Education Council

General presentations

• 1806328 – Procedures for the school enrolment of Hafnarfjörður primary school children

  Minutes of the last meeting were presented for approval.

  The Education Committee approves the attached procedures for the school enrolment of primary school children in Hafnarfjörður. The Education Committee also recommends that the Hafnarfjörður Town Council approve the aforementioned procedures.

• 1811063 – Matters concerning Víðistaðaskóli in Engidal

  A report from Víðistaðaskóli was presented.

  Submitted.

• 1812064 – Increase in leisure grants

  A proposal to increase the leisure allowance, which the town council approved on 12 December, was referred back to the education committee for a cost analysis and further processing.

  The matter was referred to the Family Council for comment.

• Free swimming for under 18s

  The following proposal was presented, which the town council approved on 12 December, to be referred to the education committee for further processing.

  Proposal 4 – Free swimming for under-18s.

  „Representatives of the Social Democratic Party propose that the example of the Borough of Kópavogur be followed and that children under the age of 18 be given the opportunity to use the borough's swimming pools free of charge.
  According to newly published findings from a research group in sports and health sciences at the Faculty of Education, University of Iceland, which has been monitoring the health of, sleep and mental well-being of Icelandic adolescents, it is noted, among other things, that physical activity decreases considerably in 15-17-year-olds. Offering young people in Hafnarfjörður free access to the town's swimming pools could be a good incentive for more exercise and supports the goals of making Hafnarfjörður a healthy town.“

  The Education Committee instructs the Director of Education and Leisure Services to carry out a cost analysis.

• 18129524 – Task force on prevention

  Introduction of the nomination of the representative of the Parents' Council of Hafnarfjörður to the working group.

  The representatives from the Parents' Council of Hafnarfjörður are Anna Sigríður Björnsdóttir and Ásdís Hanna Pálsdóttir, with Þórður Ingi Bjarnason as substitute.

• 1811277 – Education policy

  Draft terms of reference were presented for a working group to prepare an education strategy for 2020-2030, which will operate in the spring term of 2019.

  Presented. A nomination for the working group is requested for the next meeting.

• 1812051 – Construction of a nursery school in the Öldutúnsskóli district

  The following proposal, which the town council agreed on 12 December to refer to the Education Committee for further consideration, is re-submitted.

  Proposal 2 – Construction of a nursery school in the Öldutúnsskóli district

  According to information from the education and leisure services, it is clear that there is a persistent shortage of nursery places in the Öldutúnsskóli school catchment area, and this shortage will continue into the future if nothing is done.

  A proposal for the development of a nursery school in the Öldutúnsskóli area was presented to the town council during the first reading of the budget, but as it has not received a formal decision, it is requested that the town council now take a position on it. The budget is a strategic document for the projects the municipality will undertake in the coming years, and it is important to get a clear position from the town council on the development of nursery places in this neighbourhood, as the greatest shortage of places is in the new housing estates in Völlum and Skarðshlíð.

  Representatives of the Social Democratic Alliance have previously pointed out that the oversupply of nursery places in other areas needs to be addressed without it affecting the service for children in this area.

  We therefore re-propose the said motion, which reads as follows:

  As the plans for a nursery development on Aldagata have been abandoned, and it is clear that the proposed two-classroom extension to Smáralund will not address the shortage of nursery places in the catchment area for Öldutúnsskóli, The representatives of the Social Democratic Party propose that work begin on the further development of a nursery school in the neighbourhood.

  It is foreseeable that with further plans to lower the school entry age, the need in the neighbourhood will not diminish, and it is therefore important to look to the future and build up this vital basic service within the neighbourhood, with an emphasis on sharing the core facilities of nursery and primary schools, and thus reduce the separation between school stages

  It was approved at the Education Committee meeting on 29 October 2018 to begin preparations for an extension to Smáralundur. Smáralundur is currently a three-unit nursery school and has the capacity to expand by two to three units. Currently, the nursery has 53 children but, once expanded, will be able to accommodate over 100. The 2019 budget provides funding for the preparatory work on the expansion. By building at Smáralund, a certain degree of shared infrastructure and thus cost-effectiveness is being achieved. During the year, the nursery school at Skarðshlíðarskóli will begin operations, and this opening will cater for the increase in the number of residents. Hafnarfjörður is considered a single nursery school area, although an effort is made to offer children a place close to their home. In the South Town, which is closely linked to Öldutún, two nurseries, Smáralundur and Hvammur, operate. Following the expansion of Smáralundur, they will be able to accommodate a combined total of around 220 children.

  There are currently 1,726 nursery places in Hafnarfjörður, but once the extension to Smáralund and the construction of Skarðshlíðarskóli are complete, there will be nearly 1,900 places in Hafnarfjörður. At the end of last year, 1,701 children of preschool age were living in Hafnarfjörður.

  The majority of the Education Committee considers that, based on the points made above and the statistical information presented, it is responding to an existing need and thus fulfilling the important core service that nurseries provide. That being said, the minority's request for further development of nurseries in the area in question is denied.

  A representative of the Social Democratic Party submitted the following statement;
  A representative of the Social Democratic Party believes it is important to look to the future and take steps to address the shortage of nursery places in the South Town as soon as possible, and regrets that the proposal was not approved in light of this.

• Support for young people, subsidised bus passes

  The following proposal was presented, which the town council agreed on 12 December to refer to the Education Committee for further processing.

  Proposal 1 – Support for young people, subsidised bus passes

  Representatives of the Social Democratic Party reiterate and reintroduce their proposal for a subsidy on bus passes for children up to the age of 18. To level the playing field and make leisure activities more accessible for young people, we propose that the City of Hafnarfjörður subsidises bus passes for children up to the age of 18, making them free of charge. In doing so, we also reduce the need for car journeys and support environmental considerations.

  The proposal was previously presented at the first council meeting in June and has not been dealt with. We refer it to further work on the budget.
  The proposal is referred to the Education Committee.

  The Education Committee refers the proposal to the second reading of the budget in the Town Council.

  The Education Committee refers the matter concerning subsidies for bus passes to the Environment and Operations Committee.

• 1812055 – Cloud solutions in school work

  Draft guidelines for cloud solutions in Hafnarfjörður's nursery and primary schools were presented, concerning technology, security, and the confidentiality of data and user information. They were presented at the meeting and will be considered at the next meeting.

  Submitted.

• 1712117 – Working group on working conditions in nurseries

  The minutes of the 3rd, 4th and 5th meetings of the working group on working conditions in nurseries were presented.

• 1809483 – Shortening of the working week task force

  The minutes of the 3rd and 4th meetings of the steering group on the shortening of the working week were presented.

• 1503055 – Health-promoting community

  Introduction to the projects of Healthy Hafnarfjörður.

  Thanks to Geir Bjarnason, Sports and Leisure Officer, for the presentation and celebrates what Hafnarfjörður is doing as a health-promoting municipality.

• 1901160 – Number of pupils in Hafnarfjörður's primary schools

  A request was made for information on the number of primary school pupils in Hafnarfjörður and their distribution across primary schools over the last 5-10 years.

  The Education Committee instructs the Director of the Education and Leisure Department to compile statistical information on the number of pupils in Hafnarfjörður's primary schools, both those run by the municipality and the NÚ primary school.

Minutes

• 1812013F – Sports and Leisure Committee - 283

  The minutes of the 283rd meeting of the Sports and Leisure Committee were presented.