Parent Survey Feedback 2020
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all parents who completed our recent survey. Receiving feedback is crucial in order to help us to improve and to meet the needs of our families in the very best way we can.
Many congratulations to the lucky winners of the book vouchers!
Here are some of the issues that you raised along with our responses and/or action:
In-house assessment
As our families are aware, the biannual assessment reports and individual goals are uploaded to the CDC Connects app. Several parents commented that, although they appreciated the easy accessibility and the environmental advantages of the app, they preferred to have a printed copy. For those of you who would like this, once you have received your child’s latest report on the app, please let us know and we will be happy to provide a hard copy for you.
Parent Training
Our free in-house parent workshops received positive feedback. Thank you for your suggestions regarding topics for future sessions, this is very useful to us.
One parent requested that the workshops be held at more convenient times. In general, we hold our workshops on weekday evenings. Over the years we have tried mornings, lunchtimes and Saturday afternoons in order to increase attendance and cater to all needs. However, due to the demands of work in the week and family time at the weekend, we have found that weekday evenings are the most popular. Saturday mornings have been requested in the past, but as our Centre is busy with the groups and therapies at this time, we do not have the space available to provide caregiver workshops at the same time.
Apart from these free workshops, we also present longer and more in-depth Parenting courses – Triple P (English) and Happy Parenting (Chinese). Sadly, this year with both the unstable social situation in late 2019 and more recently, COVID-19, these courses had to be cancelled. Watch out for the next course intakes after the summer.
Feedback regarding your child
Some parents commented that they would appreciate weekly feedback on their child’s progress. The CDC is a very unique organisation in that we deal with multiple groups of children, delivering a wide range of intervention types at different levels. Some staff members work with 50 or 60 children over a week, unlike regular schools or kindergartens where teachers may have 20-30 children whom they see every weekday. Delivering the service in the manner in which we do, makes communication books and weekly emails impossible. Staff make efforts to communicate with parents as much as possible but our small lobby area, with families arriving and leaving, often proves to be challenging for verbal feedback. Under the ‘News’ tab on our website, you will find our Monthly Classroom News for our families attending the Early Intervention Groups, Tigers and Giraffes. This informs parents of our themes and activities for the month.
Whenever you have a specific question or, indeed, would just like a general catch-up, our staff members are always very happy to give advice or answer questions via email or phone call at any time. In addition, Parent Meeting appointments are available every Thursday afternoon during term-time. These can be easily booked through the app or we can help you to make the appointment if you prefer – just let us know. These meetings are for any topic that you want to discuss with us. Assessment results, progress, challenging behaviour and school applications are common topics at the parent meetings. In addition, although our preferred time is Thursday afternoon due to staff availability, we are extremely flexible and usually manage to accommodate requests for other times due to parent work or travel commitments.
We strive to work as closely with families as possible, as we believe that working together is the best way to ensure that your child reaches their potential. Remember that we always encourage parents and caregivers to come into their child’s class or therapy session. Let your child’s teacher know if you want to join the group. Due to space issues, all parents together in the room would be overwhelming!
Communication with the CDC
Regarding our app, CDC Connects, parents reported finding receiving general notifications through this medium to be useful, as well as for booking Parent Meeting appointments. As noted above, although the environmental aspect of the Assessment Report being sent on the app was recognised, some parents preferred to have a paper copy. A couple of parents reported that they had encountered glitches while using it. Please inform us of any difficulties that you may have. We will continue to refine the app and we are working on future developments and increased functions.
With regard to Social Media, we have both Facebook (The Child Development Centre) and Instagram (@tfaccdchongkong). Please follow us! For ease of access you can find the QR code in our lift lobby area. This will allow you to easily access Parent Tips and videos and our very latest news.
Our Community Activities
Thank you for the glowing feedback for the Winter Celebration held at the Centre and for our Field Trips. We are always proud of the staff’s dedication and enthusiasm in making these happen and we are thrilled that they are enjoyed by our families. We are also indebted to our volunteers who provide much-needed helping hands at these events.
To conclude, we would like to say a HUGE thank you for your many encouraging, supportive and warm comments in describing the CDC and its staff. Amongst the words used to describe our staff were dedicated, professional, approachable, energetic, caring, helpful, wise and amazing ! They were happy to receive this positive feedback.
As always, do not hesitate to contact us at any time with questions, comments or concerns.
We hope that the rest of 2020 brings a smoother ride for the CDC community.