CEO Welcome Message
A Report from Tanglin Trust School's CEO, Steven Andrews, following his "Parents' Information Evening" at Café @ Level 3 on 8 June, 2009.
As we come to the end of the 2008-2009 academic year, it was a pleasure to meet with parents to reflect on the year's achievements and to discuss our present thinking and plans for the future.
| Transformational improvement | What makes a good school | Aims and values |
| Parents' Survey | What do students want from their school? | Personalised learning | IB authorisation |
| A look at the present | A review of the 2008 - 2009 academic year | Looking ahead |
Transformational improvement
At Tanglin we aim for transformational change, because good schooling is a transformational process for a child. What we are aiming for is high-quality implementation of bold and creative thinking. Institutions can achieve limited improvement through attention to detail, and problems are created when new ideas are not effectively implemented. But at Tanglin, we aim for highly effective implementation of the very best ideas.As I read the comments written by students in the book of condolences for our maths specialist Simon Hebert, who died very suddenly recently, I was moved by remarks such as "Mr. Hebert convinced me that I really can do maths." His teaching had a powerful transformational effect on students and it is this type of positive transformation that we aim to achieve at Tanglin.
What makes a good school
An enormous amount of academic research has looked into the qualities of a good school. Undoubtedly, the most important factor is having excellent teachers, who are passionate about teaching and know their students well. A teacher has an enormous impact on students' motivation and how effectively they learn. At Tanglin we are committed to employing the very best teachers, who have a thorough understanding of the abilities of each student in their care. Our teachers pay unrelenting attention to the quality of student learning and the provision of excellence in teaching, which is our core purpose.Another important characteristic of a good school is the active and supportive involvement of parents. We thank our Tanglin parents for their outstanding commitment to their children's learning and for their input into the School as a whole. Other characteristics include: having outstanding relationships and an inclusive culture that promotes pride and joy in belonging; effectively using data; and having highly effectively leadership at all levels.
Aims and values
An example of how effectively parents work with us was the recent forum held to gain input from parents on the work that had been done on reviewing Tanglin's aims and values. Input was sought from many of our stakeholder groups on our mission, aims and the values that underpin them. The result is a document that will be presented to the Board and will have input into the School's Strategic Plan. We are still trying to create a catchy tag line that summarises the essence of what we do at Tanglin and we plan to work with senior creative people from ad agencies who have volunteered their time to assist us with this.Parents' Survey
We highly value the feedback we receive from parents that comes to us through our annual on-line Parents' Survey. The number that completed the survey was almost the same as last year and overall the results were very pleasing.90% (92% last year) regarded teaching as good.
90% (93%) thought their children make good progress
97% (97%) said children like school
96% (97%) said their children feel safe
90% (91) agreed their children are expected to work hard
89% (90%) said the School is well run
82% (78%) thought they are kept well informed of their child's progress
96% (92%) stated there is a good range of trips and activities
89% (90%) would recommend TTS to other parents
The survey also revealed areas that we need to address, because in a few areas less than 80 percent of parents made positive comments about the topic. From the feedback, we will continue to do even more to encourage participation in sport, fully develop each child's strengths through personalised learning and clarify our complaints procedures.
Interestingly, as students progress through the School, parental comments about homework became more positive. Of note, parents of students in Nursery and Reception expressed most concern about homework, yet there is no formal homework set in these year groups. To read the results of the survey in full, please click here. We will continue to analyse the data and variations by school, year group and gender.
What do students want from their school?
According to the late Professor Jean Ruddock from Cambridge University, what students want most from school is to feel safe, valued and to know they are achieving. Feeling safe means to learn in an environment free from bullying, where it is okay to take risks and make mistakes. Children want to achieve and a significant amount of our job is done if students want to be here each and every day.Personalised learning
This year we have made further progress in personalising learning for each individual child. In our Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, more emphasis is being placed on the individual. We know that strengths developed in each child in the first two years of schooling last a lifetime.Throughout Tanglin, we are also placing greater emphasis on assessment by teachers who know the students well and can use the results to guide future learning. We have introduced termly reports and students are given personalised learning targets, including advice on what they must do, should do and could do. In the Senior School, we are increasing choice for our students by offering triple science, and the IB Diploma in the Sixth Form.
IB authorisation
Representatives from the International Baccalaureate (IB) who came to Tanglin to inspect our preparedness to teach the IB Diploma in the Sixth Form alongside A-Levels made extraordinarily positive comments. They remarked on our quality innovation and attention to learning detail. We think this is transformational improvement! They said that the School was ready to begin the programme with "no matters to be addressed". I know of no other school that has been reviewed so positively.A look at the present
Without doubt, we are operating in a perplexing and challenging economic environment. Despite this, waiting lists at Tanglin are lengthening and withdrawals are the lowest they have been for the past three years. Our total roll will increase at the start of the new academic year from 2,350 to more than 2,450. People are staying in Singapore longer and the vast majority of our students currently finishing Year 9 are choosing to complete their schooling at Tanglin. The Y9 into 10 statistics is very significant in my view because what is really being said here is that you trust us with the biggest and most important years of your son or daughters compulsory educational career.A review of the 2008-2009 academic year
The current academic year has had too many highlights to fully outline in a brief report. However, these memorable achievements quickly come to mind. They include: recording our best-ever A-level results; 95 percent of our students gaining entry into their university of choice; the staging of a fabulous arts festival; outstanding concerts of music; a fun summer fete; our new Sixth Form building nearing completion; special house days; 20 Year 11 students sitting AS and GCSE maths exams early and at the same time; the introduction of new style termly reports; student participation in Model UN meetings; various school charity projects; the raising of environmental awareness; the smooth introduction of Chinese in Years 1 to 6; challenging drama performances; ongoing investment in professional development; the introduction of new A-level subjects; authorisation to teach the IB Diploma; festive Christmas concerts; whole school temperature testing re the H1N1 flu virus; great results from our Parents' Survey; a new School magazine; outstanding sports days; a new Year 2 activity programme; our first-ever Sports Awards Evening; challenging school trips; and Tanglin's home sports ground becoming a reality. It has been quite a year!Looking ahead
I am looking forward to an exciting year ahead. Our new Sixth Form building is on-track to be completed by September and our new sports ground and club house nearby on Jalan Hang Jebat will be fully operational. We are predicting very strong academic results, and we will continue our constant and restless search for improvement, while being prepared for the unexpected, such as the threat of another flu pandemic. As we look into the future, we shall not lose sight of the fact that everything we do here at Tanglin is about your children and instilling in them a love of learning and inspiring them to achieve in all areas of endeavour. I wish everyone a safe and happy summer holiday and all the best for the 2009-2010 academic year.
