The HKSPC “Happy Childhoods Uplift Us All” Conference was successfully held on November 1, 2024. The event examines the three key aspects that contribute to a well-rounded upbringing: physical health, mental health, and interpersonal relationships, has attracted over 400 childcare workers, social workers, teachers and parents from HKSPC and outside HKSPC.   We were honoured to invite Mr Chris Sun, JP, Secretary for Labour and Welfare HKSAR to deliver an opening speech for the conference and have more than 10 experts given keynote speeches. They contribute a lot to children's physical and mental health development in their professional fields. We believe that all attendees can gain rich knowledge and inspiration from them.   Mr. Sun expressed his pleasure at seeing HKSPC actively implementing s series of measures to enhance service quality and organizational governance over the past two years. To support the society in monitoring childcare services, the government has appropriated money from the Lotteries Fund, allowing the society to use AI technology in surveillance cameras. The AI-equipped cameras should be in use from Mid 2025.   We also held a press conference to release the results of the "Survey on Awareness and Perception Towards Child Safeguarding," which is the first large-scale survey in Hong Kong focused on public awareness of child safeguarding. The results found that about 75 percent lacked an understanding of the issue. In the future, we will continue to strengthen public awareness and education on Child Safeguarding and work with other stakeholders to make Hong Kong a child-friendly city.   We sincerely hope that this conference can promote cooperation between different social welfare sectors, educational institutions and parents. Everyone can contribute to bringing happiness to more families and children in the community.

Since HKSPC established the “Child Safeguarding Support Line” around a year ago, the calls received were not only related to the association’s stakeholders but also to the entire Hong Kong public. Gloria Lau, our “Child Safeguarding Consultant”, shared the following impressive calls for help: 1) Divorced mother feared that her children would be abused A middle-aged divorced lady has called the hotline many times. Due to financial concerns, the custody of three children was awarded to her ex-husband. Her ex-husband married another woman, so her three children now lived with the stepmother. However, the lady suspected that the stepmother had neglected or abused her children. The eldest child had cried to the lady and even stayed at her home temporarily. The lady worried a lot and didn’t know how to help the children, so she called our hotline for help. The woman who asked for help was very emotional, so the Consultant taught her some skills to calm herself down and communicate with others. The Consultant listened patiently and referred her to relevant resources. 2) Abortion consultation for woman of advanced maternal age A woman of advanced maternal age called and consulted for her unexpected pregnancy. She worried that her family’s resources would not be able to afford and support the birth of a child, therefore she was considering an abortion. Yet, Life was not easy to come by and her husband wanted to give birth to a child. The woman wondered whether she needed to have an abortion or not. She wanted to consult someone before deciding, so she called our hotline. The consultant introduced the Day Crèches​ services of our association and other similar services in Hong Kong and comforted her that the problem could always be solved. The above help-seekers were not stakeholders of the association. They simply wanted to find help and searched on the internet, then found our hotline. In the spirit of protecting all children in Hong Kong, our consultant also listened carefully and made referrals with empathy. “I would not make direct suggestions for callers but provide relevant information and resources. I believe it is important to provide hope and listening when people are in desperate situations. ” Gloria said. The hotline has also received calls related to our association, sometimes colleagues will call to make suggestions on how to improve the services. “The colleagues’ willingness to call proves that they trust this hotline, and it is a channel for them to express opinions.” Gloria said. Besides the hotline, the “Child Safeguarding Department” also conducted many internal and external trainings to introduce child safeguarding policies and mandatory reporting mechanisms in the form of interactive workshops. HKSPC has trained more than 700 internal staff and has also cooperated with The Education University of Hong Kong to train students in Early Childhood Education, to enhance the awareness of child protection in the Association and even in Hong Kong.   Welcome to call the ” Child Safeguarding Support Line” / WhatsApp: 2691 0188 SERVICE HOURS: MONDAY TO FRIDAY 9:00AM – 1:00PM; 2:00PM – 5:00PM

Our HKSPC Child Safeguarding Academy recently held two useful staff development seminars related to laws and regulations relevant to the work of our colleagues. The first was on the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance delivered by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, and the second addressed the new Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Bill, delivered by Solicitor Mr Chong Yiu Kwong. The seminars have helped our colleagues to understand more about the regulations, as well as empowered them to act vigilantly when handling related issues. The participants included the Society’s frontline staff, social workers, school principals, teachers and management. HKSPC Child Safeguarding Academy will continue to organise and promote training opportunities in 8 training areas and support our staff to engage in various training and industry exchange, encouraging continuous professional development.

HKSPC is committed to creating and promoting a child safeguarding culture that focuses on children’s developmental needs. We recognise the importance of enhancing our colleagues’ skills and knowledge while encouraging organisational innovation. The HKSPC Child Safeguarding Academy (CSA) has been established with the goal of offering systematic and comprehensive support for professional development to our colleagues and the industry. The key objectives of the CSA are as follows: Promoting and sustaining agency-wide child safeguarding standards and best practices that focus on children’s developmental needs; Ensuring the frontline staff members are equipped with latest skillsets adequate to deliver their responsibilities properly and effectively; Building a lifelong learning culture; Establishing a platform for staff to facilitate continuous development, sharing of practices and knowledge management; and Supporting career and personal development of staff members Since its inception in January, the CSA has provided or promoted over a thousand hours of training opportunities and recorded participation of more than 200 employee-times. We appreciate the support of colleagues and their dedication to lifelong learning. To uphold a sustainable and effective training strategy, the HKSPC has invited professionals and experts from different fields to be the members of the CSA’s Advisory Panel and provide professional advice to the CSA. The Advisory Panel comprises early childhood education academics, medical doctors, psychiatry researcher and psychologists. The CSA’s training activities will cover the following eight areas: Regulations and Compliance Child Care and Education Child Development Early Intervention Family Engagement and Support Management and Leadership Other Functional and Cross-functional Competencies Staff Personal Growth and Self-care This year, the CSA’s focus for training and development is “Attachment and Play”. With the promotion and support of the Academy, colleagues have proactively participated in different training activities. In April, several employees completed the training of Circle of Security Parenting™ Facilitator, which is a widely used theory in the child care and education field, and are now a Registered Circle of Security® Facilitator. Another group of colleagues are going to pursue this qualification in June. Upon attainment of the qualification, colleagues will be able to develop projects that assist carers to meet the true needs of children, thus improving the relationship between children and the carers. Moreover, the training activities will facilitate HKSPC’s services to consolidate and strengthen the adoption of play education, helping children to explore the world under proper protection and to grow up happily. To guide colleagues towards targeted training and development opportunities, the CSA has implemented a comprehensive Continuing Professional Development Framework. In addition, HKSPC has reviewed the staff training subsidy scheme, increasing the amount of training subsidy and number of training leave day offered to staff of different job types, encouraging and offering support for colleagues to engage in continuous development. Our Child Safeguarding Consultant is delivering training on Regulations and Compliance to colleagues. Colleagues are having small group discussion on the core values of child care. Related news:CRHK: 保護兒童會成立學院 培訓員工提升照顧兒童技巧TVB News: 保護兒童會成立守護兒童學院加強員工培訓 圍繞嬰幼兒發展等範疇

On 15 May, Ms Subrina Chow, Director of HKSPC, led our group of colleagues to visit the campuses of Tung Wah College in Mong Kok and Ho Man Tin, and to discuss and exchange with the College’s President, Professor Sally Chan, Vice President (Academic), Professor David Man, and their management team. The College gave us a tour of their Early Childhood Play / Learning Laboratory, Paediatric Occupational Therapy Laboratory, Virtual Reality Laboratory and Challenge Based Learning Nursing Laboratory, from which we have gained valuable insights and experience on nurturing healthcare and early childhood edu-care professionals. As a charitable organisation dedicated to safeguarding children in Hong Kong, HKSPC looks forward to working hand in hand with our peers to improve the quality and standard of early childhood education and care services , as well as providing the best care and protection for our children.

HKSPC concluded the 9-month Reform Project at the Children’s Residential Home (CRH) last December, which laid a solid foundation for our enhanced residential child care service quality and our new child-centric caring culture. Meanwhile, we strive to keep abreast of the best standards of care, education, rehabilitation and social work services for our children and families. That is why we have established the HKSPC Child Safeguarding Academy earlier this year to provide our staff with systematic and comprehensive professional training and support to promote a child safeguarding culture centred on children’s developmental needs. We sincerely thank the following elites in the industry who have joined the Advisory Panel of the Academy: 周婉芬博士（Dr. Iris Chau） 鄭慧芬醫生（Dr. Anna Cheng） 鄭佩華教授（Prof. Doris Cheng） 葉柏強醫生（Dr. Patrick Ip） 李南玉博士（Dr. Amelia Lee） 潘麥瑞雯博士（Dr. Rachel Poon） 葉錦成教授（Prof. Yip Kam Shing） In its initial phase, the Academy is conducting training mainly for the staff of CRH and our other children service units. In future, the Academy’s mission is to extend its service in stages to the entire staff of HKSPC, professionals in the industry, child carers and, in due course, the general public, so as to share professional knowledge and experience, and contribute to the development of child educare and support for the carers. “Child Safeguarding Policy” can now be viewed at HKSPC website Furthermore, HKSPC has recently formulated the Child Safeguarding Policy. All staff members are to be trained on and strictly follow this new policy as well as the previously implemented Whistleblowing Policy. They also have to possess a valid checking code from the Sexual Conviction Record Check scheme. Both our Child Safeguarding Policy and Whistleblowing Policy have been uploaded to HKSPC’s website for public access. By progressively implementing the various reform measures, we are confident in sustaining the positive changes introduced by the CRH Reform Project, continuing to deepen and promote the new child safeguarding culture and best service standards. Ming Pao’s interview story: 保會成立守護兒童學院 統籌培訓 總幹事：童樂居完成重整「只是開始」 長遠冀支援業界

A group of volunteers from “群芳雅集”, a district service organisation of The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions in Hong Kong Island South, visited Children’s Residential Home on 5 February to provide hairdressing service to more than 30 young children. We hereby extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the volunteers for their valuable time and love for the children! The volunteers gave children fresh looks with their skilful hands. Sincere thanks to the volunteers for sharing our children with their time and skills!

Determined to learn from the devastating CRH Incident last December and to rebuild its child care service to the front edge, the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children (HKSPC) launched in March a nine-month CRH Reform Project led by the Council of Non-profit Making Organisations for Pre-primary Education (CNOPE) with guidance and support from the Social Welfare Department (SWD). The conclusion of the CRH Reform Project on 20 December is celebrated on 15 December with a certificate presentation ceremony, recognising the exceptional efforts of the new team of frontline CRH Child Care Workers (CCW) who achieved a service quality certified as satisfactory overall according to the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS, for young children) and Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS, for children aged 3 and above). ITERS/ECERS is an instrument used internationally to measure the quality of childcare setting. By guiding frontline staff and showing how well their service meets children’s needs with quality improvement goals, ITERS/ECERS helps ensure that the service is child-centric and in the best interest of the child. It is not only a structural indicator to measure the features of the classrooms, but also a process quality indicator to scrutinise the quality of care, such as that of interactions between staff and children, interactions between children and the environment, with activities and daily schedule designed to facilitate children’s all-round development. Among the CCWs proudly receiving their certificates today were members of the seconded CNOPE team and CCWs re-deployed from other service units of HKSPC, who chose, in the end, to stay at CRH to join its staff. Partners in the CRH Reform Project, including Council of Non-profit Making Organisations for Pre-primary Education, Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education, Department of Childcare, Elderly and Community Services of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Sha Tin), Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association – Hong Kong, and the Social Welfare Department, celebrated together on achieving positive change for CRH. Receiving visitors from LegCo and Executive Council We were also delighted to receive visitors from the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Welfare Services and Executive Council (ExCo) to CRH on 28 and 29 September 2022 respectively. They got a first-hand feel of the changes introduced at the Home since March, including a new educare model. Visitors were briefed on the latest operation at CRH, and taken around the facility to interact with the children and their carers. (see RTHK’s report) Members of Legislative Council visiting CRH Members of Executive Council visiting CRH New educare model to provide best possible environment to children “It has been an exceptional reform journey at CRH symbolic of and supported by the drive to build a new culture and best practice in this highly complex and challenging service unit. With the help of the industry through CNOPE and their professional partners, the new CRH team has made very substantive improvements while under intense scrutiny to ensure we provide the best possible environment for these children in need. We have introduced a new educare model that aims to incorporate age-appropriate stimulation and education for the young children under our care, many of whom have developmental disabilities or special educational needs. Underpinning this is a substantially improved staff: child ratio, from typically 1:7 to 1:5, as well as revision to our staff rostering so that the children are in familiar groups with familiar staff. With a new management team in place, and an increased emphasis on child safeguarding and staff training, we will continue to improve,” said Robin Hammond, Chairman of the Executive Committee of HKSPC. “Work is also ongoing to improve the digital platform for the Home to reduce administrative work that used to occupy CCWs and the multi-disciplinary team at CRH. The enhanced platform should help to reduce human error and associated risks. We are immensely grateful for the help offered to us through this difficult time, showcasing the collaborative power of the sector and helping to address issues for the care sector in general. The road ahead is long and sustaining the positive changes will prove every bit as challenging as introducing them. Trust is difficult to earn, and easily lost. We will continue to do everything we can to regain that of the families we serve and all our stakeholders,” continued Robin. Subrina Chow, Director, HKSPC, remarked, “Working and learning to address the multi-faceted challenges together with the CNOPE team over the last nine months have been most inspiring. We’ve seen ups and downs, cried and laughed but we’ve never given up striving to do better to safeguard our children. The frontline team now knows they are not alone, and the back office team knows they are as responsible to ensure service quality as pledged at the delivery point. I am confident our new team will continue to work and improve as one. We shall also seek to contribute to the sustainable training and professional development by sharing HKSPC’s experience in a structured, step-by-step manner.” Children’s Residential Home after Reform Project Staffing ratio: Daytime staffing ratio of child care workers to children is improved from 1:7 to 1:5, which is the highest in the industry.Work allocation: New clerical and administrative staff are hired to give necessary support to the management so that they could devote their time to frontline supervision.Collaborative groups: Same group of child care workers and social workers are assigned to the 4 different age groups, so that they can build stronger bond with the children and with one another.Monitoring: CCTV monitoring is enhanced with random daily checks by authorised staff.Staff training: Since May, both frontline and management staff have received regular training on how to provide better care and environment for children.Staff benefits: Competitive staff fringe benefits like 5-day work and fixed shift work are offered to attract applicants, with a view to maintaining the enhanced staffing ratio.Clinical support: Since June, children diagnosed with developmental disabilities have received On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services by HKSPC’s Centre of Child Enlightenment. Doctors also visit CRH 3 times a week.External communication: Close coordination with the Social Welfare Department is maintained to strengthen governance and management.Education: Children reaching suitable age are enrolled in HKSPC’s nursery schools.

HKSPC is committed to continuously improving the quality and standard of our early childhood education and care services. We also actively exchange experience with other industry players to explore collaboration in light of our diverse yet complementary advantages. On 27 September, Ms Subrina Chow, Director of HKSPC, led our group of colleagues to visit the Child Care Home of Mother’s Choice to learn from their frontline experience in residential care for young children. Later on 28 October, Mother’s Choice was also invited to visit the service building of HKSPC at Portland Street to tour our different service units, including Children’s Residential Home, day crèche and nursery school, and to share and exchange their experience with us. As a charitable organisation dedicated to safeguarding disadvantaged children in Hong Kong, HKSPC looks forward to working hand in hand with our peers to promote the best practices and standards in the industry, as well as providing the best quality care and protection for our children. HKSPC visited the Child Care Home of Mother’s Choice in Sep 2022 Mother’s Choice visited the service building of HKSPC in Oct 2022