An introduction on the needs of childcare services in Hong Kong. The lack of services available and the strandard requirements of childcare centers.

1. An overview of childcare services in Hong Kong
11th January 2023

2. Childcare Services for Birth to Three (I)
Subsidised & regulated by the Social Welfare Department and the
Joint Office for Kindergartens and Child Care Centres by
Education Bureau
❖ Child Care Centre (Crèche/Nursery): birth to age 3
❖ Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre: birth to age 6
❖ Mutual Help Child Care Centre: birth to age 6
❖ Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project: birth to age 9

3. Childcare Services for Birth to Three (I)
❖ Occasional Child Care Service
• full-day, half-day or two-hour sessions for sudden engagements or various
commitments
❖ Extended Hours Service
• meet the social needs of families and working parents
❖ Residential Child Care Centre
• family crises arising from illness, death and desertion
❖ Special Child Care Centre
• special training and care for moderately and severely disabled children under
age 6

4. ❖ How many quota for childcare
services in Hong Kong?
❖ Is it enough? Why?
❖ Do we need childcare services for
Birth to Three? Why?
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzjt36cjmFY
社聯促改善兒童照顧服務

5. Childcare Centre Services
❖ Cap. 243 Child Care Services Ordinance:
provide services for children under age 3
❖ Service Aims:
• To assist parents who cannot take care of their
young children because of work or other
reasons
• To foster the physical, cognitive, language,
social and emotional development of children
under age 3
❖ Aided & private/non-profit making
organisations

7. Regulation of Child Care Centres
Source: Operation
manual for pre-
primary institutions

8. Manpower of Child Care Centres
Source: Operation manual
for pre-primary
institutions

9. Curriculum Planning and Design of Activities
for Birth to Two
❖ “Since babies from new born to the age of 2 require intensive care and
individual attention, the services of child care centres should emphasise more
on care than other pre-primary institutions.”
❖ “Sufficient time should be allowed in the daily programme of activities to look
after the physical needs of babies, including health inspection, toileting
(changing diapers, toilet training and washing), feeding, and sleeping/rest.”
❖ “Child care centres should provide developmentally appropriate learning
activities for each baby through play to enable the baby to have an all-round
development and to grow in the best possible way. Play activities include
physical play, training of fine motor skills, conversation, singing nursery rhymes,
story-telling, arts and crafts, music, toys on floor, table toys, etc.”
Source: Operation manual for pre-primary institutions

10. Source: Operation manual
for pre-primary
institutions

11. Mutual Help
Child Care Centre
❖ 2020: 19 centres
❖ set up by non-profit-making
local organisations to provide
care for not more than 14 infants
and toddlers
❖ promote mutual help on child
care within the neighbourhood

12. ❖ ‘mutual’ & “non-recurrent” help??
Mutual Help Child Care Centre Child Care Centre
Service Nature and
Aims
Provides temporary and non-recurrent
child care service for parents; short-
term service
Provides care and education
services for working parents;
long-term service
Caregiver Volunteers, neighbours or parents who
have experience in rearing children; but
no formal training in early childhood
education
Registered child care workers
who received formal training in
early childhood education
Activities Less structured child caring activities Focuses on developmentally
appropriate learning activities
which cater for children’s
development and education
needs
Organisation Non-profit-making local organisations
(e.g., churches, women’s associations)
Non-government or private
organisations

13. Mutual Help
Child Care Centre
Difficulties encountered (Liu,
2016)
❖ abuse of services
❖ non-recurrent?
❖ mutual?

14. Neighbourhood Support
Child Care Project
❖ Launched in 2008
❖ The concept of “ nannies ”
❖ provides flexible form of child care
service for children aged under 9
❖ promotes community participation
and mutual help in the neighbourhood
• home-based child care service
• centre-based child care group

15. Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project
Difficulties encountered (To, 2016)
❖ manpower issue
• insufficient volunteer nannies: getting old or finding a full-time job
❖ abuse of childcare services
• taking care of children’s homework and laundry?
❖ childrearing philosophy and expectation
• incompatible?

16. Childcare Services for Birth to Three (II)
NOT registered and regulated by the government:
❖ playgroups by non-government organisations
❖ playgroups by private organisations

17. Discussion:
Playgroups in Hong Kong
❖ What kinds of playgroup are there in Hong
Kong?
❖ Why parents in Hong Kong enrol their
children in a playgroup?
❖Do you think young children need to enrol
in a playgroup? Why and why not?

18. Regulation issues of Playgroups in Hong Kong
Source: Ming Pao 2010/09/06
Video: 學前訓練班缺監管須嚴選