Parenting Research Centre

Signposts

Signposts facilitators graduate in Singapore

Over 30 trained practitioners, including psychologists, educational counsellors, teachers and social workers, were accredited as Signposts facilitators at a special graduation ceremony, held on 1 March 2011 at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH). Our CEO Warren Cann attended this important milestone in the development of our partnership with KKH.

The facilitators are part of a three-year pilot program designed by KKH Department of Child Development (KKH DCD) and the PRC. The pilot will disseminate Signposts, an evidence-based parenting program that equips parents and caregivers with knowledge and strategies to understand and manage their child’s difficult behaviour. In Singapore, around 2000 children are diagnosed each year with developmental difficulties.

In its first year the pilot attracted 500 participants of parents and carers. It aims to reach more than 1500 families over the complete three-year period. These families will be reached through a network of over 70 qualified and trained facilitators from KKH DCD and a variety of early childhood intervention centres.

KKH DCD will be the lead agency in Singapore. This effort is in keeping with KKH’s focus on research, education and training to continually better outcomes and quality of life for patients.

Speaking about the pilot phase of the program, Associate Professor Lim Sok Bee, Senior Consultant and Head at KKH DCD, said: “The Signposts program has brought about very encouraging outcomes in Victoria. Our effort here will be to tune this model to the needs of Singapore’s families, and closely study participants’ feedback and the impact on the family’s wellbeing to assess its effectiveness and potential for long-term implementation in the Singapore context.”

At the graduation ceremony Warren Cann said: “We are delighted that this program which has proved to be so helpful to many Australian parents is now being made available to Singapore families. The partnership with KKH has been crucial in ensuring the program is relevant and appropriate to parents in this country.”

Visit the Signposts website for more information about the program.