One-Stop Administrative Support Services to Alleviate Teacher Stress

The Hong Kong education system has undergone multiple reforms, leading to an increasingly heavy workload for teachers. Besides daily tasks such as lesson preparation, grading homework, and communicating with parents, teachers are facing a growing amount of administrative work. This includes preparing proposals, writing self-evaluations and annual work plans, and organizing subsidy documents, which significantly compresses the time available for interaction with students.

Creative Education Management Ltd., referred to as "Creative Education," provides comprehensive education management services. The company focuses on three main areas: school-based curriculum, school administration management, and counseling and support services, fully addressing the needs of schools, teachers, and students. Founders Alex Leung and Patrick Cheung highlight that Creative Education is one of the top five pioneers in the market offering these services, filling gaps within schools.

They explain, "The government funding amount correlates with student enrollment numbers. Schools with fewer students receive less funding, which limits resources for recruiting administrative staff. However, school operations still require personnel. When the ratio of administrative staff to students is 1 to 200, how can everyone's needs be met? This underscores the importance of outsourced administrative support services, allowing teachers to focus on core educational tasks and student growth."

Implementation of the "One School, One Administrative Officer" Policy

In 2019, the Education Bureau introduced the "One School, One Administrative Officer" policy ,which aimed to provide resources for public and direct-subsidy schools to hire additional administrative staff. In response, Our team introduced an administrative support service plan to assist schools in hiring administrative officers. These officers can alleviate teachers' administrative burdens by handling tasks such as creating notices, writing education fund proposals, and contacting parents.

"We shortlist the final three candidates from a pool of applicants, and the school principal conducts interviews to confirm the results. All administrative officers receive pre-employment training to fully understand their job responsibilities," they noted.

Additionally, Creative Education's consulting services further assist schools with a team of diverse professionals, including educational psychologists, accounting assistants, and event coordinators. "Our team includes passionate retired principals and education doctorates who are eager to take on advisory roles. Last year, we provided administrative services to a school in Wong Tai Sin, successfully organizing documents that typically take a year to process within five months, and designed a 50th anniversary celebration poster in just three days."

Business Arrangements to Adress Challenges

Administrative officers are responsible for making business arrangements that comply with Education Bureau regulations when handling quotations and tender procurement, as well as following up on campus improvement projects. When administrative officers are knowledgeable about product specifications and the application process, they can significantly reduce procurement time. Additionally, when the amount for campus improvement projects exceeds HKD 200,000, schools are required to seek bids from five or more suppliers.

Common issues such as peeling paint and water leakage on external walls require comprehensive inspections. Creative Education arranges for authorized personnel (AP) to conduct thorough school inspections, helping administrative officers manage tenders and project progress.

Alex and Patrick recall a particular climbing wall project at a primary school with an Islamic background located in Chai Wan. The principal had long wished to build a climbing wall to help students develop their fine motor skills, but this idea had been on hold for ten years due to a lack of willing contractors.

"The difficulty with this project was that the school is situated on Tsz Wan Shan, a high terrain area, making transportation inconvenient, and maintaining an outdoor climbing wall during rainstorms was challenging. We reached out to a construction company we had collaborated with for years and invited them to take on the project. The final result was satisfying; the students were thrilled to see the climbing wall, and we were glad to help the school resolve a long-standing issue."

Meeting the Needs of Teachers, Parents, and Students

Recently, Hong Kong has undergone curriculum reforms, especially in the Liberal Studies subject, while newly hired teachers must pass assessments on the Basic Law and the Hong Kong National Security Law. Creative Education stays attuned to these developments by organizing multiple seminars to explain policy changes and important considerations to school teachers.

In addition, Creative Education aligns its offerings with the educational development goals of schools by providing a variety of school-based curricula, including student counseling services, homework tutoring classes, and extracurricular activities, which help schools to establish annual curriculum plans for each grade level.

"Our courses are designed to progress from simple to complex and taught by specialized retired teachers. We consider the 5W1H approach—examining the “what”, “why”, “who”, “where”, “when”, and “how”. This helps us understand what parents and students want, and we also attend education fairs to incorporate new ideas," Alex explains.

He adds, "We have observed that some children rely heavily on electronic devices, leading to decreased face-to-face communication. Our personal growth education courses aim to cultivate students' interpersonal skills and foster an inclusive attitude towards embracing differences."