Ms Raine Too, Senior Learning Support Facilitator and Mr Tang Hui Nee, Deputy Director, KKH DCD; Ms Elizabeth Thambidurai, Social Worker and Ms Judy Lim, Executive Director, CCCS.

KKH is partnering Canossaville Children and Community Services (CCCS) in pioneering a new approach to develop a coordinated continuum of care and support available to children and their families through a project called the Circle of Care@ Canossian Eduplex.

Commissioned by the Lien Foundation, the initiative aims to benefit over 900 children between the ages of 18 months and 14 years who are receiving education at Canossian Eduplex, including a population of children with hearing impairment and/or developmental needs, and their families.

“The Canossian Eduplex includes a preschool, primary school, special school, and student-care centre – providing an ideal setting for evolving an effective, integrated, efficient, and sustainable framework for the coordination of care,” explains Dr Hamimah Ahmat, Principal Speech and Language Therapist, Department of Child Development, KKH, who is leading the initiative.

A coordinated continuum of care for children and families

At present, a KKH multidisciplinary team – comprising a speech and language therapist, educational psychologist, learning support facilitators, and medical social worker – is collaborating closely with CCCS to explore and identify opportunities for integration, as well as formulate recommendations to its existing practices.

“We are currently at the exploratory stage of the project; looking at services ‘as is’, identifying gaps and formulating our recommendations with a model or practice framework,” shares Dr Hamimah.

“There is good potential and opportunities for enhancing current delivery of care at CCCS in order to optimise child development outcomes holistically, through building the capabilities of educators, allied health professionals and caregivers, and harnessing collaborative efforts in the children’s ecology.

“Our shared vision is for the Circle of Care to serve as a springboard for the development of a service framework that would be applicable to the wider community, and eventually develop into a viable model for large-scale care delivery.”