The main focus is on children with sensory impairment.
- Department A – children with hearing impairment.
- Department B – visually impaired children.
Department A – Group for children with hearing impairment
- Up to 10 children in a group
- Children aged 2 – 7 years
- Languages of instruction are Estonian Sign Language and Estonian.
- Two teachers work in a group, one of whom is Deaf and the other hearing.
- Total communication is used (gestures, fingerspelling, voice, facial expressions, speechreading).
Five integrated groups
Children with lighter hearing impairment or cochlear implants and regular children.
- The number of children in a group depends on the number of children with special needs. Usually there are 14 kindergarteners in a group, of whom three are hearing impaired.
- Children aged 1,5 – 7 years
- Language of instruction – Estonian
Educational develpoment planning
Based on the national curriculum and kindergarten curriculum, which are used to compile:
- Group plan of action for one academic year
- According to the plan of action, weekly plans are made
Conducting educational development
- Everyday activities are carried out according to the plans, but the exact time and duration of an activity is decided by the group teacher, taking into consideration the current circumstances (the mood of children, weather, topical issues, etc)
- Subjects are integrated with each other.
- Learning activities are carried out with the whole group, smaller groups and individually.
Analysis of educational development
- For the purposes of analysing educational development, e-diary is used.
- Data are entered by the end of every day.
- The fulfilment of educational development goals is analysed at the end of the academic year.
Observing and assessing child development
- Child observation during everyday activities.
- Observation of child’s drawings, crafts, and workbooks continuously during classes.
- Documented assessment of a child’s development level two times a year (in autumn and spring).
Collaboration
For a kindergarten of children with special needs, collaboration between different parties is really important. Main partners:
- Parents – Everyday conversations, e-kindergarten, development discussions.
- Speech therapists – information exchange (mailing lists, meetings), taking each other’s work into consideration.
- Other teachers – information exchange, collective events, work groups, etc.
- Educational advice centers
- Universities
