Want more systematic work with language in the kindergartens

– There is nothing about language mapping or mapping tools in the new kindergarten strategy, she says with a determined look from the corner office in Oslo City Hall, where the view over Aker Brygge in the sun is impeccable.

The City Council for Education in Oslo would like to say something about the new strategy for quality in kindergartens, which is now just around the corner from the relatively fresh bourgeois city council.

That is to say, it is not completely new, it is based on the strategy from the previous red-green city council.

– We have made some changes, among other things we emphasize systematic language work in the kindergartens a little more than the strategy from the previous city council. But we also base our strategy on the analyzes and the work that was done on this from the previous city council, says Remen Midtgarden.

She says that after a long period where a lot of attention has been focused on getting enough nursery places, they will now focus on the quality of the offer.

– We have a great diversity of children in our kindergartens, and today there are too great differences in quality in the kindergartens – both from kindergarten to kindergarten and from district to district. The aim of the new strategy is to ensure that all children receive an equal offer regardless of background, she says.

Fighting theme

But then there was this with systematic language work. It may sound unproblematic to the uninitiated, but few things have caused more furore among kindergarten teachers than something that has often been talked about in the same breath, namely language mapping in kindergartens.

Part of that debate has been about politicians who have wanted to order kindergartens to use certain mapping tools and working methods. Among other things, the Conservative Party in Oslo has been keen for a form of language mapping in the kindergartens, while the Education Association has called it a waste of the kindergarten teachers’ time.

So, when the Conservative Party again pulls systematic language work out of the hat, is the city council prepared for reactions?

– I think a lot of people who work in the kindergartens share my ambition and my desire for the kindergartens to facilitate a good language environment and enjoyment of reading. Then any reactions are probably about a concern for what it means in practice for the day-to-day working life of the kindergarten teachers, says Remen Midtgarden.

She points out that several surveys show a negative trend for reading skills in school, and that today we read too little to children, both at home and in kindergartens.

– There is too little reading in kindergarten. The new reading survey from 2024 shows that parents are reading less and less to their children, and this makes reading in kindergarten extra important.

– No guides

She emphasizes several times that the strategy only lays down some overall goals and path choices, while more concrete measures will come in a later action plan.

– What we are saying in the strategy now is about ambitions on behalf of the kindergartens, and what we will jointly achieve. There are no guidelines on what the kindergartens should do. It is important that the kindergartens themselves contribute by looking at how they can facilitate a good language environment and to support the children in language development. I don’t think there is anything in this strategy that is very provocative in terms of ambitions for language work in kindergartens.

– And it won’t be in the subsequent action plan either?

– What comes there, we have to get back to. But we are not going to propose a joint municipal language mapping tool, says Remen Midtgarden.

– Kindergartens must have a plan

For the time being, they are rather sparing in flagging concrete measures.

– We will follow up the strategy with an action plan, where we are more specific. But what we can say is that all kindergartens must have a plan for how they observe, assess and support the children’s language development. And for how they will facilitate a rich play and language environment.

She points out that the municipality has already established practice with a review of how the children are language-wise in connection with the transition from nursery school to school.

– It is useful information for the schools, and it is done in dialogue with the parents. It is standard for all kindergartens, and I think that is a good idea. That awareness is already there today, so what we have in the strategy is more about the systematic follow-up of the language work.

– Kindergarten teachers will probably be worried about whether this will interfere with their freedom to decide the educational work in their kindergarten – how much will you from a political point of view set guidelines on what should be done on the floor in the kindergartens?

– We are now preparing a strategy and eventually an action plan. Then there are the districts in Oslo that are the nursery school owners and must find out how it will be followed up. The strategy will not contain any detailed guidelines for the kindergartens. But it is a clear political goal that all children in Oslo should be able to meet books and be read to in kindergartens, says Remen Midtgarden.