Great impairment and parents in trouble

Oddviti Independents in the municipal council of Reykjanesbær says service cuts in the town’s kindergartens are considerable and that it creates trouble for parents. Then there is also a very high average age of children who start a kindergarten stay in Reykjanesbær and the point of view says the majority does not live up to the promises for the last election.

In May, Independents, who were in the minority, submitted a request for a service reduction that occurred in the Reykjanesbær kindergartens in the winter of 2024 – 2025.

At a meeting of the town council of Reykjanesbær on Tuesday, it was stated that services in the Heiðarsel kindergarten had been reduced for a total of 17 times during the period, of which 16 times in the autumn months 2024. Stapa playing school has a total reduced service for 12 times, of which 9 times.

Shortening the work week and the number of work days plays into

Margrét A. Sanders, the leader of the Independence Party in Reykjanesbær, says in a conversation with mbl.is that there is a huge reduction, especially when the number of working days and shortening the work week is taken into account. The shortening amounts to 22 holidays a year, but in response to it, parents in the town now need to register their children specifically at kindergartens 11 days a year.

Then the schools are also closed during the summer.

« These are so much curtailment that we are simply worried that parents do not have such a summer vacation, » says Margrét, pointing out that the reduction was mainly in two kindergartens and has a great impact on parents of children who attend them.

Parents are in trouble

« Parents are in great trouble and we are asking what is being done, how is it being done? » says Margrét and adds:

« It is perhaps what we are most unhappy with, that the information is not coming to this we are not seeing what prevention is available. »

She mentions that a possible solution could be to establish some kind of rock or back-watching arrangement where people could be called in if, for example, illnesses arise.

« We are emphasizing that there are realistic plans so that families are not living with the summer holidays when it comes to summer holidays, » says Margrét.

Broken

This week, mbl.is discussed that children in Reykjanesbær are generally in the age range of 20 to 29 months when they are allowed to start a kindergarten stay, but that age is higher than in other municipalities of similar magnitude.

Asked how this situation is facing her, Margrét points out that on the eve of the last two elections in the municipality, the current majority has promised that children will be taken in at the age of 18, but that it is not real.

The majority of the local council consists of the Social Democratic Party, Progress and direct route.

The majority has been increasing the increase in children from Grindavík in the municipality, but Margrét says the arguments do not stand because the problem has come up long before the Grindavík earthquake erupted.

Then Margrét adds: « There is talk of two kindergartens being rising, but one is closing one out of mold. So we also have to ask ourselves: If we can’t person these existing kindergartens, how to respond when they increase? »