Preschool headmasters get training

30-hour program's goal is to improve management, reduce child abuse risk

Kindergarten heads and teachers in Beijing have completed government-provided security training to improve safety for young children, local authorities said.

It's the first time that such training has covered all private kindergarten headmasters, said Li Yi, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission.

The training, which is intended to improve the management of the capital's kindergartens, started in the wake of alleged child abuse at privately owned Beijing RYB kindergarten in Chaoyang district's Xintiandi community in November last year.

"It's vital to establish professional institutions to provide training to kindergarten staff," said Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences.

Because many kindergarten teachers have a poor attendance rate and low academic qualifications, the best way to solve the problem is to provide professional guidance, Chu said.

Kindergarten teacher training in the capital, starting in late June, included risk prevention, workplace ethics and management, as well as laws and regulations covering kindergartens. More than 3,000 kindergarten principals in Beijing took part in the training.

Heads and members of teaching staffs from all of the capital's kindergartens are required to complete 30 hours of training, which includes an eight-hour face-to-face component and 22 hours of online courses, according to the education commission.

The alleged child abuse at the Xintiandi branch of RYB kindergarten resulted in formal charges in May against a Beijing preschool teacher identified only as Liu from Hebei province.

The suspect was detained on Dec 29 and accused of using needles to "discipline" her students. The allegations prompted a citywide inspection of kindergartens in November last year, and the city's education commission ordered all institutions to take immediate steps to reduce potential risks.

Under new regulations, surveillance cameras will be required to cover all public areas in the capital's kindergartens. Safety education courses and emergency evacuation drills will also be carried out regularly to improve children's ability to protect themselves.