activities. If they detect any indicators of child maltreatment through observations of the physical well-being, behaviour or emotions of students (please see “Possible Indicators of Child Maltreatment” at Appendix 1 of Education Bureau Circular No. 1/2020), they should promptly take appropriate actions as set out below, irrespective of whether the student is attending school as usual, absent from school continuously or absent from school intermittently.
a. If school personnel have reasons to believe that a student has been maltreated or is at risk of maltreatment, the first personnel in contact with the student should inform the principal and consult designated personnel and school social worker (if any). In handling suspected child maltreatment cases, school personnel must not conceal the incident or delay its report.
up on the suspected child maltreatment cases according to the established principles and procedures (please see Appendix 2 of the aforesaid circular). During the handling process, care should be taken to avoid the child having repeated description of the maltreatment incident.
c. When a student is suspected to have been maltreated, designated personnel can make a preliminary enquiry of the conditions of the student. If the case of the student is not followed up by school social workers but designated personnel know that the student or his/her family is a “known case”1 of SWD or a non-governmental organisation (NGO), the school should inform the responsible social worker of the unit concerned as soon as possible for an initial assessment. If the student or his/her family is not a “known case”
of school social workers, SWD or NGOs, report should be made to the Family and Child Protective Services Unit (FCPSU) of SWD during office hours (please refer to Appendix 3 of the aforesaid circular) as far as possible. Schools should provide information of the student for the social worker of FCPSU to conduct an initial assessment. For reports on suspected child maltreatment cases outside office hours, they could also be made through SWD hotline2 (Tel. No. 2343 2255). The personnel on duty will contact the Outreaching Team of SWD for conducting an initial assessment.
d. If the registered social worker of KG/KG-cum-CCC is employed by an NGO, he/she may report his/her “known cases” to FCPSU for conducting initial assessment in accordance with procedures as stipulated in Chapter 4 of the “Guide”. He/she may also take up the role of conducting initial assessment and child protection investigation for his/her “known cases” as set out in Chapters 4 to
1 “Known cases” refer to the categories of cases that are being handled by service units, including SWD and units under NGOs that provide casework services. For details, please refer to Annex 5 to the
“Protecting Children from Maltreatment – Procedural Guide for Multi-disciplinary Co-operation” of SWD.
2 SWD hotline operates 24 hours a day. The hotline service is manned by the Departmental Hotline Service Unit from 9:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m. on Mondays to Fridays and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Saturdays (excluding public holidays). Calls received outside the above operating hours are handled by the Hotline and Outreaching Service Team operated by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals.
8 of the “Guide”, subject to agreement of the school, NGO and SWD. Designated school personnel may also, as necessary, consult the social worker of FCPSU first (please refer to Appendix 4 and Appendix 5 of the aforesaid circular for the work flow on conducting initial assessment, immediate child protection actions and investigations).
e. When a student is suspected to have been maltreated, schools should handle the case as soon as possible and first report to the unit responsible for the “known case”/FCPSU by telephone. If a written report for record purpose is necessary, Report Form at Appendix 6 of the aforesaid circular could be completed and submitted to the unit responsible for the “known case”/FCPSU by fax afterwards. Acknowledgment of receipt should be obtained to ensure that the case has been followed up by the relevant unit. If the situation is urgent warranting immediate child protection actions, e.g. sending an injured child to the hospital for examination/requesting police intervention for protecting a child, actions may first be taken before reporting to the unit responsible for the “known case”/FCPSU. If schools are only seeking advice from social workers of FCPSU by telephone, they are not required to complete the Report Form.
f. While a report of a suspected child maltreatment case is made by the school to a unit responsible for the “known case”/FCPSU/Outreaching Team of SWD, the school should also discuss with the social worker of the unit/FCPSU/Outreaching Team of SWD on whether immediate actions are to be taken to protect the child. Designated personnel should also inform the parent(s)/guardian(s) about the report. However, if the parent(s)/guardian(s) is/are involved in the child maltreatment, the
necessary for the school to contact the parent(s) /guardian(s) during the assessment, advice or assistance may first be sought from the social worker of the unit concerned/FCPSU regarding the handling approach.
g. If the school considers that the student is in need of medical service, arrangement should be made for the student to undergo medical examination/treatment in a public hospital. FCPSU may also assist in contacting Medical Co-ordinator on Child Abuse of the Hospital Authority so as to arrange for admission of the child into a hospital for medical examination. If necessary, police assistance may be sought.
h. In circumstances that suggest a criminal offence may have been committed, the case should be reported to the Police to protect the safety and interests of the student concerned. Under no circumstances should the student suspected to have been maltreated be required to make a report in person at a police station. In non-urgent cases, the school may complete the Report Form at Appendix 7 and Written Dated Notes at Appendix 8 of the aforesaid circular for reporting the case to the Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU) and for the Police to arrange for investigation by a suitable unit. FCPSU may assist in forwarding the Report Form to CAIU.
i. If the case is serious, or if the personal safety/life of the student is under threat and instant action has to be taken (e.g. serious physical abuse), the school has to call the Police for reporting the case as soon as possible. Concealing the incident or delayed report may pose safety threat to the child concerned or other people. In addition, if the school personnel is suspected to be the alleged perpetrator, the school concerned should consult FCPSU and work out together proper ways of handling as early as possible. The school is required to remain impartial and avoid any conflict of interests/roles.
or prevention of crime or the prevention, preclusion or remedying (including punishment) of unlawful or seriously improper conduct, or dishonesty or malpractice, and the application of the provisions of Data Protection Principle 3 would be likely to prejudice the above-mentioned purposes.
j. The designated personnel involved should adhere strictly to the principle of confidentiality in the course of handling the suspected child maltreatment cases. The information collected with regard to the suspected maltreatment incidents should be shared on a need-to-know basis with relevant parties concerned (e.g. principal, the responsible social worker and the Police) as soon as possible.
k. All records should be kept centrally by the principal/designated personnel. Access to these records within the school must be restricted and recorded. On no account should these records be kept with the general records of the student concerned.
l. A Multi-Disciplinary Case Conference on Protection of Child with Suspected Maltreatment (MDCC) will be convened by the unit responsible for child protection investigation so as to formulate a follow-up plan for the student concerned. The school personnel concerned should attend the MDCC and prepare a written report for facilitating discussion in the conference.