Hafnarfjörður announces major changes to its nursery school services

Increased flexibility and fees are significantly reduced for a six-hour stay.

At the beginning of 2023, the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður took a milestone step in strengthening and developing its nursery school services for the future with a certainm actions and vgold at the same time to announceThere further actionof Iceland to answer better needs nursery schoolof the job. Now those steps have been taken and major changes have been announced for the nursery schoolThe heir to the town. The changes are, in essence, as follows:  

• The nursery day will be divided into teaching and leisure activities.
• Nursery fees for 6-hour care are reduced significantly.
• The nursery school calendar with organised teaching will be 180 days.
• The reduction of the working week for staff is fixed on specific days and periods.
• Offering flexible childcare
• Nursery opening hours from 7:30 to 16:30

„We are announcing major changes beyond those we have already implemented this year. The success of those measures is evident, particularly when considering the proportions of professionally trained staff within nurseries which has increased over the year. But light was to grab youto lead for further changes to the structure of the nursery day in order to to meet expectations and requirements. Childcare is a huge issue for society as a whole and it It is a priority that this system works. Therefore Every effort must be made to develop nursery provision in order to be able to offer the necessary service. I I have high hopes for that we are shaping and creating a new future for the nurseries with these changes,“ says Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður.

The actions which fThe year was in Earlier this year, among other things, included 36-hour working week for all staff the nurseries, increased coherence between the early years of schooling, Payments to parents and to establish– and facility grant to day-care providers. Alongside vA proposed restructuring of the nursery school day and recently a working group delivered to get rid of a report with eleven actions which are based on detailed analyses and consultation with the relevant parties the nursery school community.  

The dual nature of the nursery day – teaching and after-school activities

The working group delivered proposals síto end of November 2023 and their implementation was approved at a meeting of the Education Committee. Essentially, the working group's proposals involve defining a two-part activity within the nursery day. Otherwise roads as teaching and, on the other hand, as leisure activity from a professional perspective and in terms of the day's organisation and nursery schoolof the year. The change will be made to the nursery calendar so that it is comparable to the primary school calendar with 180 teaching days a year, and the days beyond that are for after-school activities with other emphasis.  

Detailed description of the working group's proposals:

• The structure of the nursery day – The activities within the nursery day and the nursery year will be twofold. On the one hand, teaching, and on the other, leisure activities.
• Nursery School Calendar – There will be 180 school days per year. On other days, an after-school club is offered with the same hours of care. On these days, parents and guardians must register their children separately.
• Shortening of the working week – The proposal for shortening has already been implemented. Trained professionals take their accrued shortening on days off. School and leisure staff take their working-time shortening within each month.
• Flexible stay for children Parents are offered flexible daily attendance, with a maximum of 42.5 hours per week, which is the average attendance in Icelandic nurseries.
• Nursery opening hours – Opening hours will be from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from autumn 2024 onwards, in light of the fact that usage during the 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. period has decreased significantly in recent years.
• Price list – Nursery fees for 8 hours a day will remain unchanged. Nursery fees for 6 hours of care a day will be significantly reduced, by an amount equivalent to 30% of the total cost of a 40-hour placement. The aim is to encourage families to reduce their children's attendance, thereby lessening the burden on them. The cost of meals remains unchanged, and means-tested and sibling discounts will continue to be available.
• Child value – behind each full-time equivalent post in a nursery today are an average of 8 child places, where each age group is weighted differently according to age. The basic staffing standards will be updated, and with the change, each full-time equivalent post will be responsible for fewer child places. The aim is to reduce the pressure on children and strengthen staffing in the nurseries. The change does not affect the total number of children in the town's nurseries.
• Preparation times – an analysis of the use of preparation time. The importance of preparation time has been greatly increased in recent years, and it is important to examine which methods and approaches are most useful for the further development of the nursery school stage.
• Continuing professional development for nursery teachers – Three organised days of training and professional development will be held for nursery school teachers each year, at the end of the formal school year in June and/or at the beginning of the school year.
• Icelandic language teaching for nursery school staff whose mother tongue is not Icelandic The work of this group is really valuable to nurseries, and there is a willingness to strengthen the group professionally as well as personally with work-related Icelandic courses.
• Staff training and guidance – increased professional training for new staff in Hafnarfjörður's nurseries. Research shows that targeted education, guidance and training increases job satisfaction and confidence right from the start, and has also been shown to lead to lower staff turnover.

The aim of all these measures, both those that have been implemented and those that are to be announced in the new year, is to increase flexibility throughout the school day, all year round, and to increase the number of professionals in the town's nurseries.. The measures will be presented to parents and guardians at the beginning of the new year. Hafnarfjörður received the nursery school incentive award, Orðsporið, for standardising opening hours.– and the town's primary schools and coordinate the school year for these two levels of schooling. Innleading on a single teaching licence the year 2019 led, among other things, to more people choosing to work in primary schools since then, the reason cited being the working environment, flexibility and the organisation of the school year. Great hopes are pinned on a new arrangement. and actions Reverse this development, Strengthen and support professional practice within nurseries even more to the future and that an increase in the number of professionals during the crucial formative years of young children's lives. 

A report with the working group's recommendations can be found in the minutes of the Education Committee.

Information about the Hafnarfjörður approach to nursery education in Hafnarfjörður