Integrated groups in early childhood education and care
Early childhood education and care in Tampere employs integrated groups in all regions. Such groups include children in need of intensified or special support (6) and peers (8), 14 children altogether. General support is also rendered as necessary.
Such groups generally employ four adults: two early childhood education teachers, a daycare nurse, and an assistant. The personnel in the group also closely cooperate with the special needs early childhood education teacher and keep their skills up to date in basic and special pedagogy alike.
Everyday life in an integrated group
The activities are based on the national early childhood education and care plan, its local City of Tampere edition, as well as the City of Tampere plan for support provision. The daily activities and learning environment of the group are designed and customized based on the children’s individual plans to meet their needs and provide support in everyday life and rehabilitation.
Children in need of intensified or special support may have a variety of needs. Children are selected on the group based on their growth, their learning pathway (i.e. “home address”) as well as their individual need for support. Children in need of similar support measures are not purposefully aggregated in the same group.
The integrated groups make use of a variety of methods, routines, and supportive equipment to ease their everyday work depending on which children attend each year. Listed below are some examples for everyday support measures frequently employed, open to all children in the group whether or not they have been specifically designated for such support.
Picture-assisted daily or weekly schedule, structure: The schedule is gone over at a morning meeting to give every child an idea what is about to happen that day. The daily schedule generally repeats in similar form every day, allowing a sense of security for the children as well as increasing trust towards their own and other’s actions.
Morning meeting: There may be a need to organize two separate morning meetings to provide age- and development-appropriate learning circumstances for all.
Pictures are used to support language development, focus, and anticipation of the day’s many events. Pictorial communication can help children in many situations, including transitions and tantrums.
Clear, brief instructions help a child to better understand and carry out instructions, i.e. succeed. It is important for a child to know what is expected of them.
Using a Time Timer clock, the passing of the time available for the task at hand is visualized. The clock may, for example, show the time available for play and help to transition from one activity to the next.
Speech-supporting sign language is used in many groups to bolster language development, attentiveness, and comprehension for all children.
Traffic lights (a green, a yellow, and a red circle) may be used to provide positive feedback and to regulate behaviour both with individual children and in a group setting.
Equipment to defuse motor restlessness, including tangle therapy devices, seat cushions, weighted stuffed animals or blankets, spikey massage balls, rubber bands...
Hearing protection: help children easily startled by noise in loud environments.
Small group activities: Not all children in a given group always engage in the same activities every day; instead, each gets a chance to take part in activities appropriate to their skills. The objective is to ensure every child gets to play and engage in activities in peace.
Trips: Not all children will necessarily go out on a trip on the same day, either: some destinations are also better suited for small groups. Every child will be provided an opportunity to go on trips.
Learning through modelling: Each child has their own strengths, and each receives help to bring that strength out. Children can socially learn various skills from one another: play skills, working in a group, accepting difference, imagination, enthusiasm and abilities to learn...
Multiprofessional cooperation
In early childhood education and care, early childhood education counsellors work to support families. Organizing such support is a multiprofessional effort involving, as necessary for the child, not only childcare and educational personnel, but also e.g. workers from the child health clinic. Other support-providing structures include the city’s other health care services, family counselling services, social services, rehabilitation and therapy services for children and youth, as well as Tays hospital. The Keinu teams at maternity and child health clinics offer multiprofessional services to families, including in questions related to support measures. In addition, the family centre model encompasses the gamut of services offered to families with children under one roof.