Smart Work 2027: A Community-Oriented Katuma Early Education Centre

The development of community-oriented practices in the daycare centre’s everyday life has stemmed purely from the Katuma Early Education Centre staff’s desire to develop their own work and to carry out educational, care, and teaching duties with enthusiasm by finding new ways of working. The staff also want to guide the children in a strong tradition of community spirit within a small daycare centre. All the ideas have come from the Katuma staff themselves. It is the director’s task to create the structures that make these community-oriented ideas possible.

Our daycare centre’s sense of community is based on activities that cross group boundaries and on shared pedagogical planning:

• outings in small groups across group boundaries
• gym hall days across group boundaries
• learning sessions for 5-year-olds across group boundaries
• a shared sing-along for the whole centre every month, as well as a shared start-of-the-month gathering each month
• shared rest-time activities across group boundaries
• a friendship daycare partnership with Siiri daycare centre
• family evenings held by the teachers, three times in autumn and three times in spring
  

As a result of developing a community-oriented way of working, our daycare centre has seen stronger employee wellbeing, a greater sense of togetherness among staff, and a stronger experience of meaningful work. Shared planning and the sharing of responsibility have brought new ways of working, improved the smoothness of daily work, and eased the workload of individual employees. The approach has strengthened professional expertise, its sharing, and peer learning. Staff strengths are now being used more diversely than before.

Developing a community-oriented way of working has become a permanent part of everyday life at our daycare centre. The work will continue by strengthening cooperation across group boundaries, shared pedagogical planning, and the sharing of staff expertise. Our goal is to maintain a learning work community where new ways of working are developed together and everyone’s strengths are used for the benefit of the children.

Developers

Katuma Early Education Centre:
Else Laukkanen, early childhood education teacher
Päivi Väisänen, early childhood education teacher
Viivi Harju, early childhood education teacher
Mia Salo, early childhood education childminder
Sanna Tuominen, early childhood education childminder
Kati Tammisto, early childhood education childminder
Tuula Parkkinen, early childhood education childminder
Oona Tennilä, early childhood education childminder
Mirikli Keväänranta, early childhood education childminder
Lotta Sundman, early childhood education assistant