The Executive Committee of the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children (“HKSPC”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Virginia Wilson as the Executive Director of HKSPC, effective 1 June 2026. Ms. Wilson will succeed Ms. Subrina Chow whom HKSPC thanks for her four years of dedicated service. Ms. Wilson brings to the role more than 20 years of leadership experience in childcare, education and social service sectors in Hong Kong and across the Asia Pacific region. She has achieved outstanding results advocating for at-risk children, particularly in advancing support for children with special education needs (SEN). She has championed the training of caregivers to elevate the quality of care in residential care homes and other under-resourced settings. “Virginia possesses a rare combination of operational prowess, a deep passion for the safeguarding of vulnerable children in our community, and strategic planning for growth, making her the ideal Executive Director to steer HKSPC into its centenary and beyond” said Mr. Vincent Lee, Chairman of the HKSPC Executive Committee. Hong Kong–born and fluent in Cantonese and English, Ms. Wilson is a mission-driven leader with a career-long commitment to child welfare. As CEO of the Child Development Centre for 13 years, she expanded early intervention for children with SEN in Hong Kong. Later, as COO of OneSky, she scaled caregiver training for vulnerable youth across Asia. Most recently, as COO of Rugby School Thailand, she managed operations for 1,100+ students, institutionalizing rigorous safeguarding and child-protection standards at scale. By combining complex operational expertise with a deep dedication to child advocacy, Ms. Wilson is uniquely prepared to lead HKSPC into its next century of measurable impact. -END-

In light of the recent fire incident in Tai Po, HKSPC has opened emergency occasional child care services at 16 nursery schools to support affected families by providing child care assistance:   Service period: 1-13 Dec, 2025 Service time: 8:00am-6:00pm (extended service hours are subject to each school’s individual arrangements) Service fee: free Content: Diverse play and learning activities, with meal provision School locations: click here Contact number: 3184 6663 (Ms. Wong) *Please make a reservation by phone*

We are deeply saddened by the tragic fire in Tai Po. Our hearts are with the victims, their families, and everyone in the community who has been affected. At this difficult time, the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children stands together with the community. We are here to care for and support children and families who need us most. To help families right away and in the weeks ahead, we have put the following support measures in place:   We have personally reached out to all families connected to our HKSPC Lam Woo Nursery School to share our condolences and offer help. We also offer occasional childcare services to ensure children receive timely care. Emotional recovery activities such as art-based and nature-based activities will be organised for our parents and children. Two clinical psychologists are available to provide consultations and child‑centred play therapy sessions for children in need on 27 and 28 November 2025 at our Lam Woo nursery school. Resources and simple guidelines for supporting children’s emotions have been shared through our website and school apps. We are also ready to provide emergency care for children under three through referral from the Social Welfare Department at our Children’s Residential Home. Temporary admission is open for affected children at our nursery schools across districts. HKSPC service users experiencing hardship as a result of the Tai Po fires are eligible to apply for financial assistance from the HKSPC Relief Fund.   We know this tragedy has brought pain and disruption to many lives. Please know that our team is here to walk alongside you and your children during this challenging time. If you need help or wish to talk to our staff, please contact our Child Safeguarding Support Line at 2691-0188. Together, we will continue to care for and stand with our community.   With heartfelt sympathy,Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children

Busy working parents often forget, or are too tired to, spend time staying and playing with children every day. Ms. Mary Wong, Deputy Director (Child Care & Education) of HKSPC (centre), was invited by the Child Parent Relationship Therapy Association of Hong Kong to speak at a parent-child play effectiveness sharing session on 16th October. She shared her insights with education and social services partners on the value of parent-child play. Mary highlighted that parent-child play is a process of two-way interaction between parents and children, helping parents shift from the role of “instructor” to that of a perceptive “discoverer” and a warm “companion.” Through approaches such as experiential learning and play, parent-child play can be easily applied to various everyday situations, allowing parents and children to grow side by side and fostering stronger parent-child relationships.

Ms. Flora Fok, Senior Art Educator of HKSPC, was honored to be invited as a speaker at the PECERA Annual Conference 2025, held in Shanghai from 10 to 12 July. The Conference attracted over a hundred professionals and participants from various regions and countries, all gathered to exchange inspiring ideas on early childhood education and child care.   In the Conference, Flora presented two theses, titled "Artful learning : Enhancing Early Childhood Aesthetic Education in Hong Kong through Collaboration with Atelierista" and "Bridging Aesthetic Philosophy and Pedagogy: The Role of Aesthetic Education in Shaping Curriculum Design".   HKSPC is deeply honored to have the opportunity for this valuable exchange, and we sincerely thank Flora for her dedicated efforts and contributions in her professional field. We are happy to share our insights and decades of hands-on experience in child education with a global network of experts.

The Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children(HKSPC) has recently noticed suspected fraudulent activities of group chats on instant messaging platforms, falsely claiming to be co-organising charitable events with HKSPC. The suspects have encouraged donations from the public through online payment methods under this pretense.   This is a serious matter and HKSPC would like to hereby clarify the following:   1) HKSPC has never authorised any individual or group to invite the public to join chat groups on messaging applications or social media platforms using its name. HKSPC is NOT currently organising or conducting any fundraising activities through these.   2) HKSPC only accepts donation through the online channels listed on its official website (www.hkspc.org) and the “Charity Donation” section in the AlipayHK mobile application. It has NOT established and does NOT operate any other online fundraising channels or platforms.   HKSPC takes this matter extremely seriously and has reported the case to the Hong Kong Police Force.   HKSPC is firmly committed to protecting the personal data of our service users and the general public. It warns the public against disclosing any personal information, such as online payment details, to unverified individuals or groups. It also advises against making any donations or monetary transactions through unofficial channels.   If you suspect you have been a victim of fraud, please report the incident to your nearest police station immediately so that appropriate action can be taken.   Should you have any enquiries, please contact HKSPC at 2396 0264 or email to ccd@hkspc.org.   Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children 30th June, 2025  

Our Fun Day 2025 was successfully held on 15 February at the Wadakiyama Plantation in Sha Tau Kok. The event attracted participation from 24 service units, with approximately 1,700 parents and children attending. This included our service users from Children’s Residential Home, 16 Nursery Schools, 5 Day Creches, and 2 Children and Family Services Centres.   Thanks to the funds raised from our “Little Artist”, we could sponsor parents and children to participate in this fun day, fulfilling our commitment to supporting play-themed activities.   The plantation offered a variety of exciting facilities, including grass skiing, water skiing, hand boats, high-speed slide, drift cars, and trampoline, etc. There is also an organic growing area and a hydroponic growing area, and visitors can feed goats and koi fish, allowing everybody to explore and learn in a fun way.   All parents and children enjoyed an unforgettable Saturday filled with laughter and memorable moments. We received glowing feedback from participants, who look forward to more events like this in the future.

On 19 November, 2024, the Legislative Council Panel on Welfare Services visited three service units of the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children (HKSPC), including the Children’s Residential Home (CRH), to learn about its work over the past two years.   Members first listened to a briefing from Mr. Vincent Lee, Chairman of the Executive Committee, and Ms. Subrina Chow, Director, on its services and operations. During the meeting, Chow shared the current operational challenges faced by NGOs, expressing her hope that the government would review the subsidy model, allowing our childcare centres and nursery schools to more flexibly utilise their reserves to support more children and families in need.   Members then observed the facilities and environment of CRH, as well as the Air Cargo Community Day Creche and the Children and Family Services Centre (Sham Mong Districts), to learn about its childcare and family support services.   Members exchanged views with HKSPC representatives on issues such as establishing effective regulatory mechanisms, improving service quality, strengthening staff training and further promoting a culture of child safeguarding.   Looking ahead, we will be committed to planning new services and continuing to optimise existing services to respond to the ever-changing needs of society, creating a happy childhood for children in Hong Kong.   Members who participated in the visit were the Chairman of the Panel, Reverend Canon Peter Douglas Koon, and Deputy Chairman, Ms Doreen Kong; Panel members Mr Stanley Li, Mr Kenneth Leung, Mr Tang Ka-piu; as well as non-Panel members Dr Junius Ho, Mr Edward Leung and Ms Joephy Chan.  

The HKSPC “Happy Childhoods Uplift Us All” Conference was successfully held on November 1, 2024. The event examines the three key aspects that contribute to a well-rounded upbringing: physical health, mental health, and interpersonal relationships, has attracted over 400 childcare workers, social workers, teachers and parents from HKSPC and outside HKSPC.   We were honoured to invite Mr Chris Sun, JP, Secretary for Labour and Welfare HKSAR to deliver an opening speech for the conference and have more than 10 experts given keynote speeches. They contribute a lot to children's physical and mental health development in their professional fields. We believe that all attendees can gain rich knowledge and inspiration from them.   Mr. Sun expressed his pleasure at seeing HKSPC actively implementing s series of measures to enhance service quality and organizational governance over the past two years. To support the society in monitoring childcare services, the government has appropriated money from the Lotteries Fund, allowing the society to use AI technology in surveillance cameras. The AI-equipped cameras should be in use from Mid 2025.   We also held a press conference to release the results of the "Survey on Awareness and Perception Towards Child Safeguarding," which is the first large-scale survey in Hong Kong focused on public awareness of child safeguarding. The results found that about 75 percent lacked an understanding of the issue. In the future, we will continue to strengthen public awareness and education on Child Safeguarding and work with other stakeholders to make Hong Kong a child-friendly city.   We sincerely hope that this conference can promote cooperation between different social welfare sectors, educational institutions and parents. Everyone can contribute to bringing happiness to more families and children in the community.