WELCOME

TO PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION!

THE OPERATING PRINCIPLES OF PRE-PRIMARY AND SUPPLEMENTARY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN MUNICIPAL DAY CARE CENTRES

CITY OF PORVOO:

www.visitporvoo.fi/early-childhood-education

Application, income declaration, contact details (in Finnish).

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION SERVICES’ PEDANET PAGE:

Pre-primary education services’ Pedanet page (in Finnish)

Forms, units, contact details, activities (in Finnish).

DAILY INFORMATION CHANNEL DAISYNET porvoo.daisynet.fi/ (also in English)  

Reservations, announcements and the individual pre-primary education plan

CHECKLIST FOR WHEN YOUR CHILD HAS BEEN GRANTED A PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION PLACE

1. Notify your acceptance of the place via eDaisy. (if you receipt a letter, the place is accepted by contacting the relevant day care centre)

2. Make note of the invitation to the children’s orientation day and the parents’ evening. (regarding year 2020-2021 the orientation day is in August and a infoletter will be send home to every family)

3. Free-of-charge pre-primary education starts on 12 August 2020. The need for any supplementary early childhood education before entering pre-primary education is agreed with the day care centre manager.

4. Submit an income declaration for the calculation of the client fee via the electronic service eDaisy no later than the end of the starting month, if the child is receiving supplementary early childhood education before entering pre-primary education. www.porvoo.fi/varhaiskasvatuksen-asiakasmaksut (in Finnish)

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OPENING HOURS AND SERVICE NEEDS

Free-of-charge pre-primary education is provided for 20 hours a week primarily between 9 am and 1 pm on weekdays. If necessary, children will be provided with supplementary early childhood education subject to a fee in the morning and afternoons in the same place. The school year for pre-primary education starts on 12 August 2020 and ends on 31 May 2021. Pre-primary education abides by the vacation periods in comprehensive school. No free-of-charge pre-primary education is provided during school holidays.

Day care centres and pre-primary education groups operating in school premises are open from 6.30 am to 5 pm from Monday to Friday. If necessary, early childhood education is provided from 6 am to 6 pm based on a separate agreement. Other service needs are subject to service contracts. The contract can be amended from the start of the following month. The client fee is determined based on the agreed upon service needs in addition to the free-of-charge pre-primary education.

The autumn, Christmas and winter holiday, as well as any absences in June or July, will be determined with the help of a separate survey provided to the parents.

STARTING PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION AND ORIENTATION

An orientation day for children entering pre-primary education will be organised, which gives the children an opportunity to get acquainted with the premises, operations, staff and future classmates. A parents’ evening will also be held.

A starting discussion will be held with parents of new pupils. Information on children who have already participated in early childhood education is transferred to the location providing pre-primary education.

Guardians will be instructed in using the Daisy electronic service for early childhood education (in English).

MAKING ATTENDANCE RESERVATIONS AND NOTIFYING ABSENCES

The dates on which children attend education is reserved through Daisynet by 10 am on Monday no later than two weeks before the attendance.

Absences must be notified through Daisynet first thing in the morning or by calling the group directly.

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Once the guardian has notified that their child will be attending pre-primary education, the starting point is that the child will be participating in all of the education. Permission must be applied for for absences of more than five days (not due to illness).

TAKING THE CHILD HOME

The child is dropped off and picked up from the early childhood and pre-primary education place by their guardian(s). The guardian must sign their child in and out by showing their Daisy tag to a mobile device of a staff member. If the child is to be picked up by someone else, the early childhood education place must be informed of this in advance. Please notify the child’s group if you know that you will miss the agreed upon pickup time.

School transport in accordance with the Basic Education Act can be applied for by using a separate form. Applications are approved in accordance with the school transport principles validated by the City’s Education Committee www.porvoo.fi/koulukuljetukset (in Finnish). Children attending pre-primary education are primarily granted accompanying allowance.

THE PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Pre-primary education is steered by the pre-primary education curriculum, and the content development and steering of early childhood education in Porvoo is steered by the City of Porvoo’s early childhood education plan. Online versions of the plans are available (in Finnish) at www.porvoo.fi/varhaiskasvatuksen-esitteet-oppaat-ja-lomakkeet

Every child is also provided with an individual pre-primary education plan prepared in collaboration with the child’s guardians. Because of this, the City’s early childhood education staff set up annual meetings with children’s guardians.

Those enrolled in language immersion courses must regularly participate in language immersion pre-primary education to ensure that they learn Swedish. The language immersion courses comply with the pre-primary education curriculum while observing the special characteristics of language immersion teaching.

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PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION OBJECTIVES AND OPERATIONS

Early childhood education and the pre-primary education included as well as basic education form a cohesive entity of a child’s education in terms of their growth and learning along with a basis for life-long learning. Pre-primary education is an important phase in the child’s life, as it promotes the child’s growth and development prerequisites.

Pre-primary education is steered by goals of comprehensive skills, which include thinking and learning, cultural skills, interaction and expression, self-care and everyday skills, multiliteracy, information and communications technological skills as well as participation and influence. Strengthening children’s interaction and emotional skills as well as learning how to work in groups and various social situations are at the core of pre-primary education. It is also important to strengthen the child’s positive self-image and conception of themselves as a learner.

There are no individual subjects or classes in pre-primary education. Instead, the various areas and contents of learning are integrated into the daily activities. In pre-primary education, children mostly learn through play, movement, exploration, completing different tasks, expressing themselves and carrying out activities related to the arts. Linguistic skills bear a great significance in learning, and that is why language is both something children learn and learn with. The activities strengthen children’s interest in spoken, read and written language and support the development of these capabilities.

COOPERATION AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE BETWEEN PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION AND THE SCHOOL

As children move on to pre-primary education and from there to school, teachers discuss central issues that bear a significance to the organisation of the child’s teaching, learning and support as well as student welfare. During pre-primary education, the group cooperates with the local school by planning and organising shared activities for the children and the pupils. In the spring, the child’s future school will hold an orientation day.

COMMUNICATION

Communications about the activities of the pre-primary education group are handled electronically through Daisynet via child- or family-specific messages. In addition to this, group- or unit-specific bulletins are distributed via Pedanet.

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PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION AND SCHOOL HOLIDAY PERIODS

Autumn holiday 14–16 October 2020Christmas holiday 19 December 2019 – 6 January 2021Winter holiday 22 - 26 February 2021

Vacation day 14 May 2021

No free-of-charge pre-primary education is offered during school holidays, and the operations of early childhood education are scaled down. Some day care centres and pre-primary education groups are also closed. During these times, early childhood education services are centralised to the day care centres that remain open in each district. Children have the right to take holidays during their guardians’ holidays.

More information on the impact of holiday periods on client fees is available in the early childhood education client fee instructions.

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

SUPPORT FOR GROWTH AND LEARNING IN PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION

Children participating in pre-primary education are covered by support for growth and learning in accordance with the Basic Education Act. According to the Act, children are entitled to sufficient support as soon as the need for support arises. The three levels of support for the growth and learning of children are general, enhanced and special needs support. The purpose of early identification of challenges and support for growth and learning is to prevent learning difficulties and the unfavourable development of problems into more multifaceted and deeper issues.

The organisation of support for growth and learning starts with the strengths and learning and development needs of each child or group of children. Pre-primary education is there to ensure that all children have experiences of success in learning and working in a group. This supports the child’s positive self-image. Versatile feedback and information gathered about learning are used systematically to support and guide children. This makes progress in learning visible to the children.

The City employs special needs kindergarten teachers who work in close cooperation with pre-primary education staff and families, offering consultation to other staff and coordinating the various types of support provided to children. Parents can also contact the City’s special needs kindergarten teachers directly.

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More information on the support available to children and families is available on the website of the City of Porvoo early childhood education services (in Finnish) www.porvoo.fi/lapsen-ja-perheen-tukeminen

STUDENT WELFARE IN PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION

Student welfare refers to the promotion and maintenance of the child’s learning, good physical and psychological health as well as social welfare, and actions that increase the related capabilities. Student welfare is primarily implemented as a preventive and communal tool that supports the entire community. Guardians also have a representative in the communal welfare group of the pre-primary education group or the day care centre.

In addition to this, the child has a right to individual student welfare services (psychologist, school social worker and health care services) as well as an individual multidisciplinary case-specifically assembled student welfare group.

CLOTHING AND SUPPLIES

The child needs the following when starting pre-primary education: weather-appropriate outdoor clothes, waterproofs, a second set of clothes, indoor shoes and any personal supplies. The second set of clothes is kept in the child’s own locker. Dirty waterproofs are washed at home. The child’s clothes, shoes and supplies must be name-tagged to avoid mix-ups.Any special clothing or equipment (e.g. gym clothes, ice skates, etc.) will be requested separately.

The teaching materials and equipment as well as any outings and events are free of charge in pre-primary education.

MEALS

Pre-primary education includes lunch. Early childhood education supplementary to pre-primary education includes breakfast and a snack, in addition to lunch. The City of Porvoo’s guidelines for meals and nutrition (Ruokailun ja ravitsemuksen linjaukset) are followed in the provision of meals. Each child is given a xylitol pastille after each meal.

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SPECIAL DIETS

Special diets are available to children who need them based on medical grounds. A special diet is only offered on the basis of a medical certificate, which must be submitted to the child’s early childhood education place. The certificate is valid for one year at a time, with the exception of permanent diets (e.g. a diet based on celiac disease).

Vegetarian food is served to everyone once a week. On other days, lacto-ovo vegetarian or vegan dishes are only prepared by separate order. Variations of the regular diet based on religious and cultural grounds are also available. The guardian must notify the day care centre manager of any changes to the child’s diet.

Special diets or variations of the regular diet are only provided on the condition that the child follows the same diet at home as well.

Children are not allowed to bring birthday or other treats and sweets with them to pre-primary education.

HEALTH CARE AND ILLNESSES

The child’s guardians should make sure that the child washes their hands when joining the group.The use of fragrances is avoided in early childhood education places, which we would like guardians to also take into consideration when visiting their child’s early childhood education place.

ILLNESSES

The early childhood education place will notify guardians of any epidemics and infectious diseases. Guardians are also asked to notify the staff at their child’s group of any infectious diseases that their child may have.

Bringing a child who is ill or still recovering from an illness to pre-primary education is prohibited. A child must always be given adequate time to recover after an illness. The child must have the energy to participate in their group’s activities. Early childhood / pre-primary education services follow the City of Porvoo health centre’s instructions on infection isolation times.

In the event that the child falls ill during the day, the child’s guardians will be contacted. The child should then be taken home to recover as soon as possible. Please inform the staff of any changes to your contact details without delay.

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MEDICATION

A child’s medication is the responsibility of the physician treating the child and the administration of medication should be carried out primarily at home. If medication needs to be administered during the day, the medicine must be supplied to the day care centre in its original packaging, which must state the prescription’s recipient and the medicine’s dosage.

For more detailed instructions, please see the early childhood education services’ medication plan.

ACCIDENTS AND ACCIDENT INSURANCE

In the event that the child has an accident during early childhood education, the staff will inform the child’s guardians about this. Unless the situation is urgent, it is the responsibility of the child’s guardian to take the child to receive the necessary care and treatment.

In urgent situations, the staff will ensure that the child is provided with immediate first aid and treatment.

ACCIDENT INSURANCE AND NOTIFYING ACCIDENTS, REIMBURSEMENT OF TREATMENT COSTS:

Children attending early childhood education organised by the City are covered by an accident insurance policy. This coverage also extends to journeys between the early childhood education place and the child’s home (by the shortest route).

The insurance policy only offers reimbursements of costs resulting from the use of public sector health care services. In this context, public sector health care services mean treatment that is provided at operating units and institutions maintained by the state, municipalities and joint municipal authorities, such as health centres.

In the event of an accident, the early childhood education place will submit a notice of the accident to the insurance company. The child’s guardian must apply for the reimbursement of possible costs themselves. Additional information about applying for reimbursements is available from the early childhood education place.

THE CHILD’S POSSESSIONS:

The City of Porvoo does not have an accident and theft insurance policy for compensating broken or missing possessions.

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MULTICULTURAL EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

The diversity of early childhood education is an asset. Children and adults may have different backgrounds, languages, cultures, values or worldviews. Diversity is valued as a resource. More information on multicultural early childhood education (in Finnish):

https://peda.net/porvoo-borgå/vtis/mm/monikulttuurisuus#nav

Children whose native language is something other than Finnish or Swedish are provided with support for learning both their native language and Finnish or Swedish.

CLIENT FEES FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION SUPPLEMENTARY TO PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION

The client fee is charged starting from the day on which the guardian(s) confirm their acceptance of the early childhood education place (within 1 month of the starting date on the decision).

If you are a new client, you must submit an income declaration for the determination of the client fee.

www.porvoo.fi/varhaiskasvatuksen-asiakasmaksut (in Finnish)

The client fee decision and monthly invoice for early childhood education services are sent to the client by post.

CUSTODY

JOINT CUSTODY

According to Section 5(1) of the Act on Child Custody and Right of Access, the persons who have custody of a child are jointly responsible for the duties inherent in custody and make the decisions concerning the child together, unless otherwise provided or ordered.

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An early childhood education place can be applied for by the guardian with whom the child lives. Guardians with joint custody need to agree on the joint exercise of custody and the reception of information related to the child’s early childhood education with each other.

From the perspective of early childhood education staff, guardians with joint custody are equal when it comes to matters of upbringing. The implementation of early childhood education is discussed with both guardians or, by agreement, with the guardian with whom the child lives. Both guardians are informed of any matters concerning the child through Daisynet. In the event of custody or meeting disputes, the day care centre must be supplied with an agreement confirmed by a child welfare officer or a court decision confirming who the child may be handed over to.

SINGLE CUSTODY

When only one of the child’s parents has custody of the child, this guardian makes all the decisions concerning the child alone. In this case, early childhood education services will hand over information concerning the child only to the child’s guardian. The other parent’s possible right to be informed must be agreed upon or notified separately.

CHILD WELFARE

The party primarily responsible for a child is the child’s parents. One of the tasks of early childhood services is to support parents with their upbringing and education duties. Potential problems and difficulties are addressed early in cooperation with the parents whenever possible.

Together with guardians, the authorities may submit a request for an assessment of child welfare needs. The authorities’ duty to notify (Section 25 of the Child Welfare Act) requires them to immediately submit a child welfare notification if, in the course of their work, they discover that there is a child for whom it is necessary to investigate the need for child welfare on account of the child’s need for care, circumstances endangering the child’s development or the child’s behaviour.

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