The matter in summary: After-school staff experience a tough everyday life with an increased number of children and fewer adults present. The trade union is concerned about the quality of the after-school provision, and believes there is a need for a staffing standard and earmarked funds. The municipal sector organization (KS) believes that earmarked funds are not the solution, but will cooperate on measures to ensure sufficient staffing The government has compensated the municipalities so that all pupils in 1st, 2nd and 3rd stages can participate in the scheme with 12 hours of free after-school education per week, but it is up to the municipalities to decide the staffing The mayor of Kongsberg confirms that there has been a large increase in the number of after-school children after the extended free offer, but says staffing has not been adjusted accordingly. – We were 60 children before the summer. Now we are 80. And we have two fewer adults at SFO. It means that we have just enough to give love and care. But activities beyond that, we very rarely get to do that. Annette Rasmussen is a primary school leader at a primary school in Kongsberg. She is worried about the employees, and not least about the children. – Sometimes we are just three adults. We are never all in place. – How many adults should there be for it to be justifiable? – I think that in order for us to have a good day, it needs to be six or seven, Rasmussen replies. She says many people are very tired, scared, and that they say: “We are happy that it went well today too. That the children have managed well throughout the day”. – I find that quite worrying, replies Rasmussen. Hilde Skullestad Stengelsrud is the main shop steward in the Trade Union in Kongsberg. – More children, reduced staff with adults. Understand it whoever wants to. In any case, we don’t think it’s entirely up to snuff, she says. Hilde Skullestad Stengelsrud and Anette Rasmussen talk about a difficult everyday life for the after-school staff. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news Fewer adults to look after more children The trade union is worried about the development nationally. – More children in SFO, but the quality plummets. Ingrid Wergeland at the Trade Union. Photo: Privat This is reported by Ingrid Wergeland, adviser at the information department at the Trade Union Confederation. – Our members who work at SFO tell us that there have been more children per adult and that they are not given a good enough offer. Figures from the Directorate of Education confirm the concern. Since 2021, there have been 21,427 more children, but only 1,837 more employees. Overall, each individual employee has had several children to look after. The after-school program The government introduced from autumn 2022 an offer of 12 hours of free after-school care per week for all first-graders. The scheme has been extended to 2nd grade from autumn 2023 and was extended to 3rd grade from autumn 2024. Over 90 per cent of first-graders now participate in the after-school scheme. In 2023, the government will spend NOK 1.4 billion on free after-school services for first-graders, and NOK 700 million on expanding the scheme for second-graders. After the budget settlement with SV, the scheme will be extended from autumn 2024 to also apply to all third-graders. The measure will cost NOK 880 million in 2024. In an evaluation of the after-school program from 2018, a third answered that price is the reason why they do not use after-school care. 12 hours of free SFO is equivalent to a part-time place. This school year, a family will be able to save around NOK 20,000 a year per pupil at 1st or 2nd stage. The price of an after-school place is determined locally. A part-time position costs on average NOK 1,667 per month, while a full-time position costs on average NOK 2,807 per month. A total of 172,000 children now attend preschool across the country. This is an increase of around 12 percentage points from 153,000 children in the autumn of 2021. (Source: The Government) Fears even higher sickness absence Stengelsrud at the Trade Union expresses pleasure that the politicians and the education authorities have focused on after-school education. – Free core time means more children. We are also very happy about that. But we also see that there is less income for SFO, and then there will be fewer employees. She says that many after-school staff come to her with one wish: More colleagues. – They have education to plan and carry out activities, but are not allowed to use it as before. They want a staffing standard, but there are no national guidelines on that. Those who are hit hardest, says Stengelsrud, are the students with special needs. – Then we have to use the staffing at SFO to look after these. She tells about the generally high level of sickness absence in the municipality, and that the after-school staff do the best they can. – Ultimately, this affects the children. They don’t get a good enough offer, say Hilde Skullestad Stengelsrud and Anette Rasmussen. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news – Both after-school leaders and staff come to the office crying, worried that they are unable to do their job properly. Everyone stretches as far as they can. The challenge is that the elastic may break at some point. That is what we are afraid of. That there will be even higher sickness absence, says Stengelsrud. She would like the funds to be earmarked, and calls for a staffing standard, as they have in the kindergartens. – And the same as in school, how many students a teacher can have. But in SFO, what is responsible operation? Where is the list? asks Stengelsrud. Say earmarked funds are not the solution Kristin Holm Jensen is department director in the Local Government Organization (KS). She says that they face “significant challenges” in recruiting enough personnel for many important welfare services, and that they are in a pressured financial situation. Kristin Holm Jensen is department director at KS. Photo: Håkon Benjaminsen – This cannot be solved by earmarking funds for each individual sector, but will only involve stronger state management in detail, which makes the situation more demanding for the municipalities. Jensen says that KS would rather collaborate with the Trade Union and others on measures to ensure sufficient staffing both in SFO and other services – for example through better municipal finances, recruitment measures and measures to reduce sickness absence. Expects the municipality itself to provide a good enough offer – The Government has fully compensated the municipalities so that all pupils in 1st, 2nd and 3rd stages from autumn 2024 can participate in the scheme with 12 hours of free after-school care per week. This means that the municipalities are compensated for having the same staffing density in SFO as before. This is according to Synnøve Mjeldheim Skaar (Ap), State Secretary in the Ministry of Education. Synnøve Mjeldheim Skaar (Ap) is state secretary in the Ministry of Education. Photo: Kristine Urke Johansen / news – Is there money earmarked for the implementation of the new framework plan? – We have national expectations that the after-school services must fulfill the framework plan. But municipal politicians have great freedom to decide what ambitions they have for the offer the children receive, and what staffing is needed to fulfill it, Skaar replies. She says that with more after-school children, it is expected that the municipality will continue to provide what they believe is a good offer. – Increased participation is funded, and cannot be used as an excuse to lower the priority offered to the youngest school children after school. “Lack of resources increases the risk of being left out later” NTNU social research has carried out a three-year evaluation of the introduction of the new framework plan in after-school education. The researchers have found that employees and managers struggle with the introduction and that the quality is worse now than when they started the evaluation. A lack of resources and time to work on quality is pointed out, and this particularly affects children with special needs. ”There is reason to believe that it increases the chance that these children end up outside the community later in life, it is concluded”. Other findings from the report: Decline in the proportion of employees who state that they know the framework plan well. Fewer employees who state that they work with the framework plan in connection with other processes in the school. Fewer employees who feel that the framework plan is prioritized and known in the school. – SFO has caused a loss of income for the municipality Line Spiten (H) is the mayor of Kongsberg. She confirms a large increase in the number of after-school children after the extended free offer, but says that staffing has not been adjusted accordingly. – The government is responsible for the scheme, and this is financed through the framework grant. But the funding has not carefully looked at what an after-school place costs for Kongsberg municipality. Free time in SFO has resulted in a loss of income in the municipality. – When the government has not looked at what a free after-school place costs the municipality, then you get unfortunate results like this, says mayor Line Spiten (H). Photo: Christine Breivik Øen / news Based on the municipality’s finances and action plan, Spiten states the following: Free time in SFO for 1st stage from the school year 22-23, and extended to apply to 2nd stage from the school year 23-24, results in a loss of income from the number of children at SFO as of September 2023, of NOK 4.8 million per year for the 1st stage, and NOK 5 million for the 2nd stage. – The municipality is compensated for some of this loss of income over the framework grant, but the unit is not fully compensated for this and makes it challenging to operate the after-school offer. She says that many of the municipality’s major financial challenges are linked to demographics: Fewer children and young people, more elderly people. – What would you say to those who cry at work and feel that they are not enough? – I have great understanding that it is tough to stand in it. Through the information I have received through this case, I will investigate this even more closely. We will take up and see how we organize after-school in the best possible way. – Will Kongsberg manage this? – I have faith. Published 25/09/2024, at 09.31
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– They come to the office and cry – news Buskerud – Local news, TV and radio
