{"id":13681,"date":"2018-11-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/askorun-um-aukid-samstarf-og-eflingu-forvarna-barna\/"},"modified":"2022-10-25T09:01:12","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T09:01:12","slug":"a-call-for-increased-cooperation-and-the-strengthening-of-child-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/askorun-um-aukid-samstarf-og-eflingu-forvarna-barna\/","title":{"rendered":"A call for increased cooperation and the strengthening of child prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A well-attended seminar on prevention was held at Flensborg School recently, under the title \u201eNot My Child\u201c. The seminar was organised by the Parents' Council of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur, a consultative body for the parents' associations of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur's primary schools and an advocate for the parents of primary school children in the town. The role of the parents' council is to work on the common affairs of the schools and to provide opinions on various matters concerning school and family issues, working in close cooperation with the City of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur. At the seminar, Geir Bjarnason, the Sports and Leisure Officer for the City of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur, spoke, among other things, about the town's teenagers and the parents' walk. Rafn M. J\u00f3nsson, project manager for alcohol and drug prevention at the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, spoke about effective prevention, \u00de\u00f3ra Bj\u00f6rnsd\u00f3ttir, Director of Nursing at S\u00c1\u00c1, spoke about the parent as an agent of change, and Hildur P\u00e1lsd\u00f3ttir, mother of an addict, told her story. At the end of the conference, participants signed the following resolution from the board of the Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur Parents' Council:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201eThe board of the Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur Parents\u201c Council proposes that the Municipality of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur significantly strengthen preventative measures in cooperation with professionals, the police and parents. It is also urged that the activities of the 'G\u00f6tuvitan' be significantly increased and that the number of resources for children in trouble be increased.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Mayor of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur, the Director of Education, and the Sports and Leisure Officer received a resolution, signed by around 100 participants at a seminar, from representatives on the board of the parents' council. The Mayor, R\u00f3sa Gu\u00f0bjartsd\u00f3ttir, welcomed the initiative and gladly accepted the challenge, as there are plans and a strong will to continue to strengthen and develop preventative work in collaboration with all relevant parties. Several new development projects are already under consideration, including with the police and the mental health education association Hugr\u00fan, in addition to work on establishing a new youth centre. Following the presentation of the challenge, it has also been decided to establish a working group on prevention, which will be done at the next meeting of the Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur Borough Education Committee.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prevention starts with the family<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As stated in <a href=\"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/media\/stefnur-og-reglur\/forvarnastefna.pdf\/\">Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur's prevention policy<\/a> Prevention starts with the family, and it is therefore essential that it is on a firm footing. All activities run by the City of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur should therefore aim to ensure a positive and encouraging environment for families. The family, school and organised social activities are the modern institutions that are crucial for the upbringing of children and young people. These factors are likely to be able to reduce the influence of undesirable external influences and to reduce or diminish risky behaviour. The more time they spend together and the better the relationship between children and parents, the less likely they are to engage in a risky lifestyle. Furthermore, organised sports and leisure activities have a positive effect on the lifestyle of children and young people. Important institutions involved in prevention include schools, youth centres, parents' associations, family services, primary healthcare, sports clubs, the police, religious organisations and voluntary associations, as well as formal and informal activities run by young people, e.g. student unions. It is important that all those involved in child-rearing in one way or another work together to ensure that Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur is a family-friendly environment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Examples of services already available from the City of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur that are worth promoting:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong> <strong><a class=\"internal\" href=\"\/en\/ibuar\/schools-and-children\/bruin\/\">BR\u00daIN \u2013 Child | Counselling | Resources.<\/a> <\/strong><\/strong> A new approach that strengthens support and services for children in the town's nurseries and primary schools, with the aim of improving the quality of life for children, adolescents and their families. The emphasis is on providing increased services at an earlier stage through play and primary school solution teams, whose role is to assess a child's situation and seek joint solutions to support the child and their family.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a class=\"internal\" href=\"\/en\/ibuar\/sports-and-outdoor-activities\/leisure-grants\/\">Hobby grants.<\/a> <\/strong>Monthly, the City of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur subsidises each participant aged 6-18 with a reduction in participation fees of kr.\u00a0 4,000 kr\u00f3na grant, with the aim of enabling children with their legal residence in Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur to participate in sports and leisure activities regardless of their families' financial circumstances, and to promote sports activities and other preventative work in Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur. The grant is also intended to counteract the undesirable dropout rate among older age groups of participants.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Parents' walk.<\/strong> The organisation is specific to each school and usually involves class representatives organising and taking it in turns to staff the walk. The walk takes place on a Friday and\/or Saturday evening between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., covering the neighbourhood widely and specifically visiting likely youth gathering places. The parents' patrol needs to be further strengthened.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Street Sign.<\/strong> A preventative initiative run by the City of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur in collaboration with the Parental Patrol. The role of the Street Watch is to carry out a monitoring function, with the aim of identifying at-risk teenagers and assisting them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Psychological services<\/strong> is provided to pupils in primary schools in accordance with their needs and circumstances. Psychological services are provided on the basis of a request from the school or parents, but parental consent must always be obtained. The reasons for requests can be varied, but a special emphasis is placed on early assessment and diagnosis of a student's situation regarding learning, behaviour, and psychological difficulties. Support is also provided to students, parents, and teachers in the form of counselling, education, and follow-up. Currently, there is one psychologist for every 800 students, whereas a few years ago there was one for every 1,200. Waiting lists have been significantly reduced over the past two years, opening up increased capacity for preventative work and courses.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diverse and specialised education within the schools.&nbsp;<\/strong> Teachers, learning advisers and nurses offer a wide range of lessons covering life skills, substance misuse prevention, sex education and nutrition. In parallel, peer education and talks from role models for children and young people, musicians, sportspeople and other publicly known figures have been offered.\u00a0 For example, J\u00f3n J\u00f3nsson has visited Year 9 to give talks on healthy living, oral tobacco and e-cigarettes, and Samt\u00f6kin 78 has provided education on LGBTQ+ issues based on equality and human rights. In addition, projects such as KVAN, a toolkit for the middle years of primary school, and the Friendship Project by Save the Children in nurseries are worked with.<\/li>\n<li><strong> Study and career guidance. &nbsp;<\/strong> Each school has a careers adviser who provides careers guidance, including supporting individual pupils and working on preventative initiatives.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Speech and language therapy.<\/strong> &nbsp; Children with speech and\/or language difficulties are entitled to a diagnosis from a speech and language therapist, along with specialist tuition and support for their learning in primary school. A speech and language therapist also provides advice to primary school staff. Parents can request an assessment and advice from a speech and language therapist, but in all cases, written consent from the parents must be obtained before an assessment takes place.<\/li>\n<li><strong>An increased range of courses.<\/strong> The provision of courses for students who require specific support and services has been increased. These include courses for anxiety, social skills and self-empowerment. The courses are one of the resources available.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A youth club in every school.<\/strong> The main focus is on a varied and enjoyable programme for teenagers in Years 8-10, but activities are also offered for Years 5-7 at least once a week. Youth clubs operate in all secondary schools and are usually open three evenings a week.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Music and Motor \u2013 a specialised youth centre at Dalshrauni 10<\/strong>. A youth club that is all about repairing and maintaining motorbikes and, in fact, any equipment with a motor. Young people aged 13-20 can come and use the facilities here. All the main tools and equipment are on site. Then there's the music house, which has nine rehearsal rooms for bands to practise in every day from 16:00 to 23:30. It's a great springboard for young, promising bands who are just starting out.<\/li>\n<li><strong> Support at school. <\/strong>Children with special needs in nurseries and primary schools are provided with special support to assist their learning, either temporarily or for the duration of their schooling. This support can be provided either within a class alongside mainstream teaching, in special classrooms with other pupils receiving special education, in special units within the primary schools in Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur, or in special schools outside the town. Admission to special units is subject to a request from parents and approval by the admissions team of each unit. Admission to special schools is subject to the approval of the primary school's specialist services and the headteacher of the relevant special school. Pupils in Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur who attend special units, special schools, and the reception unit for international pupils, and who do not live in the school district where the unit is located, receive transport to and from school. The municipality also collaborates with other local authorities on possible provision in other schools, e.g. Klettask\u00f3li.<\/li>\n<li><strong> Special departments. <\/strong> Special units are intended for pupils from all the town's primary schools, not just the school in which the unit is based. Special units operate in the following schools:&nbsp;<strong>School of Medicine.<\/strong> A special unit for pupils with developmental disorders in years 1\u201310 and a multi-disciplinary unit for pupils in years 9 and 10. The multi-disciplinary department is for students who, for various reasons, have not done well in mainstream school (learning difficulties, bullying and behavioural difficulties), with a strong emphasis on practical learning, social skills and collaboration with families and across sectors.&nbsp;<strong>Setberg School.<\/strong> A special unit for pupils with severe autism spectrum disorders in Years 1\u201310.&nbsp;<strong>\u00d6ldut\u00fanssk\u00f3li.<\/strong> A special unit for students with mild developmental disorders\/severe learning difficulties in Years 8\u201310.&nbsp;<strong>Hvaleyrarsk\u00f3li.<\/strong> Reception centre for children seeking international protection.<\/li>\n<li><strong>PMTO parenting skills and SMT school skills.<\/strong> PMTO is an evidence-based approach and treatment programme that helps to manage the behavioural difficulties of children and adolescents and empowers parents in their role. A wide range of resources, courses and advice is available for parents and guardians, and the method has also been implemented in the primary schools of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur and eight nurseries under the banner of SMT-School Skills. SMT is a similar approach which focuses on preventing and reducing behavioural problems, for example by teaching and practising social skills, encouraging desirable behaviour and coordinating the responses of all staff towards pupils who display undesirable behaviour.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Competo peer-to-peer education.<\/strong> A group that informs around 600 staff members of the Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur Summer Job Scheme about what is currently on their minds.<\/li>\n<li><strong> <strong><a class=\"internal\" href=\"\/en\/human-life\/the-health-resort\/\">The health town of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur<\/a> <\/strong><\/strong> \u2013 for the whole family. One of the main objectives of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur's health strategy is to nurture the general well-being of residents, both mental and physical, at all ages, and to strengthen and promote self-esteem and good mental health, in cooperation with relevant parties, organisations and institutions. The Healthy Town has already organised a mindfulness evening, health walks, dietary changes in nurseries and primary schools, parenting education, and has provided all residents with a games package containing ideas for social gatherings and venues. In the new year, it will, among other things, organise peer education in mental wellbeing within the primary schools, free health checks for everyone, ongoing health walks, the distribution of nutrition leaflets, and continued work with Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur's nursery and primary schools, to name but a few.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00c1 d\u00f6gunum var haldi\u00f0 vel s\u00f3tt m\u00e1l\u00feing um forvarnir \u00ed Flensborgarsk\u00f3la undir yfirskriftinni \u201eEkki barni\u00f0 mitt\u201c. A\u00f0 m\u00e1l\u00feingi st\u00f3\u00f0 foreldrar\u00e1\u00f0 Hafnarfjar\u00f0ar sem er samr\u00e1\u00f0svettvangur foreldraf\u00e9laga \u00ed grunnsk\u00f3lum Hafnarfjar\u00f0ar og m\u00e1lsvari foreldra grunnsk\u00f3labarna \u00ed Hafnarfir\u00f0i. Hlutverk foreldar\u00e1\u00f0s er a\u00f0 vinna a\u00f0 sameiginlegum m\u00e1lefnum sk\u00f3lanna og gefa umsagnir um \u00fdmis m\u00e1l er var\u00f0a sk\u00f3la- og fj\u00f6lskyldum\u00e1l og [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-frettir"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13681\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13681"}],"curies":[{"name":"WordPress","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}