Support and consultation within early childhood education and care
A child enrolled in early childhood education and care has the right to general, intensified or special support as provided for in the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care (Early Childhood Education and Care Act, Section 15a). Timely, individually targeted support that is tailored to the child's needs contributes to the child's development, learning and well-being. This prevents the growth and complication of the child’s issues and decreases their risk of being excluded.
The principles of providing support
The support is provided based on the child’s strong suits as well as their needs pertaining to learning, development and wellbeing. The child’s own opinion is also heard, their age and development considered. Support within early childhood education and care consists of:
- meeting the child’s individual needs
- communal solutions, i.e. those related to the child group
- solutions related to learning environments
The early childhood education and care services strive to make every child feel they are accepted as themselves and as part of the group. Through positive reinforcement and enabling experiences of success, the development of the child’s positive self-image is empowered. The support and measures required by the child are written down into the child’s early childhood education plan by the daycare centre or the family day carer.
The staff must take up the most supportive ways of working with a child at an early stage, taking into account the methods, practices, and learning environments utilized in early childhood education and care, as well as their applicability to each individual child.
Based on this assessment, they evaluate whether their own work and/or the learning environment can be modified to better support the appropriate pedagogic solutions. If necessary, the staff may request the assistance of a special needs teacher for early childhood education in conducting this assessment.
Special needs teachers for early childhood education
A special needs teacher for early childhood education (Finnish abbreviation VEO) is tasked with assisting other early childhood education and care personnel in observing and identifying supportive measures appropriate for each child and detecting a child’s need for support as soon as possible. The special needs teacher for early childhood education provides special education and consults both other early childhood education and care personnel as well as the child’s parents. They also serve as the point of contact in organizing additional support and related measures. The special needs teacher for early childhood education works as part of a broader cooperative network in early childhood education and care.
You can find the contact information for special needs teachers in early childhood education where the daycare centre’s contact information is provided.
Coordinating early childhood special education teachers in the regions
Liisa Väkiparta, East
[email protected]
040 8063 992
Johanna Viianen, West
[email protected]
040 1854 613
Mikael Syrjänen, south
[email protected]
040 5780 467
Support in private daycare centres
The City of Tampere provides private early childhood education and care with consultation services from special needs teachers where the affairs of children in need of intensified and special support are concerned. The contact information for the special needs teacher in early childhood education is provided by each respective daycare centre. In addition, private early childhood education and care providers receive regular additional training in matters including support for children.