District governance: Scheme helps ease parental pressure

December 1, 2024

Alleviating stress:

Schools participating in the School-based After School Care Service Scheme offer various activities, including sports for students after helping them complete their homework.

Stronger bonds:

Parent Mrs Chan (right) has a closer relationship with her daughter after joining the scheme as they no longer argue over homework.

Learning support:

Beryl Chan (left) used to struggle with her English homework, but her mother (right) says her grades improved after joining the scheme.

Helping grassroots:

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Chief Executive Officer Patricia Lau says schools support the scheme as it not only helps improve students’ physical and mental health, but alleviates the pressure on parents.

District governance: Scheme helps ease parental pressure

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Voiceover:

These kids are having fun after a long school day as they have finished their homework early under supervision. 

This school in Kowloon City is participating in the School-based After School Care Service Scheme, which allows students in need to stay after class for extra care and learning support.

As such, students assembled in a classroom to complete their homework first before joining various activities.

Beryl, a Primary 4 student is among them.

Her mum, Mrs Chan, has three children. Except for the eldest son who is studying in secondary school, she has to supervise Beryl and her little brother, who is also in primary school, as they do their homework.

Mrs Chan (Translation):

I sometimes lose my temper with them easily over homework. In addition, I want to get a job to ease our financial burden.

Voiceover:

Thanks to the help of the scheme, Mrs Chan was able to get a job as a manicurist. She can also enjoy quality time with her kids since she no longer has to worry about assisting them with their homework.

Student Beryl Chan (Translation):

My English skills are poor and I had no one to ask for help. So I would often skip a lot of my homework and make mistakes as a result. Before joining this scheme, I had to stay up late at night to wait for my dad to come home and help me with such homework.

Mrs Chan (Translation):

Their grades are improving now that they have more time to study after finishing their homework at school.

We have also become closer given there are no more conflicts over homework.

Voiceover:

The Government strives to enhance the efficacy of district governance with the goal of strengthening people’s sense of fulfilment.

In order to support parents in need, the Government launched the School-based After School Care Service Scheme, which is subsidised by the Community Care Fund, in the 2023-24 school year to provide targeted support for underprivileged families.

Following an overwhelming response, the scheme has been expanded to cover over 110 primary schools in 18 districts in the 2024-25 school year, assisting over 5,000 students.

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council is one of the non-governmental organisations responsible for operating this care service. Under the expanded scheme, it provides over 650 service places in 19 primary schools. 

The council’s Chief Executive Officer Patricia Lau pointed out that the scheme relieves parental pressure and allows parents to work to improve their income.

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Chief Executive Officer Patricia Lau:

The target beneficiaries for the scheme are needy grassroots families. Over 90% of the Welfare Council’s target are from low-income families. Amongst them about 20% are from single-parent families and 30% require special education needs.

The scheme provides 365 days of care and learning support service a year. On school days, students can stay after school. (Their) daily schedule would be divided in two sessions. The first session would focus on completing homework, and the second session would be activities including sports, social skills, self-care, confidence-building, and resilience skill training, etc.

Voiceover:

Mrs Lau also noted that schools which have participated in the scheme have received positive feedback. This is why the council believes the scheme has had the intended effect on students and their parents.

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Chief Executive Officer Patricia Lau:

Schools appreciated that the scheme can indeed alleviate the stress of needy families, especially single-parent families; allowing parents, particularly mothers, to find a job and eventually improve the financial burden of the household. 

For students with special education needs, the scheme has greatly alleviated the parenting pressure, allowing more quality parent-child interaction and supporting students' development.

Voiceover:

According to the questionnaire distributed by the council, parents generally appreciated the scheme’s effectiveness and some of them have been able to find a job after joining the scheme.

One of the many challenges parents face is supporting their children with homework.

One of those parents is mother of three, Mrs Chan.

Except her eldest son who is now in secondary school, she has to take care of her daughter and youngest son who are in primary school, with their homework. Keen to rejoin the labour market to ease the family's financial burden, she found support from the School-based After School Care Service Scheme.

Targeted support

The Government is committed to enhancing the efficacy of district governance, including boosting support for parents, with the goal of strengthening people’s sense of fulfilment.

In the 2023-24 school year, it launched the School-based After School Care Service Scheme under the Community Care Fund. The scheme allows students in need to stay after class for extra care and learning support.

Following an overwhelming response, the Government launched a one-year extension of the scheme in the 2024-25 school year, covering over 110 primary schools in 18 districts and benefiting more than 5,000 students.

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council is among the non-governmental organisations responsible for operating the care service. Under the expanded scheme, it provides over 650 service places in 19 primary schools.

Classroom guidance

Mrs Chan's daughter, Beryl, is a primary 4 student at Sheng Kung Hui Holy Cross Primary School, which has joined in the scheme. She admitted struggling to turn in her homework and making a lot of mistakes as her English skills were not strong enough.

“Before joining this scheme, I had to stay up late at night to wait for my dad to come home and help me with such homework.”

She is now able to complete her homework under the guidance of instructors every day before going home, which also gives her more time to study at night. Mrs Chan noticed her daughter's grades improving, which in turn helped their personal relationship as there is no more conflict over homework.

While the children enjoyed their time in school after class, Mrs Chan was able to secure a job, which was of great help to the family.

Positive feedback

In addition to arranging homework tutorials for students, the scheme also provides a variety of games and extracurricular activities for students.

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Chief Executive Officer Patricia Lau said that participating schools have been very supportive of the scheme, as it not only helps improve students’ physical and mental health, but alleviates the pressure on parents.

“Schools appreciated that the scheme can indeed alleviate the stress of needy families, allowing parents to find a job and eventually improve the financial burden of the household.”

She also pointed out that over 90% of the council’s target beneficiaries are from low-income families, amongst which, about 20% are from single-parent families and 30% require special education needs.

According to a questionnaire distributed by the council, parents appreciate the scheme’s effectiveness and some of them have been able to find a job after joining the scheme.