Well-being and satisfaction of pupils in the town's primary schools

The results of the Skólapúlsinn attitude surveys in the nursery and primary schools clearly indicate that pupils in the town's primary schools feel well, lead healthy lives, are engaged in their learning and have good self-esteem. The municipality scores highest among the participating municipalities regarding the inclusion of children in nursery education.

All of Hafnarfjörður's nursery and primary schools actively participate in Skólapúlsinn, a tool designed to assist with the internal and external evaluation of the work and working environment of Icelandic schools. The results of the attitude surveys for the 2017-2018 school year, are now available and show a rather positive picture for the municipality as a whole. At the same time, they present an opportunity for development in certain areas, as each individual school reviews its own results, creates improvement plans and works with its staff throughout the school year.  

An opportunity for progress and reform through strong collaboration across the whole of society.

The Skólapúlsinn attitude survey shows what is being done well in both school stages in Hafnarfjörður, while also highlighting opportunities for improvement. It is a priority for all involved that the primary school system in Hafnarfjörður is engaging and desirable, and that continuous school development is underway. The results provide schools and local authorities with solid information that can be used to improve school operations and to acknowledge good practice. The purpose of the comparison is for schools to use the results and benchmarking to see what is working well and to identify opportunities for improvement and new initiatives. Furthermore, other stakeholders in the school system, such as parents and education authorities, are provided with an overview of the situation and can contribute their support. It varies greatly whether Icelandic schools and municipalities, and if so which ones, choose to participate in Skólapúlsinn. Hafnarfjörður's primary schools have participated in the survey since 2013, and its nursery schools since 2017, setting an example with transparent and standardised measurements for all schools run by the municipality.    

Hafnarfjörður's Nurseries – an exemplary model for the settling-in of children.

Hafnarfjörður's nurseries are at or above average in all areas of the survey. The results have been broken down into four categories. Regarding daily school activities, learning environment and communication with parents, nurseries in Hafnarfjörður are performing at an average level compared to other Icelandic nurseries. Hafnarfjörður's nurseries rank among the top 25% of municipalities in two areas. The town is in 3rd place out of 17 possible for parental satisfaction with the induction process at the start of nursery, and is among the municipalities with the most favourable results in this area. The town is ranked 1st out of 17 for children's inclusion in school life. This indicates, among other things, that the schools are aware that all children belong to the same group, that children from different backgrounds and cultures are treated fairly, and that the rights of both sexes are respected. The results of the survey indicate that there is a reason to examine the difference between Hafnarfjörður's nurseries in the number of children who receive specialist services and special support, in order to find explanations so that appropriate assistance can be provided and further constructive projects can be initiated if deemed necessary.

There are 17 nurseries in Hafnarfjörður, and just over 1,500 children aged two to five with their legal residence in the town. An attitude survey was carried out among parents this year, whereas the 2017 survey was administered to nursery staff, so the basis for comparison is still being established, both among the nurseries in Hafnarfjörður and more broadly. In 2018, 33 nurseries in 17 local authorities were registered with Skólapúlsinn, including all 17 nurseries in Hafnarfjörður.

Report for nursery school

Hafnarfjörður's primary schools – pupils and teachers have faith in their own abilities and talents.

Pupils in years 6-10 are asked about their well-being, engagement, identity, school and class atmosphere, and homework, while pupils in years 1-5 are asked about their enjoyment of reading, satisfaction with their school and their feelings at school. Hafnarfjörður's primary schools perform very well in areas concerning the pupils themselves, their well-being, engagement, and their assessment of their own abilities, perseverance, and self-esteem, which is extremely pleasing. The satisfaction of pupils in years 1-5 and their well-being score highest in comparison with participating schools nationwide. Well-being at school is high among older pupils in Hafnarfjörður; they have a good sense of control over their own lives and a positive self-image. Children in Hafnarfjörður are very physically active and take good care of a healthy diet, consider homework important, and form good relationships with their peers. The results suggest there is a need to further examine how to strengthen the student-teacher relationship, as well as to review the effectiveness of classroom management and discipline. The staff survey covers aspects such as well-being, attitudes towards the school, working environment, assessment and feedback. The results in the staff survey are average across 13 areas. Teachers overall have confidence in their own abilities and there is good collaboration between them regarding teaching. There is satisfaction with the professional development on offer, and a willingness to further their education. Complaints of harassment and bullying within the staff are few, and the local authority is well below average on this measure.  Staff are generally satisfied with their work (0.4 points below average) and with the school's management (0.4 points below average), the working atmosphere is good (0.5 points below average) and satisfaction with the working environment is quite good (0.4 points below average. When interpreting the results, the benchmark is that a difference of up to 0.5 points is not considered a significant difference. Staff attitudes towards their school are therefore considered to be quite good overall. The results suggest that there is a reason to examine aspects such as the usefulness of staff appraisals, feedback from management, and the teaching environment. Regarding the working environment for teachers, particular attention needs to be paid to factors such as support for teachers dealing with pupils with learning and behavioural difficulties, professional support from headteachers, decentralisation of decision-making, and working conditions. At the same time, teachers are calling for more active collaboration on school development and reform. It is likely that the projects undertaken by the working groups and specialist groups for nursery and primary schools in recent weeks and months have not yet begun to have a direct impact on school practice, and therefore on the surveys. It is hoped that the extensive work on environment, workload and support will begin to have a greater impact on the work of all teachers.

Hafnarfjörður has 8 primary schools, with 1,769 pupils in grades 6-10 (87.8% response rate), pupils in grades 1-5: 2,121 (91.21% response rate) and staff: 601 (80.11% response rate). There were 4,197 children of primary school age with their legal residence in the town at the time of the survey. 4,011 of them were in Hafnarfjörður's primary schools, and the others in other schools. In 2018, 115 primary schools were registered in Skólapúlsinn in 43 municipalities, and the survey reached around 15,000 pupils nationwide in grades 6–10 and around 5,500 pupils in grade 1. – Year 5 in 31 schools in 11 municipalities. Fewer schools are conducting the staff survey, which this year covered 42 schools in 20 municipalities. Of these, 8 are in Hafnarfjörður. This is the fifth year that an assessment has been carried out for the primary schools. The surveys were administered to pupils and staff this year, but not to parents. Surveys for parents and staff are rotated every other year, while pupil surveys are conducted annually for years 6 to 10, and this year, for the first time, also for years 1 to 5.

Report for primary school