Unfair discussion about the school community in Hafnarfjörður

The teacher shortage is a nationwide problem, not unique to the town of Hafnarfjörður. The fact is that fewer people are graduating as teachers now than before, and so the competition for professionals is fierce. All stakeholders need to pull together, promote these professional jobs and put them on the pedestal they rightfully deserve.

For all municipalities to meet the legal requirement that 2 out of 3 nursery school staff have a nursery teacher qualification, around 1,500 nursery teachers are needed in Iceland. In 2017, only one municipality met the minimum requirement. The good news, however, is that there has been an increase in, for example, nursery teacher training, which will presumably result in more teachers for nurseries in about 5 years' time. The Director of Education for the City of Hafnarfjörður, Fanney D. Halldórsdóttir, is unhappy with the recent debate about the lack of qualifications among staff in Hafnarfjörður. A very professional job is being done within both school stages, although the proportion of professionally qualified staff can and should certainly be higher. This is a societal problem, as fewer people have pursued studies in early years and primary education in recent years than before. The problem is therefore not just confined to Hafnarfjörður. Recent information from the exemption committee, which approves teaching assistants in primary schools, shows that the same is happening nationwide as it is in Hafnarfjörður. „We at Hafnarfjörður Municipality have placed great emphasis on working with the situation within our organisation. Working groups have been active in both school stages and have worked, among other things, on improving the working environment for teachers, reducing work-related stress, and increasing support for the role. An overtime pool has been established to meet professional tasks, new space plans are in operation, the shortening of the working week is under consideration, and improvements to acoustics have been made, to name but a few. All of this has an impact on staff satisfaction.“ says Fanney.

For several years, the City of Hafnarfjörður has offered study contracts for unqualified nursery school staff who wish to pursue distance learning in higher education in early childhood education. However, for qualified staff undertaking an accredited postgraduate course in early years education at university level via distance learning, concurrently with their employment at the borough's nurseries. Currently, 14 members of staff are on such an agreement.  „Almost daily, we are promoting the important work that takes place within Hafnarfjörður's nursery and primary schools. Here, we can mention many projects that are designed to generate interest and hopefully spark an interest in a future career for someone. The most immediate examples are the expansion of the literacy strategy, which now reaches children from six months old and their parents, and our new Hafnarfjörður Model, which focuses on early intervention for pupils in nursery and primary schools and their families. These projects are designed to have a knock-on effect and, in time, will increase teacher job satisfaction, reduce bottlenecks and improve the well-being of pupils. This is a marathon, and we will continue to promote the fantastic work taking place in the schools in Hafnarfjörður ourselves.  These projects sell themselves and will attract professional and excellent staff. We must also not forget in this discussion that this good work attracts professionals from other fields who also have a good, professional vision of the job and carry it out with great distinction, precisely with the help of those with the appropriate education. I look to the future with great optimism.“ says Fanney. The City of Hafnarfjörður is constantly looking for ways to increase the number of teachers at both school levels, but they are, as has been previously stated, a limited resource as things stand. All vacant teaching posts, which are filled by mentors, are advertised annually.„It is our hope that with a good working environment and encouragement, we can ignite the desire of practising mentors for professional development in the field, so that we can recruit them for the future.“ Fanney says at last.