Celebrating multiculturalism at Vesturkot Nursery School 

The nursery's work is focused on multiculturalism.

„Here, we do not distinguish between Icelandic children and children of foreign origin,“ said Inga Þóra Ásdísardóttir, head teacher of Vesturkot nursery school, as she welcomed representatives from the Centre for Education and School Services and the Language and Literacy Centre yesterday morning. The representatives wanted to learn about the good progress that has been made at the school. 

The representatives of the state and city, and the Education and Public Health Department of Hafnarfjörður municipality, were met with a very calm atmosphere. Inga Þóra led them around the school, where the children were engaged in play and activities in every corner. The others were outside in the Icelandic spring weather.  

Multiculturalism is most pronounced at the Vesturkot nursery school in Hafnarfjörður. Its attitude towards multiculturalism is also unique and has attracted attention beyond the town's borders. 

Multilingualism: a resource for school practice 

The nursery's work excels for the children, the staff and, not least, the parents. Bilingualism is not seen as a barrier but as a resource. Surveys have shown good results in measurements of the children's vocabulary. 

The staff are extremely positive towards the changing landscape and use working methods that empower the children in decision-making and are democratic. Self-determination prevails.  

Emphasis is placed on collaboration between the nursery, children and parents. It is considered important to maintain good communication with parents and to provide them with good information about their children's progress. A key aspect of the nursery's work is to be open, respectful and supportive of the family's language and culture. 

The children come well-equipped from Vesturkot 

Internal assessments by the Education and Public Health Department of the children's skills from this nursery school unequivocally indicate that an excellent job is being done there. Children in the early years of primary school who come from Vesturkot generally perform well in reading and Icelandic. The nursery's staff use various tools for support. These include Gefðu10, or the Icelandic Competency Framework for Multilingual Children in Preschool. It helps to identify the needs of children, so that they can later be given better support to grow and develop in our society. 

Representatives from the Centre for Educational and School Services were there this morning to learn about this good work and to map it out. 

 Yes, a vision in action pays off well in Vesturkot.