Following is a question by the Hon Nixie Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (June 3):

Question:

     Many parents have relayed that in most schools, the educational contents relating to child safety, prevention of school bullying and protection of private body parts are merely being formalistic, with monotonous and rigid teaching materials, which fail to effectively convey the concept of self-protection to students. Some schools have even deliberately downplayed such teaching, creating a significant gap in child safety protection. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the curricula of kindergartens and primary schools across the territory are currently required to cover teaching contents relating to protection of private body parts, prevention of sexual abuse, identification of school bullying and help-seeking mechanisms; if so, whether the authorities have established a clear curriculum framework, learning objectives, minimum teaching hour requirements and regular implementation guidelines; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) of the following information regarding the provision of the curriculum mentioned in (1) by kindergartens and primary schools across the territory over the past three school years: (i) the actual coverage rate, (ii) the number of regular teaching sessions per term, (iii) the number of professional training sessions on the relevant topics provided by the Education Bureau for frontline teachers and the number of participants in these sessions, and (iv) the proportion of schools covered;

(3) whether it has regularly assessed the effectiveness of child self-‍protection education and updated the teaching materials; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) given that children are more likely to absorb various types of knowledge through interesting modes such as nursery rhymes, animations, role-play games and interactive picture books, and it is learnt that there are a large number of teaching materials and works abroad that adopt such forms to educate children on self-protection awareness, whether the Government will formulate a dedicated resources programme to develop, in collaboration with relevant experts and organisations, self-protection teaching materials and learning kits suitable for pre-primary and junior primary school children; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(5) whether the authorities will formally incorporate "protection of children's bodily privacy" and "prevention and handling of school bullying" into the compulsory modules of induction training and continuing professional development for kindergarten and primary school teachers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(6) in view of the increasing risks of clandestine recording on the Internet, privacy leakage and online enticement, whether the authorities will add modules specifically designed for pre-school and primary school children on protecting bodily privacy online to the existing curriculum framework; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     Sex education and the prevention of school bullying are important components of values education and they are closely connected with other cross-curricular domains in values education (such as moral education, life education, law-abiding education, and media and information literacy education). The Education Bureau (EDB) continues to update curriculum guides, provide teacher training, and develop learning and teaching resources to support schools in strengthening students' understanding of sex education from an early age, reinforcing their concepts and awareness of self-protection, developing their critical thinking skills, understanding and observing the norms of interpersonal interaction, and refusing to engage in bullying behaviour through different subjects, values education within and beyond the classroom, and life-wide learning activities, and at the same time cultivating their empathy and helping them master interpersonal skills. This helps students build healthy interpersonal relationships and promotes an inclusive and harmonious school culture.

     The reply to the Hon Nixie Lam's question is as follows:

(1), (2) and (6)

Curriculum and teaching content

     The EDB attaches great importance to raising students' awareness of self-protection. Emphasis is placed on fostering students' mutual respect, and self-discipline and law-abiding attitudes, and teaching them to make informed and reasonable judgments as well as to adopt lawful, ethical, and responsible decisions and behaviours. In the school curricula, related learning elements including cherishing and protecting oneself (covering protection of one's body and private parts), prevention of sexual harassment, firm refusal to others' inappropriate behaviours, getting along harmoniously with friends, respecting others, and prevention of bullying are embedded in classroom learning across various subjects in primary schools (such as General Studies/Primary Humanities). For example, in the Primary Humanities curriculum, knowledge about the private parts of the body and ways to protect them, prevention of sexual abuse, understanding bullying and ways to deal with it, strategies for guarding against cyber traps (eg internet pornography, nude chatting and clandestine photography), and the moral and ethical use of information technology (including privacy protection), are listed as essential learning content.

     The Values Education Curriculum Framework (2026) announced in April 2026 continues to set sex education as one of the major focuses to be strengthened by schools. This provides schools with a basis for curriculum planning and helps students, from an early age, acquire accurate knowledge related to sex education, develop critical thinking and self-protection skills, reject inappropriate behaviour and unreasonable requests in both real-life and digital environments, understand and observe social norms, and know how to seek assistance from the police, relevant organisations and individuals when needed. Relevant expected learning outcomes for students are also specified for different key learning stages (eg "Be polite to others, know how to protect your own body, firmly reject inappropriate behaviours by others and seek help", "Respect others' privacy and intellectual property rights both online and in real life", "Respect your own and others' bodies, be cautious with your words and exercise self-discipline, and avoid using 'sex' and pornography as topics for casual conversation or mockery; and learn how to protect oneself").

     In addition, schools also implement sex education and education on prevention of bullying through relevant key learning areas and subjects, as well as assemblies, class teacher periods or guidance periods, to cultivate students' proper values such as respect for others, empathy, law-abidingness and self-discipline, and foster the holistic development of students' physical and psychological wellbeing. Besides acquiring relevant knowledge, students also learn the appropriate behaviours to protect themselves, practise the proper ways of interacting with others, cultivate their positive values of mutual respect, inclusion and friendship, so as to learn happily and grow healthily. Schools have all along helped students cultivate proper values, attitudes and behaviours through the learning experiences within and beyond the classroom according to schools' motto, students' cognitive and mental development, and their learning needs. As such, concepts such as lesson time and class time are not applicable.

     In the context of kindergarten, the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide recommends kindergartens to adopt a thematic approach to connect different learning areas and to design their school curriculum in an integrated manner. Learning areas such as "Physical Fitness and Health" and "Self and Society" encompass elements related to sex education and respect for others, including teaching young children the correct names of different parts of the body, ways to protect themselves and their bodies (including private parts), a basic understanding of the appropriate etiquette and behaviours in different social groups, the ability to distinguish between good contact and bad contact, and how to express their feelings through appropriate language and actions.

Teacher professional training

     The EDB has been organising teacher professional development programmes and strengthening relevant professional training for primary school teachers. The topics include "Enhancing Self-protection Awareness and Abilities among Students", "How to Prevent Cybersex Crimes and Image-based Sexual Violence", "How to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse", "Protecting Children from Online Sexual Crimes", "One-Line Communication for a Harmonious School: Fostering a Caring and Harmonious School", "Preventing and Handling of Cyberbullying", helping teachers understand current issues and enhance their professional knowledge and pedagogical skills. Over the past three school years (from the 2022/23 school year to the 2024/25 school year), the EDB has organised over 130 relevant teacher training activities for kindergartens and primary schools in Hong Kong for over 1 700 schools in total (in frequency) and around 17 500 participating teachers. The EDB also continues to organise professional development programmes related to "Protecting Children's Physical Privacy", such as "How to Plan and Implement Sex Education in Schools", including theme-based sharing sessions on "Protecting Body from Sexual Abuse", to enhance teachers' understanding of the implementation of sex education in schools.

     To tie in with the implementation of the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance, the Government has established an e-learning platform and launched "Child Protection Online Training", providing training for professionals in the education, social welfare, and healthcare sectors. As at the end of March 2026, over 67 000 professionals of the education sector have registered on the relevant e-learning platform.

(3) and (4) The EDB has been monitoring and reviewing the implementation of sex education (including strengthening education on children's self-protection) in schools, including the effective use of the learning and teaching resources provided by the EDB through channels such as inspection, school visits and routine communication with schools. The EDB also regularly reviews and updates resources based on school feedback as well as the sector's views collected from various channels (such as committees under the Curriculum Development Council). Experts, relevant government departments and organisations are also invited to provide professional advice on the resources.

     The EDB continuously updates and develops relevant learning and teaching resources tailored to the daily life and developmental needs of students, covering topics such as self-protection, rejecting inappropriate behaviours by others, preventing sexual harassment, co-creating a harmonious school, anti-bullying, to support schools in fostering students' proper values and attitudes. Some examples of learning and teaching resources are as follows:
 

• The learning and teaching resources for kindergartens include audio stories, presentation slides on stories and a variety of games, covering topics such as respecting others, understanding the body, and self-protection, etc; 

 

• The learning and teaching resources for primary schools include animations, lesson plans on "Life Event" and a dedicated resource webpage on "Self-protection", covering themes such as gender equality, prevention of sexual abuse, sexual harassment among peers and internet romance/nude chatting; resource packages on the themes of "Co-creating a Harmonious School", "Co-creating a Harmonious School - Stop Bullying" and "Co-creating a Harmonious School-Anti-bullying Day/Week", encouraging schools to devise a zero tolerance policy on school bullying and adopt different preventive strategies; and

 

• Primary Humanities "Little Seedling Tells You Series: Sex Education".

     The EDB has helped the Hong Kong Police Force promote the "Youth Crime Prevention Booklet" and "Child Protection Comic Book Series" through the EDB circular memoranda, and compiled the learning and teaching resource list to set out the related resources produced by other government departments and non-governmental organisations for teachers' reference and use within and beyond the classroom. The above learning and teaching resources have been uploaded to the EDB webpage.

(5) The EDB attaches great importance to the professional quality of teachers and is committed to enhancing teachers' professional competence through diversified professional development programmes and activities. The EDB has strengthened pre-service training for prospective teachers and have developed a guiding framework for teacher education programmes with teacher education universities, incorporating elements that promote the healthy growth of students. In addition, the current core training for in-service teachers covers two major categories, namely "Teachers' Professional Roles, Values and Conduct" and "Local, National and International Education Issues". "Prevention of School Bullying" falls under the category of "Local, National, and International Education Issues". Schools can arrange relevant professional development activities for teachers according to their circumstances to enhance their knowledge and ability to prevent, identify and handle school bullying. To further enhance schools' capacity to prevent and handle school bullying, the EDB continues to organise certificate courses on student guidance, courses for newly recruited student guidance personnel, and other related teacher training programmes, covering content related to school bullying. 

     As for kindergartens, pre-service training courses for kindergarten teachers are designed to equip prospective teachers with knowledge, skills, and professional conduct to fulfill their professional responsibilities in education. Tertiary education institutions offering approved pre-service early childhood education training courses should plan and adapt their curriculum content in accordance with the guidelines of the EDB and in response to social concerns, development trends, and children's needs. Currently, pre-service training courses for kindergarten teachers in tertiary education institutions cover topics such as caring for children's physical and mental development, health and safety, preventing and handling suspected child abuse cases, identifying children's needs early, and making effective interventions. These courses aim to empower teachers to foster children's learning in safe environments and provide timely and appropriate care.

     To effectively implement sex education, prevent school bullying, cultivate students' proper values and enhance their awareness of self-protection, in addition to school education, the impacts of family education, social atmosphere and cyber culture on children and youth should not be neglected. It certainly requires the concerted efforts among parents, government departments, non-governmental organisations, the media, and all sectors of society to create synergy, so as to build a caring and inclusive learning and living environment with respect and tolerance for promoting physical and psychological wellbeing and whole-person development of students.

Ends/Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Issued at HKT 17:05

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