Regularisation of Pilot Project on Tier 1 Support Services in Kindergartens/Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres

     The Social Welfare Department (SWD) announced today (September 1) the regularisation of the Pilot Project on Tier 1 Support Services in Kindergartens (KGs)/Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres (KG-cum-CCCs) (Tier 1 Pilot Project) in the 2023/24 school year and its integration with the On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services (OPRS). 

     To strengthen support for pre-school children with special needs, the SWD implemented a 37-month Tier 1 Pilot Project in the 2020/21 school year. Early intervention services are provided for children who are awaiting assessment by Child Assessment Centres (CACs) under the Department of Health (DH), or assessed by CACs to have borderline developmental problems. 

     In view of the satisfactory results, the Government has allocated additional resources to regularise the Tier 1 Support Services and extend them to cover nearly 900 pre-primary institutions. The Services will also be integrated with OPRS, which support pre-school children with mild disabilities, to offer comprehensive and appropriate assistance to pre‑school children with different levels of special needs, their teachers and parents through interdisciplinary service teams under a school-based and integrated approach. 

     In preparation for the regularisation of the Tier 1 Support Services, the SWD has organised engagement sessions with different stakeholders including the Education Bureau, the DH, pre-primary institutions, service operators, parents, social workers of related service units, etc, to listen to their views, and enhance the stakeholders' understanding of the services and the service implementation arrangements. 

     The list of KGs/KG-cum-CCCs participating in OPRS is available on the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk/oprs/index_en.htm#s7). Parents interested in the service can approach these participating KGs/KG-cum-CCCs for enquiries.