All 15 month old children received preschool admittance in Hafnarfjörður

All 15 month old children have received preschool admittance

Enrollment of children in Hafnarfjörður preschools has seldom, if ever, gone better. All fifteen month old children have received preschool admittance, are in adaptation, or are about to begin it.

25 applications for preschool admittance were submitted this summer and those children have also been offered a spot. Around 40 places remain available, and work has already begun on offering them to children born in July, who are 14 months old.

Proud of the achievement

“Our deliberate work here in Hafnarfjörður to improve the working environment for staff has delivered this result. We are proud of it,” says mayor Valdimar Víðisson.

“We offer preschool teachers a working schedule that is competitive with elementary schools. Untrained staff receive more than the collective agreements stipulate. We have supported people in pursuing education and offer a range of benefits,” says Valdimar. This has led to an increase in the proportion of trained staff.

“We managed hiring well last year, but we can now say that preschool recruitment in the town has never gone better than it is now.”

Valdimar Víðisson at a singing session in the Hamravellir preschool at the beginning of the year.

The measures have worked

The Education Council met today and reviewed the situation. Seldom, if ever, has the staffing situation for the school year in Hafnarfjörður been better than this year. “We are overjoyed to see that our measures in recruitment here in Hafnarfjörður in recent terms have delivered results,” says Valdimar. “The situation is unprecedented.”

One preschool teacher is being advertised for across Hafnarfjörður’s 17 preschools, and 3–4 teaching positions need to be filled in the town’s elementary schools. In addition, three substitutes are sought to cover absences in Hafnarfjörður’s nine elementary schools. Around 450 teachers are working in these schools this school year. About 500 staff are employed in Hafnarfjörður’s preschools, just under 370 of them in teaching roles.

“These advertisements are natural in light of the scale,” says Valdimar. Strong management in staffing matters, opportunities for professional development, increased flexibility at work, and higher wages are the keys to this success.

“The situation now calls for us to stay alert, regularly assess the status, and respond if we see movement in the wrong direction,” he says.