Social Welfare Department

Child Care Service

Service Description

Child care service aims to support and strengthen the family and to enhance the physical, intellectual, language, social and emotional development of the children under the age of 3 years.

Majority of the child care centres receive subsidy from the Government, while others are either operated by non-profit-making organizations or private operators.

Registration, Inspection and Control

All child care centres are subject to the registration, inspection and control provided under the Child Care Services Ordinance and Regulations, which is enforced by the Child Care Centres Advisory Inspectorate of the Department.

Regarding application procedures for registration of child care centres, please download the 'Procedural Guide for Application for Registration of a Child Care Centre' here
Acrobat Document MS Word Document

The new Operation Manual for Pre-primary Institutions has been distributed in mid August 2006. The Manual is to replace the Code of Practice of Child Care Centres with effect from 1 September 2006. The Manual can be downloaded at : EDB Link

Application for registration of child care centres and other related forms can be downloaded at: Public Forms (Child Care Services)

Child care centres providing kindergarten education to children aged 3-6 in the same premise are registered and monitored by the Joint Office for Pre- primary Services of the Education Bureau. Regarding application procedures for registration of kindergarden - cum - child care centres, detailed information can be found at: EDB Link

Child care centre is operated by trained child care staff. Lists of training courses for child care supervisors/kindergarten principals and child care workers/qualified kindergarten teachers recognized by the Social Welfare Department and the Education Bureau can be downloaded here.
Acrobat Document MS Word Document

Those who are interested in including in the registration of child care worker / child care supervisor can submit application to the Joint Office for Pre-primary Services of the Education Bureau making reference to the below website: EDB Link

Types of Services

Child Care Centre

provides care and education services to children below the age of 3 years.

The list of child care centres, the fee charge and ancillary services provided including occasional child care service and extended hours service can be downloaded here :

(Acrobat Document) (Ms Excel Document)

The above list of child care centres has been updated to position as at 31.3.2008.

Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre

provides care and education services to children below the age of 6 years

The list of kindergarten-cum-child care centres, the fee charge and ancillary services provided including occasional child care service and extended hours service can be downloaded here :

(Acrobat Document) (Ms Excel Document)

The above list of kindergarten-cum-child care centres has been updated to position as at 1.3.2008.

Occasional Child Care Service
provides full-day, half-day or two-hour sessions in some child care centres for children whose carers are unable to take care of them occasionally due to various commitments or sudden engagements.

Extended Hours Service
provides in some child care centres to meet the social needs of families and working parents who need longer hours of child care assistance.

The list of child care centres and kindergarden-cum-child care centres providing occasional child care service and extended hours service can be downloaded here :

(Acrobat Document)

(MS Excel Document)

The above list of child care centres and kindergarten- cum-child care centres providing occasional child care service and extended hours service have been updated to position as at 31.3.2008.

Residential Child Care Centre

provides for children under the age of 6 who cannot be adequately cared for by their families because of various reasons such as behavioural, emotional or relationship problems, or family crises arising from illness, death and desertion.

The list of residential child care centres can be downloaded here :

(Acrobat Document) (Ms Excel Document)

The above list of residential child care centres has been updated to position as at 31.3.2008.

Special Child Care Centre

provides special training and care for moderately and severely disabled children under the age of 6 to facilitate their growth and development, helping them prepare for primary education. For detailed information of special child care centre, please visit the website:
http://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_rehab/sub_listofserv/id_specialchi/

The list of special child care centres can be downloaded here :

(Acrobat Document) (Ms Excel Document)

The above list of special child care centres has been updated to position as at 31.3.2008.

Mutual Help Child Care Centre

	aims at promoting mutual help on child care within the neighbourhood,
	is set up by non-profit-making organizations to provide care for not more than 14 babies and toddlers
	With the purpose to enhance child care support to needy families at neighbourhood level, a subsidy scheme to Mutual Help Child Care Centres has been introduced with effective from 1 January 2008. For the Mutual help child care centres joined the subsidy scheme and their mandated service hours, please refer to the following list in which the joined centres are marked with (*).
	The list of mutual help child care centres can be downloaded here: (Acrobat Document) (MS Excel Document)
	The above List of mutual help child care centres has been updated to position as at 31.3.2008.

Fees and Charges

	The fees charged by the child care centres have to be approved by the Social Welfare Department.
	Occasional Child Care Services : $64 for a full-day session, $32 for a half -day session and $16 for a two-hour session
	Extended Hours Service: $13 per hour

Operation Hours

Child Care Centres: From 8:00a.m. to 6:00p.m. (Monday to Friday) and from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00p.m. on Saturday.

Occasional Child Care Services: Same as above.

Extended Hours Service: Generally from 6:00p.m. to 8:00p.m. (Monday to Friday) and from 1:00p.m. to 3:00p.m. on Saturday.

Application Procedure

Parents may make applications for child care services at their preferred child care centres directly during office hours.

Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme

Low income families with full-day child care need can apply for Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme (KCFRS) to cover part or whole of child care centre fee from the Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA).

The Applicants may obtain application forms, guidance notes and the related application documents from the child care centres in which their children are studying / receiving care services. The child care centres will forward their application to SFAA for processing. For detailed information of KCFRS, please visit the website: http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/

Harmonisation of Pre-primary services

Harmonisation of Pre-primary services has been implemented since 1 September 2005. For details on the harmonisation of kindergarten and child care centre, please visit the Education Bureau website : EDB Link

Enquiry

Enquiry on child care centre services can be made at the Child Care Centres Advisory Inspectorate at :-
            23/F, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
            Tel. No. : 2835 2016
            Fax. No. : 2591 9113

Enquiry on child care centre co-registered with kindergarden can be made at the Joint Office for Pre-primary Services of the Education Bureau at :-
            Room 2507-09, 25/F, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen's Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong
            Tel. No. : 3107 2197
            Fax. No. : 3107 2180


2005 \| Important Notices	Last Revision Date: 23 May 2008