A good childhood
- the foundation for a good life
Our ethos
This setion is freely adapted from the Norwegian framework plan for kindergartens.
Childhood has intrinsic value and we always take a holistic approach to the children’s development. Helping to ensure that all the children can enjoy a good childhood with well-being, friendships and play is essential in our work. We also see it our task to prepare children for active participation in society and help lay the foundations for a good life.
Our overriding principle for all our activities is considering what is in the best interest of the children as individuals. We continually work together with the home to meet the children’s need for care and play, as well as promote learning and formative development. We must see play, care, learning and formative development in context.
The fundamental values of our kindergarten are built on the Christian and humanist traditions. Values such as respect for human dignity and nature, freedom of thought, compassion, forgiveness, equality and solidarity – values which exist in various religions and world views and which are entrenched in human rights law.
Meeting every child’s need for care, security, belongingness and respect and enabling the children to participate in and contribute to the community are important values that shall be reflected in kindergarten. In addition, our kindergarten shall continuously work to promote democracy, diversity and mutual respect, equality, sustainable development, life skills and good health.
Democracy
By participating in the kindergarten community, the children should develop an understanding of society and the world in which they live. We work to promote democracy and to be an inclusive community in which everyone is allowed to express themselves, be heard and participate.
Diversity & mutual respect
We work to help the children discover that there are many ways to think, act and live. We do this by shared experiences and highlighting the value of community. Children also learn human dignity through activities where they can learn from each other and where we spark their curiosity and sense of wonder about similarities and differences.
Equality
We promote equality irrespective of gender, functional ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ethnicity, culture, social status, language, religion and world view. We work to combat all forms of discrimination and promote compassion.
“We want to develop the children’s ability to think critically, act ethically and show solidarity. ”
Sustainable development
We want to teach the children to look after themselves, each other and nature. We know that we play an important role in promoting values, attitudes and practices for future generations to build more sustainable communities and preserving life on Earth as we know it.
We want to develop the children’s ability to think critically, act ethically and show solidarity. We provide many opportunities for the children to care for and to look after their surroundings and the natural environment. It is essential that the children are given a lot of outdoor experiences and discover the diversity of the natural world, and we see it as part of our job to help the children feel connected with nature.
Life skills and health
We know we can contribute to the children’s well-being, happiness and feeling of self-worth. We work tirelessly to be a safe and challenging place where the children can experiment with different aspects of interaction, community and friendship. We grow their resilience by supporting them in coping with adversity, tackling challenges and exploring their own feelings and those of others. If a child experiences bullying, we deal with, stop and follow up on it.
Daily physical activity is key in our kindergarten and we want to share the joy of movement and motor development with the children. But we also balance it out with opportunities for quiet, rest and relaxation over the course of the day.
Since we are in day-to-day close contact with the children, we are well placed to observe the children’s care situation and personal circumstances. Our team is conscious of the fact that children may be victims of neglect, violence and sexual abuse. Team members have undergone safeguarding training and are aware of how to detect and prevent child abuse.