Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children (HKSPC) is delighted that, as a result of the joint efforts of the Council of Non-profit Making Organisations for Pre-primary Education (CNOPE), and the support of Social Welfare Department (SWD) and many others, a complete, fundamental reform of the critical service it provides at the Children’s Residential Home (CRH) will be undertaken over the next nine months.
“The aim of this CRH Reform Project is to be on the front edge of best practices. We shall pilot a new service model which includes improved, additional training, expanded resources, and higher staffing ratios. A new CRH leadership team, including a new Superintendent, Loretta Cheung, who commenced work on 16 March, will assume full responsibility for reforming the management of the Home under the leadership of Acting Director Subrina Chow and the CNOPE Project Manager,” said Robin Hammond, Chairman of the volunteer Executive Committee of HKSPC.
“Today, we welcomed to CRH 30 experienced Child Care Professionals and Child Care Workers (CCWs) seconded from 14 member NGOs of CNOPE. Over the next nine months, we expect to see a revamping of manpower structure, children’s daily routine and educare programme as well as front-line workers deployment and multi-disciplinary collaboration. I stated at the end of January that we would build back better in CRH. Together with CNOPE and its members, we are doing so,” continued Robin.
The CRH Reform Project will also involve CNOPE’s partners, professional organisations and institutions including the Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education (YCCECE), Department of Childcare, Elderly and Community Services of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Sha Tin), (CECS of IVE), and the Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association – Hong Kong (PECERA-HK). The ultimate goal of the Project is to rebuild the leadership, management philosophy, morale, and most importantly, the quality of educare services provided.
The seconded CNOPE team will work side-by-side with the almost completely new CRH team of frontline CCWs who have joined the Home only in the last couple of months.
“The CRH incident is a heartbreaking tragedy to both the children of the Home and the pre-primary services sector. Members of the CNOPE have reached a consensus on offering support at this critical and turbulent time. The CNOPE Project is a novel attempt galvanizing the collective expertise and passion of the sector. In coming together, we shall work to the best of our abilities to, through helping to reform CRH, establish a new service model of good practice having regard to local and international benchmarks for reference of the sectors,” remarked Cindy Pun, Chairman of CNOPE.
The CRH Reform Project will be founded on 4 pillars: Children-First, Management Reform, Professional Training, and Care from the Heart. A brief description of these 4 pillars is provided in the appendix to this statement.
The Reform Project is part of the Change to Improve initiative introduced by the HKSPC in response to the recommendations of the First Interim Report of the Independent Review Committee. Besides bringing in new leadership to strengthen management and reshape culture, HKSPC is also actively strengthening its committee structure, membership and processes to enhance governance and communication, ensuring that the children under its care always come first. (Ends)
Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children
31 March 2022