2012-11-15

In regards to SVT’s news report on the 11th of November

On the 11th of November 2012 there was a news report about a child who had disappeared from one of our pre-schools. Though it may have been portrayed that this was a recent incident, it actually had occurred almost two years ago (February 2011). A parent had forgotten to close the gate and the child had escaped from our pre-school in Gåshaga, Lidingö. There is no excuse for something like this happening and it of course should never have occurred. We adjusted our routines in order to guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again. We investigated what had happened together with the parents, the staff at the pre-school and Lidingö Municipality, and the situation was considered a ‘closed case’ during the spring of 2011. Routines for following-up were the same as those for Lidingö Municipality’s Pre-Schools where children had also disappeared from the pre-school.

We are in continuous communication with all of the municipalities where we have pre-schools and we are open for their suggestions about how we can further develop the quality of our program. We have a positive relationship and constructive dialogues with most municipalities, but unfortunately the relationship hasn’t been the same with Lidingö Municipality. During a visit to our pre-school in Gåshaga in August 2011 and March 2012, Lidingö Municipality decided that our pre-school was well-functioning and they were happy with the work that we were doing. Nonetheless, on the 25th of October 2012, Lidingö’s Utbildningsnamnden decided to give Futuraskolan Pre-School in Gåshaga an ‘Injuction’ (Föreläggande).

The injuction was in regards to three different points:

• The number of qualified pre-school teachers
• An adjustment of departments’ working plans where there were some connections to the old pre-school curriculum instead of the revised version
• The pedagogical environment

Of course, we are taking the comments from the municipality very seriously and have had a plan in order to fix these points.

As a company, we have a goal to have at least one pre-school teacher per department at our pre-schools, but unfortunately, there is a shortage of pre-school teachers right now in the greater Stockholm area. At the pre-school in Gåshaga, we have six departments with four full time employed pre-school teachers, one pre-school teacher who is currently working part time, one pedagog who is studying part time to become a pre-school teacher, along with a pre-school principal who is a qualified pre-school teacher. We are continuously advertising for pre-school teachers in various ways and we even have an internal recruitment bonus, but unfortunately, so far, we haven’t been able to reach our goal. In August, we employed a recruitment company to help us. With their help, we have been successful in recruiting some pre-school teachers to several of our pre-schools in other municipalities. We currently have two people who will be interviewed for the open positions in Gåshaga.

Two of the six departments in Gåshaga pre-school had during their planning for the year formulated their work from the unrevised version of the pre-school curriculum. That will of course be adjusted.

In regards to the pedagogical environment, we are continuously evaluating and reflecting on how to further develop both the inside and outside environments at our pre-schools. In order to guarantee an equal and high quality along with a well-thought through concept, one of our pre-school principals will be working with the overall plan for our pre-schools. Naturally, we are going to be spending extra time evaluating and further developing the environment at Gåshaga.

We feel as though we have been treated unfairly by Lidingö Stad. Futuraskolan is going to appeal the injunction and we are even going to file an Equality Treatment Report (JO-anmälan) of Lidingö Municipality’s Utbildningsförvaltningen and two of their employees.

We would like to also point out that we are very proud of our fantastic principals and pedagogs at all of our schools and pre-schools! We hope that you, just like us, think that Futuraskolan is a fantastic start to life for your child!

2012-11-01

Recipe of the Month – October 2012

Mussel Soup with Haddock, Hand-Peeled Shrimp, and Bacon & Gotland Root Vegetables

600g Haddock
500g Mussels
100g Shrimp
100g Finely sliced Bacon
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Yellow onion, finely chopped
2 Carrots, finely chopped
100g Parsnip, cubed in 15mm x 15mm pieces
100g Amandine Potatoes, cubed in 15mm x 15mm pieces
1 Fresh Chili
2 T (30 ml) Fresh Thyme
1 cube Fish Boullion
2 T (30 ml) Butter
2 dl White Wine
4 dl Water
3 dl Crème Fraiche

1. Scrub and throw away any open mussels (see here for information on how to prepare mussels safely – from Livsmedelsverket), slice the bacon, chop the onions, thyme, garlic & chili.
2. Heat up a pot with 2 T butter. Sauté the onions, bacon, chili, garlic & mussels.
3. Sauté for 3 minutes and add the white wine. Let it steam until the mussels have opened.
4. Remove from heat. Fish out the mussels, put them in a separate bowl, throwing away any that haven’t opened. Keep the juices.
5. Add the boullion, root vegetables & water in with the liquid from above and let it simmer until the root vegetables are soft, with only a little resistance in the centre.
6. Add the crème fraiche & bring it to the boil. Add the thyme.
7. Add the haddock & let it kook in the stew.
8. Serve with shrimp & mussels. Garnish the stew with mussels, shrimps and thyme.

2012-09-24

Recipe of the Month – September 2012

New for this year, our Head Chef is sharing some of his fantastic ability with us in the “Recipe of the Month!”

Pork Tenderloin in the Pan with Butter-Fried Chanterelles, Soft Baked Fingerling Potatoes (Sparrispotatis) & Crème Fraiche with Thyme

• 1200 g Pork
• 200 g Funnel Chanterelles
• 1 finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 dl chopped fresh thyme
• 4 table spoons Dark Veal Stock
• 4 dl Creme Fraiche
• Salt / Pepper
• 1200g Fingerling Potatoes or other small potato of choice
• 3 tablespoons Cold Pressed Canola Oil or Olive Oil
• Salt / Pepper

Instructions:

1. Wash wipe/potatoes and place in baking dish runs in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius until they feel soft.
2. While the potatoes are in the oven chop thyme, clean and cut up pork tenderloin into thicker slices.
3. When the pork is browned, add the finely chopped onion and mushrooms. Brown for 2 min.
4. Add the crème fraiche, the dark veal stock and simmer gently until the meat is cooked (inside temp 70 degrees Celsius)
5. Serve in the pan and sprinkle with thyme. Place the potatoes separately in a nice cast iron pot.

 
Words from the chef:
This is a quick Friday night dinner for busy families in these days of autumn, feel free to add some fresh vegetables to the plate. Remember, never buy the light version of sour cream or cream as these contain unnecessary additives and are more expensive than the regular kind. Instead mix these with 50% water and you have made your own light version for half the price with no additives.
Enjoy your meal!