The Education Bureau today introduced to kindergartens, kindergarten & child care centres and schools with kindergarten classes the newly developed Curriculum Framework on Parent Education (Kindergarten).

The bureau encouraged kindergartens to make reference to the framework's four core strands in designing relevant programmes and activities.

In accordance with the Task Force on Home-school Co-operation & Parent Education's recommendation, the bureau commissioned Baptist University's School of Continuing Education to form a project team, comprising professionals in the fields of early childhood education, social work and paediatrics, to jointly develop a curriculum framework on parent education applicable to parents of children at kindergarten level.

Kindergartens can make reference to the curriculum framework, and select, arrange and design parent education activities according to the school's context.

The newly developed curriculum framework includes four core strands: Understanding of Child Development, Promotion of Healthy, Happy & Balanced Development of Children, Promotion of Parents' Physical & Psychological Well-being and Fostering Home-school Co-operation & Communication.

On Understanding of Child Development, the curriculum framework highlights the need of the parents to understand the scope, nature, processes, directions and influencing factors on child development so that they can make proper provisions in protection and care, and in fostering child development with realistic expectations.

For Promotion of Healthy, Happy & Balanced Development of Children, it points out that parents play essential roles in guiding children to achieve their full potential in cognitive functioning, physical health, mental well-being and socio-emotional and spiritual development, and the child-centred parenting approach can foster children's autonomy, initiative and creativity.

In the aspect of Promotion of Parents' Physical & Psychological Well-being, it highlights that parents' well-being and child development have a mutual influence on each other across development, and it is important to promote the physical and psychological well-being of parents.

The strand of Fostering Home-school Co-operation & Communication includes the key contents that parents should work closely with the kindergarten concerning the needs of children and also get involved in school activities in supporting their children to maximise the good impact of home-school co-operation.

To take forward the task force's recommendation, the bureau has started to develop a curriculum framework on parent education in phases for parents of kindergarten, primary and secondary school students to meet the needs of parents at each stage.

Three briefing sessions will be conducted on September 25, 28 and 30 to provide more information on the design and details of the curriculum framework to kindergartens and other stakeholders.