The case in summary: • Grue municipality will temporarily move 11 kindergarten children to Grue primary and secondary school due to a lack of space in the kindergarten.• Parents are concerned about the children’s safety and well-being at school, and believe that the school’s facilities are not suitable for kindergarten children.• Some families have already applied for kindergarten places in neighboring municipalities as a reaction to the decision.• The municipal director assures that the offer is justifiable, and that kindergarten children will have their own room and outdoor area at the school.• The parents have started a signature campaign to get the politicians to take up the issue again. • Grue municipality has tight finances, and the parents are worried that this could delay the construction of a new nursery school. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Parents are upset because the municipality wants to move 11 children from Solungen kindergarten to Grue primary and secondary school with around 200 pupils. This will be done temporarily pending the construction of a new kindergarten, which will be ready in two years at the earliest. – I do not have words. It stresses me out and really ruins my everyday life. I get a notification on my watch that I’m stressed and need to calm down, says Andrine Engelstad Glomsås. She has a four-year-old daughter who has to enter school in the autumn. Andrine Engelstad Glomsås believes that the kindergarten children are too young to be moved to school. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news She is worried that the kindergarten children will feel unsafe in the autumn by going to the kindergarten at the primary and secondary school. Some have moved away The parents believe that the school is not suitable for kindergarten children, neither the premises nor the outdoor area. Ann-Katrin Finsand has already moved her child to a municipal kindergarten in the neighboring municipality of Åsnes. – It is very sad that it should be necessary, but we have to think about the best interests of the children, she says. She knows of 4–5 other families who have applied for a nursery place in neighboring municipalities. The parents believe that neither the premises nor the school grounds are suitable for kindergarten children. From left: Hanne Bjugstad, Bjørnar Melås, Ann-Katrin Finstad and Andrine Engelstad Glomsås. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news They believe that it creates an expressive environment for the 4–5-year-olds. – Instead of being the oldest in kindergarten, the little ones go to a school with grades 1-10, says Engelstad Glomsås. FAU at Solungen nursery school has also sent reports of concern to the municipality about this. It was the local newspaper Glåmdalen that mentioned this case first. The municipal director: – The offer is justifiable Municipal director Ole Frode Mikkelsgård understands the parents, but believes they have nothing to fear. – It is very unfortunate that the parents have not experienced that the new offer feels safe and good enough, says Mikkelsgård. He says he understands the parents’ concern. – I would probably have been too if I had had children who were going to attend the last year of kindergarten. But Mikkelsgård believes that it is a reasonable offer. Ole Frode Mikkelsgård is municipal director in Grue municipality. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news The municipality has considered 14 alternatives before choosing the school which they believe is the best temporary solution with the financial framework the municipality has. – I am confident that the good childcare provision will be maintained. The municipal director explains that the kindergarten children get their own room and outdoor area at the school. Necessary adaptations will also be made to ensure safety, and according to the plan, the kindergarten children will be as much as possible in Solungen kindergarten, which is nearby. – Must follow the law The Kindergarten Act sets requirements for how children should be in the nursery, including requirements for staffing and that everyone must have a safe and good environment in the nursery. – The municipality is responsible for ensuring that the kindergartens it owns meet the requirements of the Kindergartens Act and regulations. These must be met, regardless of the municipality’s finances and organisation, says senior advisor Christian Duus in the Directorate of Education (Udir). The state administrator in the interior has responsibility for ensuring that the nurseries meet the requirements. Deputy Director for Kindergarten and Education, Jon Kristian Sørmo at the State Administrator in the Interior states that everyone who has children in kindergarten is concerned that the kindergarten should be a safe and good place for the children to be and where they can play, learn and develop together with others children. – When there are changes that are described here, it is understandable that it can create uncertainty and that questions can be asked, he says. He believes that it is important to have good information and involve the parents in such matters, for example through the nursery’s cooperation committee. – We will request information from the kindergarten authority in the municipality. It will help to inform the case further, so that we have a basis for assessing whether and possibly how we should follow up the case further, says Sørmo. – Not good for the school children either The parents of the school children are not happy with the kindergarten children moving to school in the autumn either and believe that it will affect the first graders as well. – This is not a good solution for anyone. The children in the 1st stage lose access to common areas, playrooms and an extra room which they can use for group teaching, to adapt teaching and to take out pupils with special needs, says Hanne Bjugstad. The parents believe that it is not in the best interests of the children to move four-year-olds to a primary and secondary school. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news The parents also react to what they believe has been a poor process with little information. – We were informed about this change through the local newspaper. We have received poor answers when we have asked why, and what costs this has. It has not been a good process, says Bjørnar Melås. The municipal director says that the parents of the children in the nursery have been consulted through, among other things, inspections, parent meetings and answers to written questions from the parents’ group. Have started a signature campaign The parents have started a signature campaign with the aim of submitting a so-called citizens’ proposal. The goal is for the politicians to take up the matter again. It requires 2 percent of the population in the municipality to sign. They can then submit a new case to the municipal council. It only took 20 minutes to get the required number. But there is one problem for the parents: the municipal board does not meet until September. If the parents are to get a new solution before the start of kindergarten, they have little time. The politicians have delegated to the administration to find a solution so that there is room for all the children. Mayor Rune Grenberg (Ap) says that they have full confidence that the administration will find good solutions. Rune Grenberg, Labor mayor in Grue municipality, says that they will not have time to deal with the case again before the scheme comes into force. Photo: Reidar Gregersen Grue municipality has in recent years closed down almost all the kindergartens. From the autumn, the municipality has one municipal nursery school, Solungen nursery school, and one private one, Tjura nursery school. Municipality with poor finances Grue municipality is struggling financially. The municipality must cut costs and deal with additional spending of around NOK 30 million for the current year. In total, the municipality must save approximately NOK 40 million to break even. The financial problems are great. Last year, the municipality had problems paying salaries to the employees. The parents are worried that the poor municipal economy will delay a new kindergarten. – We are concerned that no end date has been set for the temporary solution, says Bjugstad. Hanne Bjugstad, who is the mother of a child who will start first grade from the autumn, says they feel badly treated and that the solution the municipality has chosen is not good enough. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news The municipal director cannot promise that the crisis solution will last for just two years either. – It is hard to say. I can hope so, but I can’t guarantee it. But he says that the municipal council has been clear that they want to invest in daycare, and want a new daycare as quickly as possible. – I don’t know how this will end. I hope that they can realize that they are making a big mistake, because otherwise no one will want to move to Grue, says Andrine Engelstad Glomsås. Published 02.07.2024, at 13.56
ttn-69
Kindergarten children in Grue have to move to school – parents react strongly – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
