Pre-primary education is an essential part of lifelong learning, and its goal is to strengthen your child’s positive self-image and understanding of themselves as a learner. Pre-primary education is organised and developed according to inclusive principles, values and ways of thinking so that they are part of the entire pre-primary education activity.
Inclusion means that in pre-primary education an environment is created where your child feels included and can develop according to their own abilities.
When varied working methods, flexible groupings and close cooperation between you, the teachers and other staff are used, your child’s support needs can be identified at an early stage. In this way it is possible to prevent difficulties from arising and to provide support that promotes learning and participation in pre-primary education.
In Vaasa’s pre-primary education, support for learning and participation in pre-primary education is arranged as part of daily activities. Your child has the right to support that promotes learning and enables participation in pre-primary education. Primarily, support is provided within their own group through teaching arrangements that support the conditions for learning.
If your child has difficulties participating in the teaching provided in pre-primary education, they have the right to receive, as needed, group-level support measures and child-specific support measures to support learning and participation in pre-primary education. The aim of these is to secure every child’s opportunity to learn and to function in a group according to the objectives set for pre-primary education.
If your child needs support for their development, learning and wellbeing in supplementary early childhood education and care, the support is arranged in accordance with the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care. Support is provided in accordance with general, intensified and special support.
Teaching arrangements and group-level support measures that support learning aim to prevent the formation of greater support needs by implementing in the group such teaching arrangements and support measures that benefit many children.
By teaching arrangements that support learning we mean both pedagogical and structural arrangements that promote your child’s learning and participation in pre-primary education. These include, for example, differentiation, language-aware instruction, formation of child groups, a clear and predictable daily rhythm, group routines, flexible smaller groups, interaction and communication methods, pedagogical assistive devices, an inclusive learning environment, attention to strengths and accessibility.
Group-level support measures are provided systematically in addition to teaching arrangements that support learning. Group-level support consists of three types of support: general remedial teaching, instruction supporting the language of instruction and teaching provided by a special education teacher in connection with other teaching.
Your child has the right to receive child-specific support measures if group-level support measures are not sufficient. Child-specific support measures are provided based on individual need and regularly. Your child may receive several child-specific support measures according to their support needs. In connection with child-specific support measures, your child also has the right to receive group-level support measures. Support measures are arranged on the basis of an assessment of support needs, a plan for implementing child-specific support and a decision regarding support.
Your child has the right to receive child-specific support measures if group-level support measures are not sufficient. Child-specific support measures are provided based on individual need and regularly. Your child may receive several child-specific support measures according to their support needs.
In connection with child-specific support measures, your child has the right to also receive group-level support measures. Support measures are arranged on the basis of an assessment of support needs, a plan for implementing child-specific support and a decision regarding support.
In Vaasa’s pre-primary education, your child can be offered child-specific support measures, such as regular teaching provided by a special education teacher partly in a smaller group and in connection with other teaching, interpreting and assistant services as well as assistive devices.
Pre-primary education is organised so that your child receives instruction, upbringing and the support they need according to their development and needs. Cooperation with you is a central and important part of everyday pre-primary education. Your child also participates in the cooperation in a manner appropriate to their age and development.
In pre-primary education, both multi-professional and multi-sectoral cooperation are carried out. Multi-professional cooperation refers to collaboration between different professional groups in pre-primary education, which combines the knowledge and skills of the different professions. It is central to planning and implementing suitable teaching arrangements and group-level support measures that support learning conditions.
Multi-sectoral cooperation refers to cross-administrative collaboration by professional groups from different sectors that supports your child’s development, learning and wellbeing. In pre-primary education, cooperation is carried out primarily with student welfare services professionals. As needed, cooperation is also carried out with social services and other specialists of the wellbeing services county. This cooperation is especially important when your child’s life situation affects their learning or participation in pre-primary education.
The support services provided to your child should form a coherent whole, and the multi-professional network should work together to support your child’s comprehensive learning, wellbeing and development as well as to identify support needs.
The City of Vaasa’s early childhood education and special education employ 20 special education teachers whose services are available to your child in all early childhood education units.
Special education teacher in early childhood education:
- assess your child’s need for support for learning and participation in pre-primary education together with you and the group’s staff
- provide teaching at group level in connection with other teaching and are responsible for arranging child-specific support
- implement co-teaching with the group’s teachers
- provide teaching in flexible smaller groups as well as individual teaching as needed
- guide and consult teachers and other staff
- collaborate with you and your child and participate in multi-professional and multi-sectoral cooperation.
Contact the group’s teacher or the special education teacher if you want to discuss your child’s learning, upbringing or care support.
etunimi.sukunimi@edu.vaasa.fi
The City of Vaasa’s early childhood education, in collaboration with Åbo Akademi, has piloted co-teaching between early childhood education teachers and special education teachers since 2022. Based on the experiences and research results obtained in the project, the City of Vaasa’s co-teaching handbook for early childhood education has been produced.
The handbook is intended for early childhood and pre-primary education professionals, students in the field and others interested in the topic.
Co-teaching handbook(Finnish)
Discussion cards(Finnish)
Template for co-teaching(Finnish)