Job satisfaction has a positive effect on the children.

For five years, staff in the nursery schools of the City of Hafnarfjörður have had the opportunity to Scholarships from the town to study early years education. The aim of the initiative is to increase the proportion of professionally qualified staff in the municipality's nurseries, and thereby among nursery teachers. 

The town newspaper Hafnfirðingur met two of the 30 who have taken up this opportunity with open arms this academic year, Guðbjörgu Bjarkadóttur and Stephen James Midgley. Their workplace alongside their studies is Skarðshlíðar leikskóli, which shares a building with a primary school, a music school and a sports hall. The collaboration between these units offers both pupils and staff a wide range of opportunities for learning and creativity.

A great opportunity to get paid to learn

Stephen was born in 1981 and could be said to be a generation ahead of Guðbjörg, who was born in 1999. Their family circumstances are also different; Stephen is a married father of four, whereas Guðbjörg is childless and finished secondary school in 2018. „I was a company director before I chose this platform, working alone in an office and with staff in charge.“ says Stephen, but he preferred working in a nursery and he had good experience with children, with four of his own at home.. „I had been thinking of training to be a nursery teacher, but I was worried about going to university and losing the household income. I had been working at Tjarnarási for quite some time when the headteacher there suggested this option to me. I applied and feel this is a fantastic opportunity – to get paid to study, and also during exam periods and course units. It's also the perfect opportunity to invest in myself,“ says Stephen, smiling. He started working at Skarðshlíðarleikskóli this autumn and is really enjoying it there, after a year at Tjarnarási. 

^{Stephen and Guðbjörg, late in the autumn, outside the school.}

Stegur steps well outside the comfort zone

Guðbjörg started working at Skarðshlíðarleikskóli a year ago as a general staff member, and had previously been at Hamravöllar for four months. „I had enrolled on a BA in Icelandic at the University of Iceland, but I changed my mind after seeing a promotion about getting paid to train to become a nursery teacher. I just seized the opportunity because I had always wanted to become a nursery teacher. It was also closer to my heart.“ she says, adding in response to a question that the most fascinating thing about the job is the children and the joy, and how interesting children generally are. „Ever since I was in Year 9 at Hraunvallar School, I have been coaching 6-10 year olds in athletics and I felt it suited me well. The nursery work helps you a great deal with stepping out of your comfort zone. When I was first supposed to run a session for the children, I thought, “Oh my God', because I've always found it difficult to stand in front of a group and speak. Now I've started playing the guitar and singing all sorts of songs, making up plays and all sorts of other things. It's something I never would have thought I could do. The children also help you so much with this because they never judge you; instead, they encourage and support you if anything."

^{Outdoor area of Skarðshlíðarleikskóli.}

Joy, creativity, helpfulness and cheerfulness

It is worth mentioning that Stephen also plays the guitar, as does a third member of staff at Skarðshlíðarleikskóli who is on the same contract as our interviewees.. „When I was talking to my friend the other day, I jokingly mentioned to him that one of the ways for me to get paid to do something fun would have been to be a musician, a professional footballer or a nursery school teacher. That was the most realistic option. My job satisfaction also has a positive effect on the children. There's so much they learn here that isn't necessarily part of the organised school curriculum. Just from what they get up to on a daily basis. Joy, creativity, helpfulness and cheerfulness. You also can't hide your personality from the children; they just bring it out in their own sincere and open way, and that's healthy for everyone,“ Stephen says at last.

^{From the opening of Skarðshlíðar nursery school.}