Frequently asked questions about school and welfare services

Children have different needs. Some children need support to improve how they feel and play to their strengths. The role of school services is to provide targeted advice and support to children, their families, and staff of preschools and primary schools.

A diverse group of professionals works with school services at Reykjavík City and they are located throughout the city. You can find the school services for example:

• As a specialized service in the City's preschools and primary schools.
• At centers in the city's districts.
• At the Center of Language and Reading in Hvassaleitisskóli School.
• In the Creation and Information Technology Studio Mixtúra at the University of Iceland's Faculty of Education.
• At the Outdoor Activity and Outdoor Education Center on Gufunesvegur Road.

All children who attend preschool and primary school in Reykjavík are entitled to school service if they meet the following conditions:

• The child's legal residence is in Reykjavík.
• The child's guardians and school staff believe the child needs support to best benefit from preschool or primary school.
  

You can request school service by discussing it with your child's department head in preschool or the child's homeroom teacher in primary school. If you prefer to talk to someone other than your child's school, the centers are also available for you. There you can book a time for phone counseling and talk to a counselor, no matter how big or small your matter is.

• Find my Center
• Book phone counseling at the Online Center

No, the service is free of charge for both schools and parents.

Yes, partially. Only parents can apply for certain services, while others are handled by different individuals.

• Class teachers can apply for services and seek advice from their school's solution team and student-protection council. This is a platform where a child's issues are mapped out and referred to additional services if necessary. Parents are always informed before their children's matters are discussed and can provide feedback.
• Preschool and primary school administrators can apply for additional funding for children who need more support.
• Your child's contact person in preschool or primary school can apply for your child to get a case manager. A case manager is requested for children if they have complex issues that require more support than the school can provide.
• Child Protection Services may apply for integrated services for a child in some cases.

Yes, up to a point. If you use the service of a private provider, for example, for a diagnosis, it's important to ensure the results are delivered to your child's school. Professionals who perform diagnoses will, in some cases, ask for your consent to share the results with your child's contact person or case manager, so they can be used to apply for services.

There are four centers and one online center in Reykjavík. Detailed information about the centers can be found on the Reykjavík City website.

• Find my Center

The centers offer a variety of services to families.

• Individual counseling for children and parents
• Review of the problems a child is facing
• Courses for parents and children to improve well-being and interaction
• Group work that enhances children’s engagement and confidence
• YouthWorks with counseling and support for parents and children
• Parenting education and counseling
• Support families for children and their families
• Specialized resources for disabled and chronically ill children

The centers offer a variety of services to schools.

• Center support for schools and recreation
• Advice from the solution team
• Referrals to a student-protection council
• Review of the problems a child is facing

If you believe your child requires additional support, it's always a good place to start by discussing the matter with those who interact with your child at school. This could be the preschool head of division, the homeroom teacher in the primary school, or another trusted individual within the school, such as the special education director. You can also speak directly with someone from the school service at your child's center.

Preschools and primary schools offer a wide range of support in school. Preschool and school principals oversee how the service is specifically organized in their schools. Examples of services include school counselors, study support, special education, support representatives, and developmental therapists. Increased collaboration with other teachers, leisure, and the center can also better support the children.

No. A closer look can increase your and the school's understanding of how best to meet your child's needs. However, a formal diagnosis is not necessary for a child to receive assistance in school as the school should strive to meet the needs of all children. Formal diagnosis can, however, be a prerequisite for specialized services, prescription medication, and care allowance.

Early intervention refers to assisting children facing potential difficulties as early as possible. This is achieved through timely, targeted support and services, so the child can thrive in preschool and primary school. Successful early intervention works to prevent problems from arising and addresses issues before they worsen.

It can be time-consuming and demanding for parents to keep track of information about their child and share it with the right people at the right time. The purpose of integrated service is to have the child's contact person take over this task. If parents request integrated service, they are asking for and authorizing service providers to communicate and share information that could help the child.

Your child's service can be improved if it's integrated. When those assisting your child can communicate, it is easier for them to work together. These may include individuals such as:

• after-school program staff
• your child's coach
• independent professionals (psychologist, occupational therapist, or speech therapist)
• healthcare staff
• social service staff
• child protection staff
• police officers

This does not mean that anyone can know everything about your child. Those assisting your child generally should not share information about the child unless they believe it can help. Information about your child should only go to those who can assist in meeting the child's needs.

It depends on the stage of the case.

• Initially, it's always the homeroom teacher in primary school or division head in preschool who manages the children's cases.
• If the child needs further assistance, a contact person can be reached, often a division head of support services in primary school or special education director in preschool.
• For more advanced cases, it can be handled by a counselor at a center.
• For children with complex issues requiring more service than can be provided in school or by a single counselor at a center, the child's case can be managed by a case manager.
  

In preschool, it's the head of the division the child belongs to who manages the child's affairs and is responsible for communication with the parents.

In primary school, it's the child's homeroom teacher who manages the child's affairs and is responsible for communication with the parents.

The role of a contact person is to oversee the needs of children and assess whether they need additional assistance. All children and their parents have the right to access a contact person. After a child starts preschool or primary school in Reykjavík, the contact person is someone who works in the school and is familiar with school services. These could for instance be special education directors in preschools and support division managers in primary schools. If a child has not started school, the contact person can be someone working at the child's health clinic. If you're unsure who your contact is, your child's school or a counselor at a center can guide you on the next steps.

If you suspect your child needs additional support, your contact can help you with the next steps, assess your child's need for support, and provide you with information about available services.

If it becomes apparent that parents or the child need more services than the school can provide, the contact person can request a case manager. Case managers are part of the team at the Reykjavík City centers. The case manager then brings their expertise and manages the work of the support team that has been formed to serve the child. The child's contact person can still be part of the team but no longer manages it.

All children have the right to request integrated services. However, the decision to determine the need for a case manager and to request one if needed is made by the contact person or municipality. Guardians can always discuss the need for a case manager with their child's contact.

A solution team is a team within the school that maps the situation of children and seeks solutions to support them.

In the solution team, social interaction, behavior, learning, and well-being of children are discussed, and suitable measures are activated to respond earlier to difficulties or situations of the child. The issue can concern individual children or groups of children in their learning, work, and play. Guardians should always be informed when seeking advice regarding their children's issues from the solution team.

• Team leader. The school manager appoints the solution team's leader.
• There are 2-3 representatives from the primary school, a representative of recreational activities, and a representative from the Department of Education & Youth. School work representatives can be the school manager, special education director, division head in school, special education teacher, school counselor, or developmental therapist. The representative of the recreational activity can be the head of the after-school program and/or youth center. School service representatives can be behavior counselors or educational consultants.
• The team leader then invites others as needed, such as a school nurse, school psychologist, youth counselor, social worker, division head for children or youth work in the recreational activity or a consulting developmental therapist for the recreational activities as appropriate.
  

If a case has been discussed in the solution team and further solutions are needed, cases are sometimes referred to the student-protection council, unless it is an urgent matter.

The student-protection council in school deals with special solutions for individual students or groups of students. The Council assesses what additional information is needed and invites the homeroom teacher and guardian and other parties involved in the case as needed to its meeting.

Once a decision has been made about the necessary actions, improvements, or interventions, the school manager can assign parties within the Council to follow up on the case. The Council coordinates the planning and implementation of student services regarding school health care, study and career counseling, and the center. The Council also assists the school manager in implementing plans for special assistance to students.

The school manager appoints the student-protection council for one year at a time and is responsible for the operation of the Council, which should take into account the circumstances at the school in question. The school manager or their representative oversees the student-protection council's operations.

• The school manager and/or a representative that they appoint
• Special education director
• Representative from the school health clinic
• Representative from a center
• School and career counselor.
• Representatives from child protection authorities, when necessary.
  

You need to give consent so that those involved in your child's service can discuss among themselves.

Apart from this, primary schools and preschools have permission to discuss children's cases at student-protection council meetings and in solution teams if parents have been informed before the issues are discussed. Parents then have an opportunity to comment.

If children's issues need to be discussed elsewhere, such as if Landspítali hospital staff want to speak with school staff or share information about the child, parents first need to submit a request for this to be done. The parents are the ones who give consent for the information to be shared with a contact person by submitting the request.

If the child receives integrated services, parents do not need to submit a request each time the child's case is to be discussed. Those assisting the child can then share information about the child if they believe it can help the child.

Consent can be withdrawn at any time.

Primary schools and preschools have permission to discuss children's cases at student-protection council meetings and in solution teams if parents have been informed before the issues are discussed. Parents then have an opportunity to comment or object to the discussion of the case.

If your child's case is discussed in a solution team or the student-protection council, the members have access to information about your child.

If parents request a service provider to share information with a contact person, that contact person is given access to the information. Often, this contact person is the head of the support program if the child is in primary school or the special education director if the child is in preschool. If a child has a case manager, the information is shared with the case manager instead. Case managers are most often employees of a center or child protection services.

If the case has been processed online, the Online Center has access to the necessary data to ensure proper registration of the information.
If the child is receiving integrated services, those servicing your child have access to the necessary data to provide the service.

After a specified period, all child case data must be handed over to the Municipal Archives.

If you have submitted a request or applied for a service for your child online, you can follow the application's status on My Pages.

If you have not applied online, but your child's case is in process, it is best to contact your child's contact person. Often, this contact person is the head of the support program in primary school or the special education director in preschool.

Parents are generally expected to fill out forms themselves. If you need assistance filling out forms, you can get help from a center, an interpreter, or the City's Service Center.

The contact person usually manages all data that accompanies the child's case. Often, this contact person is the head of the support program in primary school or the special education director in preschool.

If you have submitted a request or applied for a service for your child online, you can view the data you submitted on My Pages. As a guardian, you have the right to request to see all data related to you or your child. If you're looking for specific data and can't find it, you can request it by contacting the relevant service provider.

It depends on the service you're applying for. The shortest wait is for consultation at a center. This involves 1–3 meetings with a consultant who can provide parents with various advice or suggest forwarding the case for further services.

Wait times for a child's issue assessment can often be lengthy. Specialists evaluate your child's issues as quickly as possible, but you should often anticipate a significant wait. Wait times vary depending on what you're waiting for. Wait for a psychologist's screening can take up to two years, as can speech therapy. Wait times for specialized courses or other school service consultations are typically shorter.

The duration varies depending on the number of people requesting the service at any given time. Obtaining a preliminary diagnosis can take up to two years, and another two years for a final diagnosis.

There can be several reasons, for example:

• There's a high demand for diagnoses.
• Diagnoses take time to complete. Care is required when making diagnoses, and multiple aspects of the case must be considered to determine the cause of a child's difficulties.
• There aren't enough specialists or funding to meet demand quickly and reliably.
• Early intervention isn't used or effective enough, so people seek other available services.
  

Yes, the center prioritizes all applications into three categories based on the urgency of the matter. Priority is based on an assessment of the information submitted when applying for the service.

If the child switches schools or moves to another district or municipality, the previous contact person must ensure that the new contact person receives the necessary information about the child's circumstances to fulfill their role.

Before a full diagnosis is made, it's useful to examine how the problem primarily manifests itself. A screening is when specific symptoms that might be present in a child, such as language development, anxiety, attention, autism symptoms, or learning difficulty symptoms, are examined.

The main term in Icelandic is “forathugun” or preliminary examination but this is also called “skimun” or screening because it's a quick check of a child's situation.

While waiting for a diagnosis or an investigation into a child's difficulties, the process is typically referred to as undergoing a diagnostic procedure or being in the process of diagnosis.

Parents of preschool and primary school children can request an examination, diagnosis, and advice for their children. In addition, school administrators, teachers, career and study counselors, or other school or school health service staff, as appropriate, can request specialist assistance.

All diagnoses must be made in consultation with and with the consent of parents, and they should be informed about the result.

By law, parents have the right to apply for a diagnosis for their child. Usually, however, a request for a diagnosis is made in cooperation with the child's school.

The diagnostic process is designed to gather information about children's behavior and well-being in many situations. Children spend most of their time at school and at home, so the process is designed to request opinions from both schools and parents.

Even if the school and parents do not agree on requesting a diagnosis, parents still have the right to apply. For parents in this situation, the process starts by booking a consultation with an advisor at a center to discuss the matter.

• Book phone counseling at the Online Center
  

If a diagnosis request is denied, you can appeal the decision to the Ministry of Education and Children within three months from the time you were notified of the denial.

When applying for an examination of a child's issue, the parent fills in one part of the application, and the school completes a similar application. A specialist at a center then reviews both applications and compares them to assess the issue. Based on this review, the specialist prioritizes the cases.

Contact your child's primary school or preschool, or your local center, for more detailed information on how to apply. Efforts are being made to move these applications online.

• Find my Center
• Book a phone appointment with the Digital Center

When an application for assessment of a child's difficulties has been received from both parents and schools, a specialist at a center reviews the application. The specialist compares your descriptions with the school's descriptions. The specialist also compiles results from standardized checklists, if applicable. This is known as a screening.

Sometimes, the conclusion is that the child's problem doesn't need further assessment. Often, though, the matter is referred for further services.

An initial diagnosis involves more precise checklists and observation of the child in various situations. The result could be that the child meets the conditions for a particular diagnosis, or that the child doesn't meet certain benchmarks.

There are times when the case may need to be referred for a final diagnosis. This is done, for example, if there is interest in medication or if the issue is complex and multifaceted. The final diagnosis is made by the government.

Yes, the school continues to address the needs of all children to the best of its abilities. Often, it's recommended to continue working on a child's case in a solution team. You can turn to the solution team time and again. There, the child's situation is mapped out and advice is sought. An action plan is developed, reassessed, and updated as needed.

Children with integrated services and a case manager have a support team around them. In a child's support team, a group of specialists work together to assist the child in accordance with the support plan.