St. James' Settlement Belcher's Kindergarten

Both kindergartens and child care centers are organizations that provide pre-school education and care for children under the age of six. Kindergartens are for children aged three or above and are under the supervision of the Education Bureau, whereas child care centers are organizations that take care of children aged below three and are under the supervision of the Social Welfare Department. At present, only a small number of kindergartens provide full-day services. Most kindergartens only offer half-day courses, including nursery, lower and upper classes, to provide learning activities for children aged three to six. Subvented CCCs provide full-day care for children under the age of three, while other CCCs provide half-day care. 

Since September 2005, kindergartens and child care centers have been able to operate in the same premises to provide services for children aged 0 to 6 years. Previously, kindergarten-cum-child care centers subvented by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) provided full-day care and education services for children aged below six.

Parents can learn about the school's mission, education philosophy, teachers' qualifications and fees through such channels as the school's website, admission handbook, and the nursery overview on the Education Bureau's website. In addition, parents may also visit the schools in person and conduct interviews with the teaching staff to gain an in-depth understanding of the schools. The Education Bureau also conducts quality assurance inspections or assessments on some nurseries, and parents may refer to the relevant reports on the Education Bureau's website.

A quality nursery should have the following 7 characteristics:

1. Safe and hygienic school environment;
2. Inspirational and enriching learning environment;
3. A full range of facilities and sufficient learning resources;
4. Professional, ambitious and caring team of teachers;
5. Balanced curriculum design;
6. Diverse Learning Activities;
7. Emphasis is placed on the development of positive learning attitudes, good character and healthy living habits in children.

When choosing a kindergarten that offers a "biliteracy and trilingualism" program, several considerations are important. 

First of all, the development of mother tongue is more important than the learning of other languages in early childhood. Therefore, kindergartens should be selected where the mother tongue of the children is the main language of learning. Considering that most Hong Kong children's mother tongue is Cantonese, Cantonese should be the main language of pre-primary education for children to enhance their learning effectiveness.

Secondly, most kindergartens nowadays provide different forms of English and Putonghua learning activities. However, the contents of these activities should be drawn from children's daily lives and be appropriate to their mental development level. It is important that children are exposed to English and Putonghua in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere to stimulate their interest in learning.

When choosing a kindergarten, consider asking them about their language teaching methods and curriculum. Find out how they integrate Chinese, English and Mandarin into your child's daily activities and learning, and how they create a positive and fun learning environment.

It is also useful to talk to other parents and inquire about their experiences and evaluations of different kindergartens. This will help you get more practical feedback and perspectives on language teaching and learning in kindergartens.

Overall, when choosing a kindergarten that offers a "biliteracy and trilingualism" program, it is important to make sure that your child's mother tongue development is emphasized, and to understand how the kindergarten designs its language teaching and learning activities to provide an enjoyable and effective learning environment.

There is no guarantee that a kindergarten adopting a new pedagogy will be able to provide quality education, as the pedagogy itself is only one aspect of education. To assess whether a school was providing quality education, a number of factors had to be taken into account.

First of all, the philosophy of a school is very important. A quality kindergarten should have a clear philosophy and be committed to providing children with appropriate activities in a natural and pleasant environment for balanced development.

Secondly, the quality of teachers is a key factor affecting the quality of education. Teachers should possess professional knowledge, teaching skills and the ability to care for children. They should be able to utilize appropriate pedagogies and methods to guide children's learning and growth.

Besides, the resources and facilities of the school are also factors worthy of consideration. Quality kindergartens should provide appropriate teaching resources, such as teaching aids, libraries, playgrounds, and so on, to support children's learning and development.

Finally, parents should learn about the characteristics and operation of the school from a number of perspectives. This may include visiting the school, communicating with teachers and other parents, and learning about the school's teaching methods, curriculum contents, as well as children's performance and well-being, and so on.

On the whole, the selection of a kindergarten providing quality education requires a combination of factors such as pedagogy, quality of teachers, school resources and parental observation. Whether the pedagogy is innovative or not is only one of the factors. More importantly, it is important to ensure that the school's educational philosophy and mode of operation meet the parents' expectations and children's needs.

It is not possible to generalize the quality of international and local kindergartens because quality depends on a number of factors, not just the language of instruction.

International kindergartens mainly target at non-Chinese speaking (NCS) children and use NCS as the main medium of instruction. The advantage of this type of kindergarten is that it provides a language environment with English, Japanese, etc., which is conducive to children's language development and cross-cultural communication.

However, local kindergartens can also provide quality education. Local kindergartens usually use Cantonese as the main medium of instruction, which is in line with the mother-tongue environment of most Hong Kong children. Local kindergartens may also have advantages in terms of teaching curriculum, teacher quality, school resources and facilities. In addition, local KGs are better able to integrate with the local culture and community and provide an educational environment closer to students and families.

Therefore, in assessing the quality of kindergartens, parents should not compare kindergartens solely on the basis of the medium of instruction, but should also take into account the philosophy of the kindergarten, the contents of the curriculum, the teaching resources, the quality of the teachers, the school environment and facilities, and so on. The most important thing is to find a kindergarten that meets your child's needs and family values.

Kindergartens adopting "activity-based teaching" and those adopting "traditional teaching" have their own characteristics, and it is not possible to simply decide which teaching method is better because the choice of teaching method should be based on the needs and learning objectives of the children.

An "activity-based" kindergarten emphasizes the use of diverse and interesting activities and games to promote children's learning and development. This approach stimulates children's initiative and creativity and allows them to learn through participation, thereby enhancing their manual skills, cooperation and problem-solving abilities. In addition, activity-based teaching provides a relaxing and enjoyable learning environment that promotes children's emotional development and social skills.

However, "traditional" kindergartens emphasize teacher-driven knowledge transfer. This approach focuses on teacher guidance and instruction, often with more structured learning activities and formalized lesson plans. This approach may be more appropriate for children who need explicit instruction and structure, or who are taught with specific learning goals in mind.

Importantly, children's learning needs are diverse and each child has his or her own unique learning style and needs. Therefore, there is no single teaching method that can be applied to all children. Kindergartens should integrate different teaching methods according to children's developmental stages, personal characteristics and learning goals in order to provide a holistic and adaptive learning environment.

Ultimately, the quality of a kindergarten depends not only on the teaching methods, but also on a number of factors such as the quality of teachers, the resources and facilities of the school, and the participation of parents. When choosing a kindergarten, parents should consider all these factors and look for an educational environment that best meets the needs and values of their children.

Kindergarten and child care center fee programs include the following: 

• Tuition: Tuition is the cost of education paid by parents to cover the day-to-day operating and teaching costs of a kindergarten or child care center.
• Full Day Class Meal Fee: If a student is enrolled in a full day class at a kindergarten or child care center, a meal fee may be required to provide the student with a meal.
• Registration (Reservation) and Enrollment Fees: Some kindergartens or child care centers may charge a registration or enrollment fee to ensure enrollment and reserve a spot for a student.

It is important to note that kindergartens and child care centers need to have their fee items approved by the Education Bureau and should display their fee certificates and relevant approval letters in their schools.

In addition, according to the Government's requirements, kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centers should meet the necessary expenses for teaching and operation with government subsidies or include them in the scope of tuition fees without charging separate fees, including the salaries of teaching and supporting staff, rental of school premises, equipment, water and electricity charges, cleansing fees, teaching aids and postage, and so on.

The best practice is for parents to contact the specific kindergarten or child care center and ask for details of the fee items and fees so that they can understand their fee policy and related details.

• Child-centered: The curriculum should design learning activities according to children's abilities, interests and needs in order to promote their holistic development.
• Play-based: Programs should provide a balanced schedule that allows children to learn and grow through play.
• Diversified Development: Curriculum activities should promote the holistic development of children in the moral, intellectual, physical, social and aesthetic domains.
• BALANCED ACTIVITIES: The daily program should include sufficient physical education, music, art, and free-choice activities to provide diverse learning opportunities.
• WRITING NOT REQUIRED: Children in Kindergarten should not be required to engage in writing activities to avoid prematurely requiring them to practice writing.
• Mechanical transcription and computation exercises are not required: Children should not be required to mechanically transcribe content or perform repetitive computation exercises.
• Do not require memorization of English vocabulary: Children should not be required to learn English words only through rote memorization.
• Do not assess performance on the basis of mimeographs, tests or examinations: Children's performance should not be assessed solely on the basis of mimeographs, tests or examinations, but should be considered in the context of their development in a number of areas.

The Kindergarten Education Scheme (KES) is a scheme implemented by the Hong Kong Government since the 2017/18 school year. Participating kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centers must meet three requirements:

1. Non-profit organization;
2. Offers a comprehensive range of local courses;
3. Quality assessment through the Education Bureau.

The annual fee ceilings per student in the participating KGs in the 2023/24 school year are set out below:

Half-day: $11,280;
Full-time or long-time full-time: $29,330;
These fee ceilings mean that participating kindergartens cannot exceed these amounts when setting their school fees.

If you have further questions about the details of the program, you can visit the Hong Kong Education Bureau's website (https://www.edb.gov.hk/tc/edu-system/preprimary-kindergarten/free-quality-kg-edu/index.html) or call 2891 0088 for enquiries.