Acting Secretary for Education Officiates the 20th Caring School Award Scheme Forum

Date: 17/05/2025

• Over 800 schools participated in the scheme over the years.

• Research proves that a caring culture can enhance the well-being of students and teachers.

 

The Caring School Award Scheme, organised by Hong Kong Christian Service (HKCS), has reached its 20th anniversary, with a cumulative participation of 858 schools, representing about 45% of all schools in Hong Kong, to promote a caring culture on campus and enhance the mental health of students and teachers. HKCS held the 20th Anniversary Award Ceremony and Forum today, with Sze Chun-fai Jeff, Acting Secretary for Education, as the officiating guest. At the event, HKCS also released the research results about the scheme. Chak Tung-ching Yvonne, Director of HKCS and Ho Yuk-fan, Chairperson of the Hong Kong Association of Careers Masters and Guidance Masters, along with teacher and student representatives, engaged in the forum discussion on building a sustainable campus caring culture.

 

 

Caring Culture Helps Students Grow Happily and Connect with Society

The research conducted from January to March 2025 surveyed 846 students and 311 teachers through questionnaires, including 606 people from 18 schools that had participated in the scheme and 551 people from 18 schools that had never participated in the scheme, using the 'Subjective Happiness Scale' and 'Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness'.

 

Results showed that pre-primary students, primary students, and teachers from schools that had participated in the scheme reported higher levels of happiness than those from schools that had not participated in the scheme. Similarly, secondary students from participating schools demonstrated higher levels of connectedness with different groups, such as friends, family, and school, than non-participating schools. High connectedness helps reduce risk behaviours such as drug use, alcohol abuse, truancy, and violence. The research further found that the more actively schools participated in the scheme, the higher the happiness and connectedness of their teachers and students.

 

Research	Schools that had participated in the scheme	Schools that had never participated in the scheme
Happiness (Full score: 7)
Pre-primary and Primary 1-3 Students	5.9	5.8
Primary 4-6 Students	5.3	5.0
Teachers	5.4	5.1
Connectedness (Full score: 5)
Secondary Students	3.6	3.3

 

 

Continuous Participation in the Scheme Earns Commendation

Since 2005, the Caring School Award Scheme has used 'BLESS' as its assessment criteria, namely Belief, Leadership, Environment, Support, and Sharing, encouraging participating schools to promote a caring culture comprehensively. This year, the scheme introduced the 'Continuing Care Award' to recognise the long-term participating schools. LST Leung Kau Kui Primary School (Branch), which has won three theme awards and three merit awards, received the 'Sustained Care Supreme Award', while 17 other schools received the 'Continuing Care Award' for participating in the scheme for 19 years.

 

Principal Lau Tit-mui of LST Leung Kau Kui Primary School (Branch) shared, 'We firmly believe that a happy and healthy campus begins with a caring culture. We have always focused on students' growth needs, implementing various measures such as the "Treasury of Growth Scheme" which uses "gem missions" to stimulate learning interest, nurturing students' language skills, future skills, values and healthy living, and using innovative rewards to promote growth and teacher-student connections. The caring culture makes students feel safe and accepted, builds trust between teachers and students, and fosters acceptance of people from different backgrounds and cultures.'

 

Chang Yan-chai, a Form 6 student from 'Continuing Care Award' winner CCC Kwei Wah Shan College, once experienced stomach problems due to exam pressure and even felt afraid to the point of leaving the exam venue. At that time, the school proactively understood his needs and proposed adaptive methods, such as replacing oral reports with written reports, flexibly adjusting class times according to his learning needs, and maintaining communication with parents and social workers to support his learning and emotional needs. Yan-chai said, 'I feel the school is full of care and humanity. I also feel the trust and understanding from teachers, which gives me more confidence to face challenges in my learning journey.'

 

Chak Tung-ching Yvonne, Director of Hong Kong Christian Service, said, 'The number of schools participating in the Caring School Award Scheme has increased by five times over the past 20 years, reflecting the scheme's recognition by the education sector and its success in creating a caring campus. In recent years, we have been very concerned about students’ mental health and hope that the next generation can maintain physical and mental well-being while learning. The Education Bureau has been promoting the "4Rs Mental Health Charter" since last year, advocating that students need proper rest, relaxation, relationship building, and resilience enhancement. Our scheme responds to this charter and works with the Education Bureau, schools, and various sectors to promote a sustainable caring culture.'

 

In addition to the 'Continuing Care Award', 366 schools received the 'Caring School' honour in the 20th Caring School Award Scheme. After comprehensive assessments by the adjudicators, the winners for the 'Connecting each other, Showing mutual Love' theme awards are as follows:

 

Pre-primary Unit	Primary School	Secondary School	Special School
Hong Kong Ling Liang Church Sau Tak Kindergarten (Campus 2)	GCCITKD Cheong Wong Wai Primary School	Carmel Alison Lam Foundation Secondary School	Caritas Jockey Club Lok Yan School
*Another 12 schools received merit awards, and 7 schools received the 'Most Potential Award'.

 

 

Encouraging the Education Sector to Establish Caring School Policies

HKCS advocates for the inclusion of caring school policies in regular systems to enhance the well-being of students and teachers in the long run:

 

1. Establish Sustainable Caring School Policies

• Schools should develop long-term policies to ensure the continuous implementation of caring school measures, with regular reviews to adapt to the changing needs.

 

2. Encourage Schools to Participate in the Caring School Award Scheme

• Regular exchange and recognition are key factors in successfully establishing a caring culture. Schools’ participation in the Caring School Award Scheme involves both teachers and students, rooting the caring culture on the campus.

 

3. Promote Student Participation to Build a Caring Campus Together

• Encourage students to collaborate with teachers, parents, and the community to design and promote caring activities, enhancing their sense of belonging to the school and community, and jointly creating a caring campus.

 

 

Winners of the Caring School Award Scheme (Chinese only)

 

For media enquiries, please contact:

Ms Ivy CHUNG, Service Supervisor, School Social Work Service, HKCS (Tel.: 2389 4242)

Mr Don CHENG, Assistant Manager(Public Relations), HKCS (Tel: 2731 6263 / 9356 1041)