Jockey Club ‘CoolPlay’ Project Phase 2 is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, spanning four years from 2023 to 2027. Co-organised by YCCECE and Hong Kong Christian Service, the new phase will continue to follow a child-centric approach and is extending to cover grass-roots children in seven districts. Sustained, step-by-step and holistic educational support and resources will be provided to the kindergarten teachers and parents of those districts to collectively encourage children to independently and freely explore their communities, in a bid to stimulate their curiosity and learning interest, and develop creativity, communication and collaboration, which are regarded as essential skills for the 21st century.

Organisers

Funded by

Objectives

Project Vision:

  • To provide underprivileged young children with large-scale, systematic high-quality exploratory experiences.
  • To support underprivileged families and teachers in nurturing the diversity of young children’s explorations.
  • To build a sustainable “home-school-community” ecosystem in Hong Kong, promoting tripartite cooperation based on community engagement.
  • To establish an evidence-based intervention and evaluation model, measuring the impact of exploratory experiences on children, families, and teachers.

Project Objectives:

  • To develop simple and user-friendly learning resources that meet the individual needs of young children.
  • To train seed teachers to impart and promote exploratory learning for young children both inside and outside the school.
  • To strengthen parental education and encourage parental involvement.
  • To establish an evaluation model to measure the effectiveness of the program.

Jockey Club ‘CoolPlay‘ Project Approach is

  • Exploration takes place in everyday activities with everyday materials in real-life settings. 
  • Multiple modalities and senses should be considered when implementing exploratory learning experiences to respect children’s cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and individual needs.  
  • Adults should provide children with abundant hands-on experience with sensory stimulation to understand the surrounding through exploration.  
  • Children learn best through play. Guided play—caring adults designing thoughtful learning experiences based on children’s needs—is effective for young children to engage in exploration.  

What is Big Idea?

A “big idea” is akin to a transportation hub in a city, linking various scientific concepts together to make learning more efficient. Not only does it spark children’s curiosity and desire to explore, but it also connects closely with their daily lives, offering vast opportunities for deep learning across different areas and contexts.

In contrast, a “theme” is a more specific curricular model that changes with the introduction of new topics or as children’s interests evolve. For instance, thematic teaching about “flowers” might include activities such as drawing flowers, learning songs about flowers, creating flower crafts, and reading books about flowers. This type of learning can be more superficial and fragmented. However, starting from the big idea of “plants,” children can be guided towards a deeper inquiry, such as how flowers grow, what the parts of a flower and their functions are, and how the structure of a flower differs from other plants, promoting a rich and coherent exploration of the world around them.

JumpStarter: 8 Big Ideas

1st cohort of partner schools of 2020 – 2023

(Listed according to alphabetical order)

2nd cohort of partner schools of 2021 – 2023

(Listed according to alphabetical order)

3rd cohort of partner schools of 2022 – 2023

(Listed according to alphabetical order)

4th cohort of partner schools of 2023 – 2027

(Listed according to alphabetical order)

CCWF King Shing Kindergarten
Creative Kindergarten (Aegean Coast)
HK and Macau Lutheran Church Shek On Mem Kindergarten
HKCS KWUN TONG NURSERY SCHOOL
HKSPC Cheung Sha Wan Nursery School
HONG KONG 5-S KINDERGARTEN & International Child Care Centre
NTW & JWA Ltd Cheung Fat Nursery School
NTW & JWA Ltd Fanling Nursery School
NTW & JWA Ltd Sheung Shui Nursery School
NTW&JWA Ltd Yuen Long Nursery School
POH Sy Siok Chun Kindergarten/ Child are Centre
SKH Sham Shui Po Kei Oi Church Kindergarten
St Vincent De Paul Nursery School
The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary WTS Kindergarten/ Child Care Centre
TWGHs Fong Shiu Yee Nursery School
TWGHs Hung Wong Kar Gee Kindergarten
WFB Avalokitesvara Nursery School
Yan Chai Hospital Ming Tak Kindergarten
Yan Chai Hospital Nina Lam Kindergarten/ Child Care Centre