10 APAC / 2017 Singapore Business Awards , Wee Care is an early childhood company in Singapore that pro- vides early childhood services (such as preschool, playgroup and creative enrichment programmes) as well as early intervention classes (such as behaviour therapy and social skills training). We invited Founder Dr Denise Lai to talk us through the firm’s approach. Established in 1996, Wee Care was, at the time, the only company in Singapore that provided infant classes and the second in Singa- pore providing behaviour therapy programmes for children with Au- tistic Spectrum conditions. This pi- oneering, child-focused approach has remained and it is this, that is the secret behind the firm’s suc- cess, as Denise outlines. “At Wee Care, children are not seen as passive organisms that need to be filled with knowledge. Rather, they are active learners who bring their ideas, words, home experiences, personalities, etc. to each and every learning situation. “Personally, I believe that Wee Care parents place a great deal of value on good-quality early ex- periences that honour children as unique individuals and which give them repeated opportunities to think and construct meaning in their environment; that is, what they are seeing, hearing, touching, and so on. As such, Wee Care’s Mission is to give all children an equal oppor- tunity to learn in a safe and secure environment so as to graduate as Brief Academy pro- vides the highest quality leadership de- velopment, coaching, training and career services possible that deeply im- pact individuals, transforms organ- izations and produces significant and lasting results. Simon Lee tells us more. BRIEF Academy was founded on the passion and desire to spread the effective use of the solution focused approach throughout the Asia Pacific Region and to help clients successfully apply this ap- proach. Simon discusses the ap- proach and how it ensures clients receive the very best service pos- sible. “Here at BRIEF Academy, we use strength-based coaching to help our clients achieve peak perfor- mance, improve their level of pro- ductivity, with results that positively impact their bottom-line. Our Inten- sive Coach Certification program is now offered in collaboration with The University of Toronto (OISE). Where certification of coaches is concerned, we are the only organi- zation that has our intensive coach training program recognized by three major accreditation bodies (CCPC Global, ICF and AC UK). “Overall, we are very pleased with our performance currently, as we are creating ripples of Solution Focused movement across Asia Pacific, helping organizations cre- ate and sustain a strength-based coaching culture. Some of our suc- cesses include Petronas, having trained more than 10,000 employ- ees since 2005. In addition, our Career Management and Coach- ing Skills workshops in Asia has helped many organisations (DSO Nat Lab, HP, RHB Bank, Sarawak Energy, ST Electronics, etc) with their talent retention.” Looking to the future Simon fore- sees a number of exciting develop- ments within the industry which he is keen to take advantage of. “Within the corporate coaching market, external coaches such as myself and my team at BRIEF Academy continue to be in demand because of the increased aware- ness of the benefits of coaching as a developmental tool for senior executives. External coaches are more attractive to senior leaders because of the confidentiality of the nature of the coaching partnership. Also, external coaches bring to the table an outside perspective and clients are more open to sharing intimate information. Research has shown that 40% of global leaders assigned to either new positions or overseas assignments fail after 18 months and therefore, targeted external coaching interventions with such global leaders can help to avoid disastrous consequences and ensure success. “Therefore, looking ahead, BRIEF Academy will be looking to take advantage of these developments, and to discuss our exciting new plans and service offerings as we seek to build upon our current suc- cess.” Company: BRIEF Academy Pte Ltd Name: Simon Lee Email:
[email protected] Web Address: www.briefacademy.com Address: 8 Temasek Boulevard, #42-01 Suntec Tower Three, Singapore 038988 Telephone: +65-6829 2287 Mobile: +65-9851 9609 Best for Leadership Development Services 2017 N confident, capable, articulate and creative individuals with a clear, strong sense of self and purpose.” Moving forward, the firm will contin- ue to adapt and grow as it seeks to support parents and their children across the APAC Region, as Den- ise concludes. “As a proactive and committed business Wee Care is always looking to share our expertise with schools, teachers and families outside of Singapore. Over the years, we have had the privilege of working with a very broad range of institutions in India, Indonesia and Cambodia. “Looking ahead, we will be contin- uing with these projects in order to support more clients and their chil- dren. In Singapore, we will also be launching a Lego Club on the 25th of March 2017, a social group that will have groups of neurotypical and special children working to- gether to build Lego projects. We are always looking for new ways of engaging our children constructive- ly to learn important social-emo- tional skills. Like its proponents in the UK and US, we believe that Lego - being a huge motivator for many children - will be an important pivot in our continued quest to in- troduce innovative pedagogies that are both inspiring and effective.” Company: Wee Care (Singapore) Pte Ltd Contact: Dr Denise Lai, Ed.D. Contact Email:
[email protected] Address: 56 Tanglin Road, #02-03 Tanglin Post Office Building, Singapore 247964 Tel: +65 6836 1450 Website: www.weecare.com.sg APAC Award for Early Childhood Education ASB17008 ASB17010