Chapter 11
Provision of Supporting Services
INSPECTION, SUPERVISION, ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCIAL CONTROL
Child care centres and kindergartens
11.1
The inspection of child care centres is carried out by the Child Care Centres Advisory Inspectorate of the Social Welfare Department and that of kindergartens by the Advisory Inspectorate of the Education Department. There is, however, no formal machinery for effective coordination of the two services. The Government considers the establishment of a system for regular liaison between the two Advisory Inspeetorates to be essential, and accordingly recommends the formation of an inter-departmental committee to keep areas of common interest under review. Periodical joint-inspections of child care centres and kindergartens will be undertaken.
11.2
The Social Welfare Department and the Education Department will both need additional staff to carry out their advisory, supervisory and training functions.
11.3
In the case of the Social Welfare Department, staff are required for the following purposes:
11.4
(a)
(b)
to increase the Advisory Inspectorate to cope with the large number of child care centres required;
to implement the financial assistance scheme and assess families' entitlements to assistance; and
(c) to meet the enhanced training requirements for child
care centre staff.
With regard to the Education Department staff, the inspection of kindergartens is the joint responsibility of the Schools Division and the Kindergarten Section of the Advisory Inspectorate. The former is mainly concerned with the inspection of kindergartens to ensure that they operate in accordance with the provisions of the Education Ordinance. More vigorous enforcement of legislation, particularly the higher standards proposed in this Green Paper, will be required and this is being taken into account in the current review of the Education Department's administrative services.
11.5
Although no substantial expansion of kindergarten provision is anticipated, the kindergarten section of the Advisory Inspectorate will need to be strengthened as it is at present inadequately staffed. One inspector is now responsible for giving professional advice and guidance to about 1000 kindergarten classes. The Government proposes that this manning scale should be revised to one inspector for 360 classes to enable an inspector to visit a kindergarten class about four times a year. There will also be a need to pro- vide the Kindergarten Section with additional staff to organise the 12-week in-service course for qualified Kindergarten Assistants referred to in
Chapter 5.
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