Accreditation, Support, and Management Rules of Huangpu District, Guangzhou City for Inclusive Non-government Kindergartens

Suipu Jiaogui Zi [2023] No 1

Guangzhou Huangpu District Education Bureau, Guangzhou Huangpu District Development and Reform Bureau, Guangzhou Development Zone Development and Reform Bureau, Guangzhou Huangpu District Civil Affairs Bureau, Guangzhou Huangpu District Finance Bureau, Guangzhou Huangpu District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Guangzhou Huangpu District Market Supervision Administration Bureau, Guangzhou Development Zone Market Supervision Administration Bureau, Notice on Issuing the Work Rules for the Recognition, Support, and Management of Inclusive Private Kindergartens in Huangpu District, Guangzhou

All relevant units:

The Detailed Rules for the Recognition, Support, and Management of Inclusive Private Kindergartens in Huangpu District, Guangzhou have been approved by the Management Committee and the District Government and are now issued to you for implementation. Please report any issues encountered during the execution to the Education Bureau of the radial district.

Guangzhou Huangpu District Education Bureau  Guangzhou Huangpu District Development and Reform Bureau

Development and Reform Bureau of Guangzhou Development Zone  Huangpu District Civil Affairs Bureau of Guangzhou City  

Huangpu District Finance Bureau, Guangzhou Development Zone Finance Bureau 

Huangpu District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of Guangzhou City

Huangpu District Market Supervision Administration Guangzhou Development Zone Market Supervision Administration

October 18, 2023

Accreditation, Support, and Management Rules of Huangpu District, Guangzhou City for Inclusive Non-government Kindergartens

In order to implement the Non-government Education Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations for the Implementation of the Non-government Education Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China, the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and State Council on Deepening Reform in Preschool Education, the Action Plan for the Development and Enhancement of Preschool Education during the 14th Five-year Plan Period (J.J. [2021] No. 8), and the Guidelines on Quality Assessment for Early Education in Kindergartens (J.J. [2022] No. 1), the Accreditation, Support and Management Rules of Huangpu District, Guangzhou City for Inclusive Non-government Kindergartens (these "Rules") are hereby formulated by the Huangpu District Education Bureau in accordance with the requirements of the Action Plan of Guangdong Province for the Promotion of the High-quality Development of Basic Education (Y.F. [2021] No. 55), the Action Plan of Guangdong Province for the Promotion of the Inclusive and Healthy Development of Preschool Education (Y.F.B. [2018] No. 28), the Accreditation, Support and Management Rules of Guangdong Province for Inclusive Non-government Kindergartens (Y.J.J. [2022] No. 21), as well as in combination with the development situation of preschool education in Huangpu District, to guide non-government kindergartens towards, as well as support them in, the provision of public-welfare and inclusive preschool education for society, and establish a reasonably-structured public service system of public-welfare and inclusive preschool education.

I. Accreditation of Inclusive Non-government Kindergartens

(I) Accreditation Criteria

Inclusive non-government kindergartens refer to non-profit and qualified non-government kindergartens that are accredited by the district education department and are open to the public. They charge reasonable fees, receive financial subsidies or other government support, and meet the standards of standardized kindergartens. Inclusive non-government kindergartens shall be accredited as meeting the following conditions:

1. Standardize the operation of schools by the law. The education certificates and licenses of kindergartens shall be complete and valid, and the educational behavior shall be standardized. Except for new kindergartens, all kindergartens shall have passed the annual inspection in the previous year and have no record of administrative punishment within one year before the filing date.

2. Charge reasonable and compliant fees. The childcare and education fees shall comply with the charging standards for inclusive non-government kindergartens in the district and remain stable for a certain period. The charging behavior shall be standardized, and publicized according to regulations, avoiding any disorderly charging.

3. Standardized financial management. There shall be an independent, safe, and sound financial accounting system. No deduction or disguised appropriation of children's food expenses would be accepted. Inclusive non-government kindergartens shall set up a special account as required, and independently calculate and allocate financial subsidies, without any false reporting, false claims, or misappropriation of special funds. Annual financial audits shall be carried out by law, and income and expenditure shall be disclosed regularly, with reasonable expenditures and clear accounts.

4. Qualified conditions to run schools. Kindergarten buildings and facilities shall meet the hygiene standards, safety standards, and other requirements at both national and provincial levels. All kindergartens must be accredited as standardized kindergartens by the district education department.

5. Scientific childcare and education. Kindergartens shall build a colorful and suitable educational environment based on the characteristics of children's physical and mental development by the requirements in the Guidelines on Education in Kindergartens (Provisional),  the Guidelines for the Learning and Development of Children Aged 3-6, the Guidelines for the Quality Evaluation of Kindergarten Care Education, and the Guidelines for One-day Activities in Kindergartens in Guangdong Province (Provisional), and rationally arrange children's daily life. Games shall be the basic activity to carry out scientific childcare and education activities, and teaching young children primary-school-level lessons would not be allowed.

6. Reasonable staffing, salary, and welfare. Inclusive non-government kindergartens shall be equipped with teaching staff as required by both the nation and the province, and the staff shall meet relevant job requirements. Kindergartens must sign labor contracts with their staff by the law. The total salary of all the teaching staff is in principle not less than 60% of the annual income from childcare and education. The salary shall meet the standard for inclusive non-government kindergarten teachers set by the district education department. Kindergartens shall ensure the welfare of faculty and staff by law, pay wages in full and on time, and pay social insurance premiums and housing provident funds for their staff.

7. Qualified campus security level. Inclusive non-government kindergartens shall implement various security management regulations to meet the requirements of the Campus Security Management Regulations of Guangzhou City and other documents. Kindergartens using school buses shall implement school bus management by the Measures for the Implementation of the Regulations on the Security Management of School Buses in Guangdong Province and other relevant management regulations.

(II) Accreditation Procedures

 The accreditation of inclusive non-government kindergartens is conducted once a year and each accreditation would be valid for three years. The specific declaration time is subject to the notice of the year. After the expiration of the validity, the accredited inclusive non-government kindergartens can be transferred to the next cycle after being reviewed by the district education department. Specific identification procedures are as follows:

 1. Voluntarily, kindergartens meeting the criteria can apply to the district education department. The district education department shall establish an assessment group for the accreditation to review the declared non-government kindergartens according to the criteria, and initially determine the list of inclusive non-government kindergartens to be accredited. The reviewing work shall be completed within 60 days after the deadline for declaration. 

2. Public announcement. The list shall be publicized through the Huangpu District People's Government Website for five working days.

 3. The legal representative of each kindergarten is required to sign a commitment to run the school, which is kept by both the kindergarten and the district education department.

 4. Kindergartens that have gone through the assessment, public announcement, and signed a commitment letter shall be identified by the district education department, and the list and charging standards shall be announced to the public. At the same time, relevant documents shall be copied to the district department of development and reform, the district department of civil affairs, the district department of finance, the district department of human resources and social security, the district supervision and management of markets and municipal departments of the department of education for filings and register in the National School (Institution) Code Management Information System.

 (III) Exit mechanism

The exit of inclusive non-government kindergartens includes application for exit, termination of operation, disqualification, and other circumstances.

1. Voluntarily, accredited inclusive non-government kindergartens can apply to exit from the inclusive non-government kindergartens list, except for newly built urban community-supporting kindergartens which have been accredited as inclusive non-government kindergartens.

2. If inclusive non-government kindergartens apply to exit within the validity period, they shall submit a written application to the district education department three months in advance and return the remaining financial subsidies obtained during the validity period. The district education department entrusts a third-party accounting firm to conduct a special audit of the inclusive financial subsidies enjoyed. According to the audit report, the kindergartens shall refund the remaining of its inclusive financial subsidies. After the remaining inclusive financial subsidies are returned to the district finance department, the financial condominium account of the kindergartens must be written off, and assets purchased through inclusive financial subsidies that are available for use shall be transferred by the district education department to other kindergartens. Kindergartens shall proactively cooperate with auditing, returning remaining subsidies, and writing off financial condominium accounts. After exiting, the charging standards for kindergarten childcare and intuition fees need to be publicly announced for one month. After the announcement, the fees will be charged according to the principle of "old way for old students, a new way for new students".

3. If inclusive non-government kindergartens terminate their education due to reasons such as the expiration of the running agreement, demolition, or force majeure, the district education department will entrust a third-party accounting firm to conduct a special audit of the inclusive financial subsidies enjoyed. According to the audit report, the kindergartens shall refund the remaining of their inclusive financial subsidies to the district finance department, and assets purchased through inclusive financial subsidies that are available for use shall be transferred by the district education department to other kindergartens. Kindergartens shall proactively cooperate with auditing, returning remaining subsidies, and writing off financial condominium accounts.

4. For inclusive non-government kindergartens within the accredited validity period, if there are safety responsibility accidents, serious decline in the quality of childcare and education, and serious violations, their eligibility for inclusive non-government kindergartens must be withdrawn, and financial subsidies must be recovered. Meanwhile, depending on the severity of the case, the district education department shall impose penalties based on laws and regulations.

5. When the inclusive non-government kindergartens change their organizers, based on the special audit report, the remaining subsidies and assets obtained from inclusive financial subsidies shall be retained in the kindergartens for continued use. Under the supervision of the district education department, new and old organizers shall go through the handover procedures. If the organizers refuse to cooperate in the handover procedures, the district education department will investigate their legal responsibilities by law.

II. Support for Inclusive Non-government Kindergartens

(I) Implement Preferential Policies

The construction, renovation, and expansion of inclusive non-government kindergartens can be supported and developed through methods such as rent reduction, reward-based subsidies, paired assistance, and teacher training. Inclusive non-government kindergartens must have the same status as government-run kindergartens in terms of classification and grading, assessment and guidance, project declaration, teacher training, and professional title appraisal. At the same time, the staff of inclusive non-government kindergartens enjoy the same rights as the staff of government-run kindergartens by law in terms of training, calculation of teaching and working years, commendation and awards, social activities, etc.

(II) Increase Financial Support

District education departments are responsible for coordinating the allocation, supervision, and use of funds related to preschool education. The inclusive non-government kindergartens shall be provided with financial subsidies by the subsidy funding standards for per students at the urban and municipal levels and shall be promoted to improve the quality of their operation by giving reward-based subsidies.

1. Setting Quota Subsidy for Per Student

The district education department shall verify and allocate the setting quota subsidy at the district and municipal levels for inclusive non-government kindergartens based on the number of children in kindergartens reported in "Kindergarten Information Management System of Guangzhou City" before May each year. Kindergartens shall develop a funding plan based on the unified arrangement of the district education department and submit it to the district education department for review before putting it into use.

Per student, public funding subsidies shall be consistent with the provincial and municipal funding requirements. Subsidy programs per student at district and municipal levels mainly include public subsidies per student, subsidies for faculty salaries, and subsidies for per-student equipment expenses. The municipal-level proportion of per student setting subsidy to subsidize faculty salaries shall not exceed 70 percent while the district-level proportion of that shall not exceed 65 percent, and the rest shall be used to subsidize equipment costs and utility funds, to ensure the basic operation of kindergartens. This type of subsidy is mainly used for expenses related to kindergarten teaching activities and logistics services, such as teaching operation and management, teacher training, physical examination of students, cultural and sports activities, office expenses, water and electricity expenses, transportation expenses, post and telecommunications expenses, operation and maintenance fees of education information technology, routine maintenance and repair of premises and equipment. The subsidy for equipment is mainly used for the construction of kindergarten buildings, the purchase and maintenance of facilities and equipment, fire-fighting rectification, and the purchase of teaching tools, toys as well as daily necessities for children.

2. Reward-based Subsidies

District education department shall, by the requirements of the nation, province, and city, combined with the supervision and assessment of kindergartens' running behavior and the quality of their scientific childcare and education, gradually carry out a systematic evaluation of inclusive non-government kindergartens, and establish an incentive mechanism based on the process evaluation and oriented to the quality improvement of kindergarten running. For those inclusive non-government kindergartens that have passed the evaluation of being eligible for demonstrative kindergartens (including re-evaluation), they would be given a one-time funding of 200,000 yuan for running the kindergartens. The above Reward-based Subsidies would be used to improve the education quality and the running conditions of kindergartens.

(III) Strengthen Support for Childcare and Education 

The relevant departments of the district shall strengthen the support for the quality of childcare and education of inclusive non-government kindergartens and set up a matching assistance mechanism between high-quality kindergartens and inclusive non-government kindergartens. The assisting party would give guidance to the inclusive non-government kindergartens at least twice a year, helping to advance their education quality and management. Teaching and research activities as well as on-the-job training for all staff shall be regularly carried out in pairs. In addition, the assisting party must guide teacher training in childcare and education of the inclusive non-government kindergartens during the whole process. The relevant departments shall support teacher training in inclusive non-government kindergartens and improve the professionalism and educational level of staff. Encourage and support inclusive non-government kindergartens to carry out regular teaching, research, and kindergarten-based training, and to arrange the daily life of young children scientifically and reasonably, to avoid teaching beyond the syllabus.

III. Management of Inclusive Non-government Kindergartens

 (I) Strengthen Quality Management

 District education department shall establish the supervision and evaluation system and annual inspection system of inclusive non-government kindergartens and constantly improve them, enhance the effective supervision on the school-running direction, behavior, conditions, quality, and management, as well as the process guidance and monitoring of the teaching and childcare activities of inclusive non-government kindergartens, and urge inclusive non-government kindergartens to improve the conditions and quality of school.

(II) Strengthen Teacher Management

District education department shall supervise kindergartens to establish and improve the teacher management system following the requirements of provincial and municipal documents, comprehensively ensure that working teachers are eligible and have standardized teaching behavior. The appraisal of teacher's performance shall focus on teachers' morality, giving more prominence to teachers' ideological and political quality and emphasizing the construction of teachers' morality. Meanwhile, a complete punishment mechanism for violations of teacher ethics shall be established. The teacher training system shall be upgraded, providing conditions for teachers to receive ideological and political training and education training, to improve their professionalism, and to foster a professional sentiment of love for kindergarten education and young children. Kindergartens shall guide teachers to abide by the Ten Guidelines for the Professional Behavior of Kindergarten Teachers in the New Era and avoid behavior that harms the physical and mental health of young children, such as abuse, discrimination, intimidation, molestation, corporal punishment and disguised corporal punishment or insulting the personalities of children. There shall be zero tolerance for teachers' violations of professional ethics. Kindergartens shall guarantee teachers' salaries and welfare and enhance the overall quality and stability of teachers.

(II) Strengthen Fee Management

Inclusive non-government kindergartens shall establish specific charging standards within the upper limit of the government's guidance. The "Huangpu District Kindergarten Information Bulletin Board" uniformly set by the district education department shall be displayed at the entrance of the kindergarten, and all fees shall be announced on it one month in advance for a certain period. Kindergartens shall consciously accept supervision from all parents and all sectors of society.

 As in the Accreditation, Support, and Management Rules of Guangdong Province for Inclusive Non-government Kindergartens, "the highest standard for inclusive non-government kindergarten childcare and tuition fees shall be formulated based on the levels and categories of kindergarten", "In principle, the highest standard for inclusive non-government kindergarten childcare and tuition fees shall be divided into 2-3 levels according to the categories, and the higher charging standards between adjacent levels can be increased by 15%-20% based on the lower standards", combined with the actual situation of Huangpu District, the upper limits of inclusive non-government kindergartens' childcare and tuition fees are as follows (refer to the Public Kindergarten Management Reform Pilot Plan of Guangzhou City for kindergarten classification standards):

Category

The Upper Limit of Childcare and Tuition Fees (Unit: yuan/student/month)

Demonstrative Kindergarten 1560

Standardized Kindergarten 1300

Kindergarten fees would be regulated by the district education department, the district development and reform department, and the district market supervision department to ensure that the fees are standardized, open, evidence-based, and reasonable.

(IV) Strengthen Financial Management

 The fees collected and activities carried out by inclusive non-government kindergartens shall be conducted in accounts registered with relevant regulatory authorities. Inclusive non-government kindergartens shall establish and improve financial accounting, asset management, and budget and final accounting systems, regularly disclose the income and expenditure of funds, and accept financial audits by the competent department. At the end of each fiscal year, inclusive non-government kindergartens shall entrust accounting firms to audit their annual financial reports. The district education department and district finance department shall improve the asset and financial supervision mechanism, strengthen the supervision of awards and subsidies management and use, and improve capital efficiency. Those who falsely report, fraudulently claim, occupy, or misappropriate special budgets shall be dealt with seriously by relevant regulations. For inclusive non-government kindergartens with chaotic financial management, misappropriation of financial subsidies, or evasion of funds, once verified, they would stop enjoying the government's support and would not be allowed to re-declare for inclusive non-government kindergarten accreditation within three years. Meanwhile, for inclusive non-government kindergartens with misappropriation of financial subsidies or evasion of funds, the organizers would be disqualified from organizing inclusive non-government kindergartens in the region and their misconduct would be included in the record of personal integrity.

 (V) Strengthen Social Supervision

 District education department shall establish and improve the supervision mechanism of inclusive non-government kindergartens, and utilize the preschool education management information system to enhance the supervision and management of inclusive non-government kindergartens in terms of data statistics and information. The district education department would publish the list of inclusive non-government kindergartens, relevant financial subsidies, and other information on the Huangpu District People's Government website, open consultation and reporting hotline to accept supervision from all parents and the public.

IV. Supplementary Provisions

These Rules shall enter into force as of the date of issuance and remain in force for five years. The power to interpret these Rules shall rest with the competent education administration of Huangpu District.

In case of any changes in the laws, regulations, or policies on which these Rules are based, the latest ones shall prevail.

Appendices: 

1. Material Submission Requirements for the Accreditation and Reward-based Subsidization of Inclusive Non-government Kindergartens in Huangpu District

2. Application Form for Accreditation as an Inclusive Non-government Kindergarten in Huangpu District

3. Application Form for Reward-based Subsidies to Inclusive Non-government Kindergartens in Huangpu District

4. Letter of Commitment to Early Education from an Inclusive Non-government Kindergarten in Huangpu District

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