Adopting Diversified Means to Provide a Broad and Balanced Curriculum
A school operating one S1 class can apply to the EDB for adopting diversified means to provide a broad, balanced and sustainable senior secondary curriculum for the cohort of S1 students of less than two classes (and thereafter) (Note 1) when they reach senior secondary levels, taking into account their capabilities, aptitudes, learning needs and interests. The school can adopt one or more of the following means to provide students with a range of elective subjects and reasonable choice of subject combinations:
(I) Injection of Additional Resources (Note 2) (II) Collaboration with Other Schools
(III) Collaboration with Post-secondary Institutions, Professional / Vocational Bodies
1. Key Points for Assessment
(a) The curriculum provided by the school should meet the following requirements:
i. The elective subjects should cover different Key Learning Areas as far as possible, including subjects that are less popular but equally important for students;
ii. Different combinations of subjects should be offered so that students can have reasonable access to their preferred combinations;
iii. Learning time and contents of the subjects offered should be in line with the requirements and suggestions in the respective curriculum and assessment guide of each subject; and
iv. In addition to the core and elective subjects as well as Other Learning Experiences, the school should also provide students with access to Applied Learning courses to cater for their students' learning needs.
(b) The school (as well as relevant schools providing collaborative courses) should demonstrate that the teachers have the relevant expertise in the subjects to be offered. In addition, they should ensure there is a critical mass of teachers to facilitate the establishment of learning communities and teachers' professional development. The proposal submitted by the school should also include a teacher deployment plan, timetable and resource allocation plan.
(c) For School Sponsoring Body (SSB) choosing injection of additional resources for the school,
since there is a three-year lapse between the submission of the proposal and the implementation of the plans at senior secondary levels, the SSB has to provide financial guarantee to ensure the cohort of students concerned (i.e. S1 students admitted in the school year when the school is not able to operate two S1 classes) can complete the three-year senior secondary education in the same school. When that cohort of students is promoted to S3, the SSB has to provide evidence in the form of bank guarantee or bank statements to ensure that the proposal will be implemented as agreed. As the SSB has to continue to inject resources for the cohort of students, the school has to submit related bank guarantee or bank statements every year as evidence that the financial condition of the school is still sound.
(d) The school applying for operating collaborative courses should meet the following requirements:
i. Collaborative courses should normally be three-year courses starting from S4.
However, courses provided by post-secondary institutions, professional / vocational bodies lasting less than three years may also be considered on individual merits.
ii. The school should provide full justifications and implementation strategies on how the collaborative courses will dovetail with the junior secondary curriculum.
iii. The school should provide contingency measures to be taken if there is any change to the collaboration plan in order to safeguard the interests of students.
(e) The following requirements should be met for a school applying for collaboration with other schools:
i. The senior secondary curriculum of each of the collaborative schools must meet the basic requirement of being broad and balanced.
ii. The school should formulate and sign an agreement with relevant schools on the collaboration arrangement to ensure continuous operation of the curriculum.
iii. The school should ensure students can complete most of the senior secondary curriculum in their original school as far as possible. The proposal submitted by the school must state the related administrative arrangements and the feasibility of the collaboration plan.
iv. As students from different schools may take the same subjects, the schools should ensure consistency of school-based assessment standards. The schools should set out clearly the specific arrangements for cooperative learning, peer learning and project learning as well as pastoral care and monitoring of learning outcomes.
v. As student discipline problems may arise from students' attending classes at various locations, the schools should state clearly the arrangements for addressing the situation.
(f) The following requirements should also be met for a school applying for collaboration with post-secondary institutions, professional / vocational bodies:
i. The post-secondary institutions, professional / vocational bodies concerned should be well-recognised and well-established. Initial consent of continuous operation of the courses should be obtained from the collaborative partners.
ii. The courses must have been accredited by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, or by the respective well-established and well-recognised industries / trade organisations or by institutions with self-accreditation status in Hong Kong.
iii. The courses should be quality-assured with multiple articulation pathways for further studies or employment. Where appropriate, they should comprise built-in internship or practicum with clear specifications of competencies and sufficient hours for development of expected proficiencies. The vocational qualifications acquired after completion of these courses should be recognised by relevant professional/vocational bodies or linked to the Qualifications Framework.
iv. The courses are practical courses with special feature, different from Applied Learning courses. It is desirable if such courses with areas of study not covered by Applied Learning courses are provided. It may demonstrate the unique features of the courses which could attract particular groups of students or meet their learning needs.
v. The school should also demonstrate the capabilities to collaborate with post-secondary institutions / vocational organisations / the respective industries / trade organisations, for instance, past experience in collaborating with outside professional organisations for providing courses at senior secondary levels.
vi. The proposal submitted by the school must clearly state the sustainability of the
collaborative courses, the possible options for timetabling, the deployment of teachers and the specific curriculum arrangements.
vii. As the collaborative courses are different from Applied Learning courses, the school must run the courses on self-financing basis and should not impose course fees on students (if necessary, the school may collect charges from students to cover the costs of teaching materials or related sundries expenses). The proposal submitted by the schools should indicate that the courses can be run on self-financing basis without incurring any additional government resources.
viii. The school must clearly inform all the newly-admitted students and parents about the senior secondary curriculum and other operational arrangements, in particular the possible development pathways including further studies and employment after students' graduation.
(g) Regardless of which of the above means to be adopted, the school has to consult its major stakeholders (including the SSB, School Management Committee / Incorporated Management Committee (SMC/IMC), teachers and parents) in advance and obtain their consent to the proposals. In particular, students should be clearly informed of the curriculum outline / contents of the practical courses with special feature, range of subject combinations and possible pathways for further studies or employment.
2. Points to note
(a) If the application is approved:
i. The school will be allowed to operate on "class subvention mode" for the same cohort of students from S1 to S6 throughout and participate in the next SSPA Cycle with a cap of three classes.
ii. The SSB choosing injection of additional resources for the school is required to sign an undertaking with this Bureau to ensure the provision of top-up resources for offering sufficient elective subjects at senior secondary levels for students to choose from.
iii. If the diversified means to provide a broad and balanced curriculum adopted by a school include a component of injection of additional resources by the SSB or a component of providing collaborated courses, but for unforeseeable reasons, the SSB is unable to implement the financial undertaking in future as committed or the school is
unable to continue the operation of the relevant courses, the school may apply for a change in the diversified means, such as injection of additional resources by its SSB in lieu of operating the approved collaborated courses so as to provide a broad and balanced senior secondary curriculum to students. If the application is approved by the EDB, the school can continue to operate subvented senior secondary classes for the students concerned. Otherwise, the school may consider applying for the following development options:
- Merging with Other Schools - Undergoing Special Review
- Joining the Direct Subsidy Scheme - Turning into Private Schools
If the application at that time is not approved, the school may operate S1 classes on the
"per capita subvention mode" starting from the subsequent school year.
(b) If the application is not approved:
The school may still operate S1 classes on the "per capita subvention mode" starting from the school year subsequent to the year when it fails to meet the two S1 classes requirement.
However, S1 students admitted in the first school year of operating less than two S1 classes and thereafter will participate in Central Placement on completion of S3 and be transferred to other subvented schools to pursue the senior secondary curriculum.
Note 1: Unless the number of S1 classes approved of the school changes Note 2: This arrangement is not applicable to government secondary schools.
