1. What kind of service do nurseries offer?
Nurseries take in young children under 4 years old and provide appropriate facilities for their growth. It mainly aims at sharing family responsibilities with families which lack adults for child caring. In no circumstance young children can be left unattended at home, in which cases nurseries can provide assistance.
2. What is the difference between nurseries and kindergartens?
Nurseries are under the supervision of IAS; kindergartens are under the supervision of Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ). Nurseries are providing social support services at its very nature. It mainly provides nursing service as well as nurturing, sharing family responsibilities with families which lack adults for child caring. Kindergartens, on the other hand, belongs to the education system, have a clear goal on education and development.
3. There are currently two types of nurseries in Macao, subsidized and non-subsidized. Is it a
fact that subsidized nurseries have better quality than non-subsidized ones?
Both subsidized and non-subsidized nurseries are sharing the social responsibility of child care for families. The main distinction lies in that the subsidized nursery is part of the social support and welfare facility, dedicated to maintain the living standard of vulnerable families, providing timely nursing service to families with difficulties on child care; while the non-subsidized nursery is operated by the free market and responsible for its own profit and loss. In the sense of supervision of IAS, both subsidized and non-subsidized nurseries are under the same guidance and regulations. Both should meet the requirements stipulated by the regulations in its setting and operation. Parents can choose suitable services for their children according to their needs.
4. When does the application of nurseries start?
Subsidized nurseries start their application period in March each year, while non-subsidized nurseries open their application according to their vacancy. For more information please refer to the
IAS website.
5. At what age is a child eligible to apply for the nursery?
Nurseries can only take in young children with the age range stipulated in its certificate. Therefore, each nursery has different age range. It is very important for young children to develop positive attachment to their parents or families so as to develop stable emotional capacity. Therefore, according to the current plan, nurseries in Macao have adequate position for young children from 2 years old.It is desirable thatyoung children don’t to go to the day-care if they can receive nursery from parents or families; if parents hope their children to develop independence, social ability and community adaptability, it is advisable to choose full-day care services when their children reach 2 years old, which is a more ideal arrangement for the physical and mental development of young children.
6. Is it necessary to have experiences in nurseries to apply for kindergartens?
According to the admission instruction issued by DSEDJ, kindergartens should not take nursery experiences as the requirement for receiving the first year of infant education. Therefore, children without nursery experiences can also apply for kindergartens.
7. Is it possible to apply for kindergartens or conduct admission procedures through
nurseries?
The DSEDJ has launched “The Centralized Registration Measure for First-time Infant Education Students” from the 2022-2023 academic year. It indicates that kindergartens are not allowed to get application information of the infants or conduct any related procedures for admission through nurseries. In order to abide to this policy, IAS has also given instruction to all nurseries.
8. Is there any limit on how many nurseries can apply to for each infant?
Apart from some specific organizations which have limit to application, parents can basically apply for as many nurseries as they need to.
9. If not admitted by any nursery, is it possible that IAS helps to find a vacancy / place in a
nursery?
Since the main function of nurseries only lies in sharing the responsibility of child care for parents who have to work at the daytime or are unable to look after their children, such service is not mandatory. Therefore, parents can choose suitable services for their children according to their need. Therefore, IAS does not provide service for children who are not admitted to nurseries. Parents can refer to certain information on the vacancies of nurseries in the
IAS website since June on every year, or refer to the
IAS website for more information of assistance for family issues.
10. If not admitted by any nursery, what can be done if there is no adult at home to take care of
the child?
For families underunfavorable circumstances, such as families of single parent or physically-challenged parent or parent with chronicle disease, which have difficulty taking care of the young children, the parents can go to the social work centres under IAS in their respective residential regions for help. For more information please refer to the
IAS website.
11. If not admitted by any nursery, what can be done if parents want their children to
participate in community life?
It is advisable that parents choose full-day care services when their children reach 2 years old. According to the record of recent years, IAS will collect information of vacancies in subsidized nurseries in June each year and publicize on its website. For more information please refer to the
IAS website.
12. If the child is not taken care by nurseries care service, what service can parents turn to in
occasion there is no adult at home to take care of the child?
Parents can use the emergent/temporary nursery services. For more information please refer to the
IAS website.
13. My spouse and I get off work at 6:30pm. We can only pick up our child from Nursery at
around 7pm. But most nurseries provide service only till 6:30. What can we do in this
case?
It is suggested that parents go to the
IAS website for overview of services and refer to the exact service time of specific nurseries. Parents can consider applying for nurseries with prolonged nursery services. For more information please refer to the
website.
14. In most occasions my spouse and I take care of our child on Sunday. But both of us have to
work overtime next Sunday, we do not have anyone to support us to take care of our child.
Is there any service that can support us in this case?
Parents can use the holiday nursery services to take care of their children. For more information please refer to the
IAS website.
15. My friends tell me that it is better to apply for the nursery for my child as early as possible?
Is it necessary to apply for the nursery in advanced?
According to the practice and theory of children's developmental psychology, children under 18 months need to be in a stable environment, with a single stable caregiver so as to go through the critical period of attachment. This stage has a decisive factor in the development of family and interpersonal trust and security. Therefore, in general, children who are over 2 years old have the ability to adapt to the collective child care services (especially the ability to deal with separation anxiety). At the same time, children over 2 years old also have a more robust physical fitness, stronger capability against diseases. Therefore, the Social Welfare Bureau calls on parents to consider the child's psychological growth needs and physical conditions, giving family care for their children under the age of 2.
