One of these is Fung Leung Kit Memorial Secondary School, which is near the residential estate and had been used as a temporary shelter for displaced residents.
Its principal, Wong Wai-shan, said students were generally all right, adding that the school had reached out to students by phone immediately after the blaze.
She said the school would look to resume face-to-face classes as soon as possible so teachers can better observe the students’ situation and continue to offer them support.
“We lent out the campus for a few days so we have to check whether it is in a fit enough condition to allow us to resume face-to-face classes,” Wong said.
“Another thing is that we have to continue to take care of the emotional needs of students and teachers – that’s what we have been doing.”
Tai Po District Association of Secondary School Heads chairman Kwok Wing-keung said on an RTHK programme that schools had been monitoring the students’ well-being, such as encouraging them to write about their experiences and feelings.
“The first thing we did was to conduct some simple screening, which were done by teachers. If there are more serious cases, we then have to get experts involved,” Kwok said.
“Special counselling teams within schools, for example, have more experience and training to help in this regard. There are also social workers in schools who can provide additional support if needed.”
Kwok said assistance in counselling services had been sufficient, with some groups, such as psychologists, being on standby to provide help.
