29 Apr

  • For this Week

  • ESF Projects/ Commitments

  • Updates on Open Play Agreements 

  • Student Support Services

  • Hearing Screening Reschedule 

  • ESF Learning Walk Feedback

  • Updated Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

  • Update Required for Child Protection Basics Course

  • Staff Calendar

  • Old Posts

Morning all, thank you for your understanding as we work out the admin situation. We've now secured supply admins Vicky (who has been in before) and another lady named Joyce Li to help us until we have a new permanent admin.

For this Week

Monday - SSA Cathy visiting K1 LD children
Tuesday - SSA Cathy visiting K2 LD children - enhanced transition. Staff lunch meeting @ 12:00 (Autism in Girls)
Wednesday - Public Holiday (Make up non-contact on Tuesday)
Thursday - Glenealy School K2 - Y1 transition visit, Belinda Greer (meeting with Audrey)
Friday - Glenealy School K2 - Y1 transition visit

ESF Projects/ Commitments

As you know, ESF plans to focus on the Early Years Strategy, and I want to share that this piece has gained a lot of traction in recent weeks. Belinda is coming in to meet with me on Thursday to discuss aspects of this strategy, and I'm optimistic that things will move in a positive direction for our children. I'll share updates with you as soon as possible - watch this space!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, ESFC has recently initiated several working groups and initiatives. Hillside has been asked to be a part of several of these projects. As a result, we are attending more meetings than usual and might have more visitors than normal. Most of these visitors will be colleagues from ESFC of other schools. I'll keep you posted as I receive more information and dates.

I raised the EA 12-month salary at the recent kindergarten principals' meeting, and the kindergarten principals are keen to work with me on giving this important item another push with HR. The HR team told us there was some work around this a while ago, and the consultant group's preference was 10 months over 12 months. However, that exercise might have been with primary EAs rather than kindergarten. We need to build a case for the kindergarten EAs, so I will be reaching out to collate more data from you soon. 

Updates on Open Play Agreements 

  • 10:15am / 2:30pm - children and staff leave classroom
  • If you need help, call out to a colleague or close your station to find help
  • Ask children to wait on the steps, supervised by the mud kitchen colleague while other colleagues set up the outdoor areas. 
  • We all hold each other accountable and have a shared responsibility to support each other and ALL children.
  • Weather decisions: refer to the updated Open Play Weather Chart. The admin team will update daily before Open Play time. However, as we all know, HK weather can change quickly, so there could be uncertainties, such as a sudden rain shower. When in doubt, outdoor staff can decide to close outside first to be cautious. 
  • As a general guide, if the hot weather warning is up, we will shorten it to a 45mins open-play. Staff may consider incorporating an interval system for both children and adults. EAs, please feel free to swap indoor/outdoor stations. 

I found an old Open Play Agreement, which was last reviewed in 2017. Let's review this at our staff meeting on Tuesday, 14 May.

Student Support Services

Cathy McSweeny, Adviser - Student Support Services, will be visiting this week. She will be observing our learning diversity students in K1 and supporting the enhanced transition for our K2 students. Her visit will be an opportunity for her to gain a deeper understanding of the students in their learning environment. As well as to understand their current strengths and stretches and to provide advice. Please find more details about the observation process here.

Hearing Screening Reschedule 

Please note that Eed Shen, the audiologist, will be returning to see all the children who were absent during the initial screening. We appreciate your flexibility and understanding in letting them step away for a quick hearing screening :) Please find the list of children who need to be seen here. 

ESF Learning Walk Feedback

Thank you for accommodating the ESF learning walk last week. Through the lens of learning environments and transition, colleagues from Abacus Kindergarten and Kowloon Junior School were very impressed with what they experienced and gave us constructive feedback based on their observations. 

What are we doing well?

  • Staff are putting in a highly visible level of intentionality into their teaching and facilitation of learning 
  • Children's level of independence and autonomy is indicative of the well-developed structures and routines teachers have put in place
  • Children's communication skills, use of language and confidence came out very strongly in all the classrooms.
Possible considerations:
  • Considering the rich opportunities for the development of approaches to learning (ATLs) during Open Play, how might we track children's ATL progression?
  • How can primary colleagues ensure children's existing agency, self-management, and social-emotional skills are not lost when moving to Y1? Might there be ways kindergarten teachers can share strategies and scaffolds with primary colleagues? 
  • An aspiration for ESF-wide discussions about what is best early years practice (K1>Y2), looking at expectations and outcomes

What's next for learning walks?

Laura & Brenda will be going to KJS in May to observe and give feedback on their area of focus. Whilst honouring the priorities of other schools, we will always continue to advocate for children-centred, strengths-based practices in agency-rich classrooms - regardless of year level! 

Updated ESF Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

The ESF Safeguarding and Child Protection policy has been reviewed and updated. It's now published on our Policies & Compliance portal.

For an overview of what's been updated, please consult the executive summary available here.

Please note that due to the incoming mandatory reporting bill, this policy will be reviewed before the end of 2024 to ensure future compliance.

If you have any queries or comments, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Update required for Child Protection Basics Course

As part of ESF's commitment to student safety and welfare, we all need to update our Tes EduCare platform by completing the "Child Protection Refresher for International Schools" course. This three-module course includes a questionnaire at the end, and we encourage you to make use of the provided PDF resource when answering the questions.

The pass mark for this course is set at 70%, and successful completion will be acknowledged by all ESF schools where you may engage in summer work. There is no immediate deadline, but if you could kindly complete the course and send us your certificate by October 2024, it would be greatly appreciated.

Should you encounter any content that triggers difficult memories or emotions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Audrey or Laura for support.

Please feel free to contact Jaz if you need help with your EduCare login. 

Upcoming Dates

Please check our internal calendar below, as we might forget to remind everyone of odd dates. We will continue to add events to the calendar as soon as it's confirmed. Here's the full 2023/24 Calendar 


Thank you!