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EDUCATION BUREAU CIRCULAR MEMORANDUM NO. 18/2022
From : Permanent Secretary for Education To : Supervisors and Heads of Kindergartens, Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres and Schools with Kindergarten Classes Joining the Kindergarten Education Scheme
Ref. : EDB/(KGA2)/GRT/4/1 Pt.1
Date: 25 January 2022
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Kindergarten Education Scheme One-off Parent Education Grant
Summary
The purpose of this circular memorandum is to inform kindergartens, kindergarten-cum-child care centres and schools with kindergarten classes (collectively referred to as “KGs” hereafter) joining the kindergarten education scheme (“Scheme”) of the details about the One-off Parent Education Grant.
Background
2. The Government has implemented the Scheme starting from the 2017/18 school year. A major focus of the Scheme is to promote parent education. In this connection, the Education Bureau (“EDB”) rolled out a parent education framework at kindergarten stage1 in the 2018/19 school year, and encourages KGs to draw reference from the framework in organising school-based or joint school parent education programmes. The EDB has also commissioned tertiary institutions to organise territory-wide parent education talks annually with reference to the framework to enhance parents’
understanding of learning characteristics and diversity of children at KG stage, and promote positive parenting for children’s healthy and happy development. In addition, in accordance with the recommendation of the Task Force on Home-School Co-operation and Parent Education, the EDB has commissioned a tertiary institution to develop a curriculum framework on parent education applicable to kindergarten stage. The Curriculum Framework on Parent Education (Kindergarten) (“Curriculum
1 With the focus on “Roles of parents with children at KG age”, the framework covers three major domains: (1) Learn more about quality KG education; (2) Understand children’s growth; and (3) Respect children’s uniqueness, and eight themes: “Choose a quality KG”, “Curriculum promoting children’s balanced development”, “Home-school co-operation”,
“Interface between KG and primary education”, “Children’s developmental and learning characteristics”, “Success is not determined at the scratch line”, “Learner diversity of children”, and “Do not compare children with each other”.
Framework”)2 which includes four core strands: “Understanding of Child Development”, “Promotion of Healthy, Happy and Balanced Development of Children”, “Promotion of Parents’ Physical and Psychological Well-being” and “Fostering Home-school Co-operation and Communication” was published in September 2021. KGs are encouraged to make reference to the Curriculum Framework in designing relevant programmes and activities, so that parents can learn in a more systematic manner the necessary knowledge and skills for nurturing their children.
3. On the other hand, the EDB commenced a review on the implementation of the Scheme in mid-2019. The scope of review includes parent education. The review was completed and the relevant report was released in August 2021. One of the enhancement measures is to support KGs in strengthening parent education.
Details
4. In this regard, the EDB will provide Scheme-KGs with a one-off Parent Education Grant (“the Grant”) to help schools kick start structured school-based parent education programmes. In addition, the EDB will also provide Scheme-KGs approved with the Grant a one-off additional grant to encourage KGs to set up a designated webpage “Resources for Parents” on their school websites to disseminate parent education information and recommend quality parent education programmes (if applicable). Individual KGs having set up the designated webpage “Resources for Parents” in their existing school websites can deploy the grant to enhance the design and the contents of the webpages.
All KGs joining the Scheme in the 2021/22 school year are eligible for application. The rates of the grants are as follows:
(i) $80,000 will be provided to each successful applicant KG to organise parent education programmes;
(ii) If Scheme-KGs have established a Parent-Teacher Association (“PTA”) or undertake to form a PTA by 31 August 2024, an additional grant of $10,000 will be provided;
(iii) An additional grant of $10,000 for setting up a designated webpage “Resources for Parents” or enhancing the existing webpage “Resources for Parents” on their school websites.
KGs successfully applied for $80,000 will be simultaneously approved with an additional grant of
$10,000 to set up the designated webpage “Resources for Parents”. In other words, each successful applicant KG will be approved with $90,000 ( grants (i) and (iii) ) or $100,000 ( grants (i) to (iii) ).
Grants (i) and (ii) can be merged to facilitate KGs in kicking off and organising parent education
2 The newly-developed Curriculum Framework on Parent Education (Kindergarten) has been uploaded to the EDB’s
“Smart Parent Net” website: https://www.parent.edu.hk/article/framework_kg
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programmes from the 2021/22 to 2025/26 school years. Learning from the experience gained through the process, KGs and teachers are able to enhance their professional knowledge and skills in this regard.
The “Resources for Parents” also helps cultivate the culture of positive parent education. Schools are advised to capitalise other resources (such as Quality Education Fund) to enhance parent education in an appropriate manner.
5. To support KGs in implementing structured and quality school-based parent education programmes, the EDB has liaised with tertiary institutions and school sponsoring bodies (“SSBs”) with experience in organising parent education programmes to design and deliver structured parent education programmes for KGs. To facilitate KGs in contacting relevant tertiary institutions and SSBs direct to procure professional services, the EDB will provide the contact information of the tertiary institutions and SSBs on the EDB website (Home > Education System and Policy >
Kindergarten Education > Kindergarten Education Scheme > Circular > One-off Parent Education Grant) in February this year. We encourage collaboration among tertiary institutions, or collaboration between tertiary institutions and non-governmental organisations. We also encourage SSBs to provide parent education programmes for procurement by KGs not under their purview.
Principles for the Use of Grants
Parent Education Grant
6. Successful applicant KGs can deploy the Parent Education Grant to procure services from service providers (not limited to the tertiary institutions and SSBs mentioned at paragraph 5 above), to provide parent education programmes for them. To ensure the quality of the services, KGs are required to observe the following principles in selecting service providers:
(i) The parent education programmes must align with the concepts and principles of Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide and Curriculum Framework on Parent Education (Kindergarten);
(ii) The parent education programmes should be conducive to positive values and attitudes of parenting so as to nurture and healthy growth of children;
(iii) KGs should procure structured and quality programmes through suitable modes of delivery, such as talks, workshops, seminars or online programmes, to cater for their school-based needs, and avoid from using a large portion of the Grant to run a single programme; and (iv) Programme contents should comply with the prevailing government policies and abide by
the laws of Hong Kong, including but not limited to the Basic Law and National Security Law.
7. If KGs procure professional services from other service providers, they should fulfil the following requirements:
(i) be a non-profit making organisation and exempted from tax under Section 88 (Cap 112) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, and
(ii) (a) have proven experience in providing parent education programmes for KGs; or
(b) provide speakers with relevant expertise (e.g. medical practitioners talking about children growth, educational psychologists talking about emotional support to children, etc.) and proven experience in providing parent education programmes for KG parents.
8. To allow flexibility for KGs to organise school-based parent education programmes, KGs may deploy not more than 20% of the Parent Education Grant to procure services from individual speakers or experts. KGs should observe the principles at paragraph 6 above, and relevant speakers should meet the requirements as set out at paragraph 7 (ii)(b) above.
9. In deploying the Grant, taking into consideration the actual situation of schools or the benefit of cost-effectiveness, KGs may collaborate with other KGs, (for example, forming clusters with other KGs under their SSBs or KGs in the vicinity) to jointly organise parent education programmes. One of the KGs in the cluster should be responsible for carrying out the procurement exercise and the co- operation details should be agreed among all KGs concerned. Apportionment of expenditure could be based on the proportion of planned number of participating parents of individual schools. Each KG should pay to the service provider/individual speaker/expert separately in accordance with the apportionment ratio of expenditure specified in the agreement. However, transfer of funding from one KG to another KG for payment is not allowed.
“Resources for Parents”
10. Successful applicant KGs should set up a designated webpage “Resources for Parents” in their school websites. The webpage should be an open platform to share parent education information, for example:
disseminate parent education information, such as useful tips on effective parenting and learning points from experts’ talks and workshops;
share reference materials / PowerPoints / video clips of these talks and workshops, subject to consent of the speakers and proper handling of copyright issues;
serve as a platform to gather parents’ sharing of their learning points and reflection upon participating in the parent education programmes;
recommend quality parent education programmes according to parents’ feedback, teachers’ observation and professional evaluation; and
publish parents’ articles on reflection, experience of practices after attending the talks / workshops.
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11. The Parent Education Grant should not be used to cover items beyond parent education programmes or the designated webpage “Resources for Parents”, such as:
(i) purchase of furniture and/or equipment;
(ii) employment of additional school staff;
(iii) parent activities organised in the modes of social gathering, outing or performance; or (iv) expenditure on refreshment during the parent education activities, etc.
The above list is by no means exhaustive and KGs should prudently deploy the grant(s). KGs should also ensure the appropriateness of the content of information posted on the designated webpage
“Resources for Parents”.
12. KGs are required to follow the procurement procedures as stipulated in the Guidelines on Procurement Procedures in Kindergartens issued by the EDB when deploying the above grants.
Monitoring
13. KGs should play their roles as service users in monitoring the procured programmes to meet the requirements as stipulated at paragraphs 6 and 7. Schools should arrange teachers to participate in all programmes together with the parents to understand and monitor the implementation of the programmes (e.g. the contents, the mode of delivery, responses of parents, etc.) KGs are also required to evaluate the effectiveness of the programmes through means such as questionnaires and parents’
survey. Should the contents of the programmes deviating from the requirements at paragraph 6 are found, KGs should request service providers/individual speakers/experts for immediate rectification and consider termination of the service contract(s) for serious cases. In this regard, KGs are reminded to document such terms and conditions in their quotation document(s) and contract(s).
14. The EDB encourages KGs to perform analysis on school-based needs, make plan for parent education accordingly, evaluate the effectiveness of the programmes and make amendments as necessary. To facilitate KGs in planning parent education programmes in a more effective and structured manner, the EDB will provide relevant templates on the EDB website for KGs’ reference in due course.
Application Procedures
15. Scheme-KGs are required to complete and submit the application form (Annex) by post or by fax to Kindergarten Administration 2 Section on or before 4 February 2022 (Address: Room 1432, 14/F, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong; Fax: 3579 4010). The
application form (Word format) can be downloaded from the EDB webpage (Home > Education System and Policy > Kindergarten Education > Kindergarten Education Scheme > Circular > One-off Parent Education Grant).
Disbursement and Accounting Arrangements
16. The above grants are provided on a per-school basis, i.e. application by school registration.
A Scheme-KG, regardless of the number of its registered locations under the same school registration, will be counted as one eligible KG.
17. Applicant KGs will be informed of the application results by late February 2022 and the above-mentioned grants will be disbursed in March 2022. KGs are required to use the grants(s) on or before 31 August 2026. KGs can top up the grant(s) with the portion of the basic unit subsidy for other operating costs (i.e. generally known as the 40% portion) under the Scheme or other school funds to promote parent education, so as to complement the above grant(s). However, the Parent Education Grant and the additional grant for setting up/ enhancing the designated webpage “Resources for Parents”
cannot be used in combination. KGs are required to submit to the EDB an interim report and a final report on the use of the Grant by 31 August 2024 and 31 December 2026 respectively to review the use of the Grant and evaluation on the effectiveness of the parent education programmes in a holistic manner. Templates of the reports will be uploaded to the EDB webpage in due course.
18. KGs are also required to follow the established mechanism regarding accounting procedures stipulated in Chapter 4 of the Kindergarten Administration Guide issued by the EDB, to keep a separate ledger account respectively for the Parent Education Grant and the additional grant for setting up/
enhancing the designated webpage “Resources for Parents”. KGs are not allowed to transfer the funds/unspent balance of the above-mentioned grant(s) to any accounts. All books of accounts, records of procurement, receipts, payment vouchers and invoices must be kept by KGs for accounting and auditing purposes. As a usual practice, the relevant records should be kept for a minimum period of seven years. The EDB may request KGs to provide relevant documents for examining the use of the grant(s), if necessary.
19. The EDB will claw back the unspent amount of the grant(s) as at 31 August 2026. Besides, if Scheme-KGs are subsequently identified for using the grant(s) for purposes other than specified, or are no longer meeting the requirements of being approved with the grant(s), the EDB will claw back the amount of the grant(s) approved in partial/full. In addition, should the contents of the programmes are against the requirements set out at paragraph 6 of this circular memorandum, and the KG fails to take follow up action(s), the EDB will consider clawing back the amount of the grants(s) approved in partial/ full. The KGs’ performance in this regard will be taken into account when the KGs make
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application for staying in the Scheme. Should there be any loss incurred by the KG owing to inappropriate programmes, the KG has to bear the cost, which must not be charged to government subsidies or school fees.
20. If the KG closes, is revoked of its status as a Scheme-KG, or withdraws from the Scheme by the end of the 2026/27 school year, the KG should return to the Government the amount of the grant(s) as specified by the EDB.
Resources on Parent Education
21. Starting from the 2018/19 school year, the EDB has commissioned tertiary institutions to organise territory-wide parent education talks/ workshops annually to enhance parents’ understanding of learning characteristics and diversity of children at KG stage, and promote positive parenting for children’s healthy and happy development. KGs and parents can refer to the EDB’s website “Parent Education Information at Kindergarten Stage” (EDB Homepage > Students and Parents Related >
Parents Related > Parent Education Information at Kindergarten Stage) for relevant PowerPoint slides and videos of the talks/ workshops and other parent education information:
https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/student-parents/parents-related/parent-info/index.html
22. In addition, the Smart Parent Net has been launched by the EDB to provide information on parent education to facilitate parents in accessing information about supporting children’s physical and mental development. Under the Smart Parent Net, Parent Education Activity Information Hub serves as a one-stop platform to provide parents with information on parent education programmes and activities.
23. The EDB encourages KGs to promote the above parent education resources, and leverage the above-mentioned grants to provide parents with suitable parent education programmes. This helps parents understand the holistic child development and promotes a healthy, happy and balanced child development. It also enhances parents’ physical and psychological well-being and fosters home- school communication and co-operation.
Enquiries
24. For enquiries, please contact Kindergarten Administration 2 Section at 3540 6808/ 3540 6811.
Ms Y Y SO
for Permanent Secretary for Education
c.c. Heads of Sections - for information
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Annex Kindergarten Education Scheme
Application for the One-off Parent Education Grant
To: Permanent Secretary for Education (Attn: Kindergarten Administration 2 Section)
(Please put a “√” in the appropriate boxes)
I, the Supervisor of ____________________________________________________________ (name of kindergarten), hereby confirm that our KG will -
apply for the One-off Parent Education Grant at the basic grant rate of $80,000 to organise parent education programmes and a grant of $10,000 to set up / enhance the designated webpage
“Resources for Parents”. Besides, our KG –
has established the Parent-Teacher Association (“PTA”) / undertakes to form a PTA by 31 August 2024, and hereby will apply for an additional grant of $10,000, to be deployed together with the Parent Education Grant for organising parent education programmes.
NOT apply for the One-off Parent Education Grant.
I/my school:
(1) confirm all the information provided in the application form is factually correct; and
(2) will ensure proper use of the One-off Parent Education Grant, and undertake to follow the EDB’s requirements as stipulated in EDBCM No. 18/2022 and to return the grants to the EDB as appropriate.
Name of School(Chinese)*：
Name of School(English)*：
School No. & Location No.：
(Format：xxxxxx-0001) －
Signature of Supervisor：
Name of Supervisor：
Date：
* Must be identical to the chop
Please complete and submit this form by fax or by post to Kindergarten Administration 2 Section on or before 4 February 2022
(Address: Room 1432, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong;
Fax number: 3579 4010)
School chop
