Combining dow and. Pros and cons of merging kindergartens and schools. What will happen to the employees of the joint institutions

Consolidation of schools and kindergartens in Moscow became commonplace. Such a process was supported by the Department of Education back in 2012. Since then, new species have begun to appear. educational institutions- educational centers.

The initiative was gloomily received by the public, but still many applications were submitted from various institutions. Only in the first year of the introduction of the "experiment" 1,411 applications were accepted for the creation of 445 educational complexes. But not all applications were satisfied. Only 300 such centers have been established, comprising 849 educational institutions.

It should immediately be noted that the strict principles associations of kindergartens, schools in Moscow was not noted. Most often, educational centers were created on the basis of institutions that had territorial overcrowding and were not separated by major roads. In addition, a certain trend was noted, weak establishments merged with strong ones. It should be noted that this was a fairly rational action.

Despite the fact that the goal of such a process is to increase the level of security, there are opponents of such a merger. With the help of the article, we will deal in detail with all the pitfalls of such a process, point out the pros.

Merging Benefits

A new experiment in our country with the creation of educational complexes based on educational institutions is not new. Moreover, in Europe and America, such establishments have been successfully functioning for a long time. What are the advantages of a merger? Let's list the key benefits.

LENSKAYA: THE MERGER OF SCHOOLS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AND SLOW

In many regions of Russia today, schools and kindergartens are being restructured, in place of individual educational institutions large complexes are formed. How do the tasks of the school principal change in these conditions? What needs to be done so that the merger of schools takes place without harm to students? This will be discussed at the Twelfth Annual Conference "Education Development Trends Leadership in School and Preschool Education: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow", which will be held in the Moscow high school Social and Economic Sciences (MVSSES) February 19-20. On the eve of the forum, questions from RIA Novosti correspondent Anna Kurskaya were answered by Elena Lenskaya, Dean of the Faculty of Management in Education and Head of the Development Department of MHSES.
- Elena Anatolyevna, how the functions and role of the school principal have changed over last years, with the adoption of the Law on Education, new educational standards?
- Indeed, a lot has changed. The new law defines the possibilities and degrees of freedom of the school principal, which until now our principals are not very accustomed to using. Now they have much more space for negotiations and cooperation with parents and with everyone who is interested in the success of their schools. But in order for the new benefits to begin to work, all directors need to have a good understanding of what the new legislation is and what opportunities it contains.
Does this happen in practice?
Now in many regions, starting with Moscow, there is a restructuring of the school and educational networks in general, large educational complexes are being created. Unfortunately, this does not always happen deliberately. And directors do not always know what levers they can use to make transformations really meaningful, how to plan the development of their educational complex in such a way that the benefit for children is clear and transparent. And if the payoff isn't clear, directors don't always know how to challenge the complex and resist economic pressure.
What are the negative aspects of the ongoing restructuring?
There are many pitfalls there. Teachers have fears that the network of preschool education may suffer from it, because when schools and kindergartens merge, very often kindergartens begin to serve the school, put children at their desks, and the inherent value of childhood, which is aimed at the new standard of preschool education, disappears.
Threat to additional education lies in the fact that, having become part of the educational complex, circles and studios can begin to serve only this complex, which was not the case before. The whole charm of additional education organizations was precisely that they determined the circle of their clients themselves, and anyone could be included in their number. All of these threats may or may not come true with good leadership and good leadership. This, in particular, we will discuss at the conference.
Is it possible, when analyzing the ongoing changes, to rely on foreign experience?
Indeed, the processes that are taking place in Russia are taking place all over the world. Therefore, we invited specialists from those countries in which such transformations have already taken place to the conference. But it is important to note that abroad the pace of change, even if it was about optimizing the school network, is fundamentally different. Before the schools have a meaningful plan for such a merger, it does not happen.
However, foreign experts say that even in their countries the rate of school merger was too high. I'm afraid our pace is simply unprecedented. And other processes in our education system in practice are very different both from our plans and from foreign experience.
Under what conditions would a preschool institution benefit from joining a kindergarten to a school?
The most important thing is that the plan for the development of the complex precede the merger, and not arise as a result, when the merger has already taken place, and we must urgently figure out what to do with all this.
Still, planning the association should be people who take responsibility for the further success of the children who will study in this complex. Unfortunately, in Moscow, sometimes several schools were united, quite spaced across the territory, and in the new complex there were schools of stages. In principle, this is not bad. But families with several children found themselves in a difficult situation when one child goes to one building, another to another, a third to a third.
It would be worthwhile to think at least this moment before making decisions about the merger. But in practice, these decisions were often made hastily, under administrative pressure. The school needs to learn to defend the interests of students.
How can I do that?
Schools have governing councils, and they could influence educational policy not only on paper. Unfortunately, we like to create "manual" management boards that do what the director says. Very often, parents are simply afraid to raise their voice, because it seems to them that by doing so they put their child at risk. But in the current situation, their role should, in my opinion, grow significantly.
Merging schools should only take place when representatives of all the governing boards of the merging institutions agree to such a decision, sign and say: “Yes, we believe that this will be better for our children.” Of course, it is necessary to choose there not convenient parents, but competent parents. They also have to learn something.
What is a competent parent?
For example, in England, as a rule, parents who have teaching or economic experience become members of the governing council, that is, specialists, and not just people who have free time, as is often the case with us. But being on a board of directors also involves a greater degree of social responsibility, and we haven't fully learned that yet. In England, the governing board is also financially responsible for its actions.
Today it is often said that the school principal needs the skills of a manager rather than a teacher. Are directors specifically trained in these skills today?
This is one of the topics that we, representatives of universities that already train school principals in managerial competencies, are going to discuss at the conference. But there is one problem here.
Indeed, a person with good managerial training can successfully manage an educational complex. But at the same time, studies show that the most successful leaders are people with leadership qualities who, unlike "pure managers", have a vision of the necessary future and roughly understand how to get there, that is, they set development tasks for themselves and their team. The manager, as a rule, successfully implements the tasks set by someone else.
What will happen to leadership competence, and how to develop it against the background of all these wonderful managerial skills, so that the main thing is not lost - the ability to see the future? This is what you need to think about.
There is another reason for concern. The director of a large complex will not be able to keep track of what is happening in the classroom, how well certain teachers cope with their duties. He hadn't done much before, but he still had some time for it.
It is no coincidence that, for example, there are no schools in Finland with more than 900 students each. They attach great importance to the fact that the director participates in the pedagogical process. There is even such a term - "pedagogical leadership", which is considered one of the most important functions of the director. Will this pedagogical leadership be present in the new complexes? I'm not sure.
What new challenges will school principals face in the future?
First of all, they will have to learn how to plan development, taking into account a very wide range of diverse interests. If earlier they worked with a fairly limited number of students of the same age category, now there are many more of them and their age has become less uniform - these are both preschoolers and adults who attend circles and sections. Principals will have to learn how to reconcile the interests of different groups of people in education.
The most important thing they will face and are already facing is the problem of personnel management. Prevention at the first stage, at least, of serious conflicts, fair distribution of resources and so on are new tasks that were not so acute before.
It seems to me important that the director could maintain leadership qualities in a situation where he risks turning into a classic manager who only solves tasks from the outside.

At a briefing held on April 16, 2015 by the Deputy Head of Administration Nizhny Novgorod Maria Kholkina told reporters in detail how kindergartens are being optimized, what will happen to schools in Nizhny Novgorod, as well as to institutions of additional education.

First of all, Maria Mikhailovna introduced everyone to the following figures:

There are 561 educational institutions in the education system of Nizhny Novgorod. Of these, schools - 186, kindergartens - 339, the rest - institutions of additional education: music schools, art schools, sports schools, etc. 111,000 children study in schools, and 63,000 attend kindergartens. In total - 174 thousand children.

Which schools and kindergartens are to be merged?

As the deputy head of the administration of Nizhny Novgorod explained, we have such a geographical and historical reality that some schools are empty. For example, if in the 40s, 50s, 60s. the residential area in the Stankozavod area was rapidly developing - a lot of people worked at the plant, a large number of children studied at school - now, when production has decreased over the past 20 years, the microdistrict is dying out, there are no such number of workers, schools are empty, kindergartens are empty, but the buildings stand. What to do with it? This is where optimization is needed. But how widespread are empty schools in Nizhny Novgorod?

Maria Kholkina cited the following figures: in Nizhny Novgorod, out of 186 schools, up to 100 people study in one school, from 100 to 200 people study in 12 schools, from 200 to 300 people study in 12 schools, from 300 to 500 people study in 29 schools, in 39 schools - from 500 to 700, in 45 - from 700 to 900, and only 31 schools in the city have 900 students and more.

The economic effect, according to experts, is achieved in schools where more than 600 children study. If there are less than 600 students in schools, they are not yet called small, but these are schools that are not economically viable. Why? Because the school building is designed for 1,000 students, it must be maintained, in addition to teachers, it is necessary to maintain technical support staff: supply manager, locksmith, electrician, etc. But school money is now allocated according to the number of students! And in the classes of such a school, instead of the normative 25 people, for example, 17 or even 14 people study. And for such a number of students there should be a full set of teachers in all subjects who need to be paid salaries from the same money. It is clear that the shortage of students in the school becomes economically inefficient.

“So, when we analyzed all this,” said Maria Mikhailovna, “in September 2014, we had a kind of explosion. The directors did not expect such an economic effect. And it turned out that 231 million rubles were not enough for salaries in the city. This is great! Now, when a sufficiently large amount of time has passed, the directors understood everything - this is how it works new system. Now the principal can't afford a part-time head teacher who also does OBZh 4 hours a week. It so happened that when we began to study the staffing tables, such amazing distortions opened up for us! If the standard calculates that 30% of the administrative and technical, support staff is allowed in the staffing table of the school, and 70% should be teachers, then we saw that there are schools where this ratio is 50 to 50 and even 60 to 40. That is, that happened?

In accordance with the May 2012 Presidential Decree on salary increases, we are fighting to ensure that teachers have salary increases, and every year we increase them. I can say that in 2011 the average salary of a teacher was 13 thousand rubles, and already in 2014 it was 27 thousand rubles. Some have less, some have more, but the increase in teachers' salaries is quite noticeable. They feel it for themselves. And if teachers complain that there is no growth, we understand. And it turns out that, for example, a physical education teacher has a load of 11 hours a week. What growth are we talking about here?

Exactly the same story, as noted by Maria Kholkina, has been happening with kindergartens since 2015, when per capita funding began. The maintenance of one child costs 63-65 thousand rubles. It is more than at school, because. here the food is different, and the care is different, etc. And the problem with kindergartens is somewhat different. “25% of kindergartens in Nizhny Novgorod are 4-group. Only 4 groups! - explains the deputy head of administration. - But, should there be a manager? Should. There should be a methodologist, a housekeeper - to give out linen, a janitor, a locksmith, cooks ... That is, staff is needed, and there are only four groups. What to do? We need optimization!”

So what is optimization?

As Maria Kholkina explained, this is a necessary association at the level of legal entities. Since small schools and kindergartens do not survive on their own, it means that two legal entities - two schools or a kindergarten - should be made into one.

“That is, we do not touch the building, or the children, or the teaching staff,” Maria Mikhailovna specified. - The buildings are the same, the teachers are the same, we only work with paperwork. For example, we have kindergartens, as they say, "fence to fence" - two legal entities that each have their own head and the entire staff. And we combine them into one, and we get one entity not with 4 groups, but with 8, but with one director or manager, one methodologist, etc., and they survive. None of the buildings are being moved anywhere! There is a work only with legal entities, with documents. That is, they took institutions that are located side by side, so that it would be clear to parents, children, and the teaching staff, and combined them into one legal entity. The number of the kindergarten will be the one that was at the kindergarten, to which it legally joins.

School optimization is as follows. For example, two schools are located at a distance of 800 meters from each other. Both schools are empty. When they are merged, it will be one legal entity, with one building housing the elementary school and the other housing the secondary school. Thus, in addition to the economic effect, there will be another very important point - all schoolchildren will be able to study only in the first shift.

What will happen to the employees of the joint institutions?

The deputy head of the administration of Nizhny Novgorod answered this question as follows: “In this case, only those rates that are duplicated are subject to reduction. Cooks, for example, will remain - the cook will not run from one building to another. But why two janitors when he cleaned in 4 hours in one area and left? Or, what is a social educator? There are those who work little by little, say, for 4 hours, different places. Here we will also look - we need one or two social teachers in the united kindergartens - depending on the contingent and what their workload is. Or a defectologist? He does not work with every child in kindergarten. In addition, children in the kindergarten have a strict regime, i.e. The defectologist does not work with children when they are studying, eating or sleeping. There is such a thing - unloaded.

What will happen to the leaders? It is clear that if 4 kindergartens are merged, as, for example, in the Avtozavodsky district, where preschool educational institutions No. 103, 36, 42 and 99 are merged, then we choose one of the 4 heads, which is young, there is every opportunity to develop this enterprise and then build it up with some interesting ideas: quotas, projects, etc. However, if we see that at the age of 62 the manager will still give odds to 40-year-olds, then we say: you stay, work and teach your shift, transfer all your knowledge and skills. We are fighting to ensure that not a single valuable cadre leaves the education system. We are doing personal work.

Since September 2014, when it all started, 780 units have been excluded from the staff lists - these are vacancies that were a dead burden, or some kind of part-time jobs. Not a single person was reduced, but only positions were excluded. This gave an economic effect of 78 million rubles.

The resolution on the optimization of kindergartens was signed by the head of the administration of Nizhny Novgorod in early April, now information has begun on everyone and legal work: it is necessary to rewrite the charter, register the newly formed institution, etc. The resolution on the optimization of schools is still being finalized.

In total, 29 schools in Nizhny Novgorod, 69 kindergartens and 8 organizations of additional education will be involved in the optimization. Thus, out of 106 organizations involved in optimization, the output will be 54.

In recent years, there has been an active process of reorganization in education. According to the authorities, this contributes to budget savings, and also allows maintaining the continuity of education and upbringing of children. Most workers do not know what to expect from the merging of different educational institutions.

Reorganization: what is it?

The reorganization of education involves a reduction in the number of educational institutions due to their associations. Thus, different educational organizations can be combined: schools, kindergartens, as well as schools with kindergartens. The greatest number of questions is caused by the unification of preschool and school institutions.

This combination creates the so-called "Educational Complex". The principal is the school director. The head of the kindergarten is "reduced" or goes to the place of the deputy. In addition, there is a reduction in recurring positions: methodologist, accountant, some teachers.

One of the main goals of creating educational complexes is to increase budget funding per educational organization. Another goal is providing more effective learning through the cooperation of institutions specializing in children of different ages.

Positive aspects of the educational complex

Despite skepticism about the reorganization of teachers and the population, the merging of schools and kindergartens has a number of advantages.

Increasing the amount of funds allocated to the institution: the more students, the more money is provided. Due to this, the quality of the educational environment can be improved: toys, literature, equipment for classrooms and groups, and so on.
Continuity of education of preschoolers and schoolchildren. V preparatory groups and at school, you can establish uniform requirements for the children, as well as during the year gradually introduce them to school life, show small “pieces” of it in order to interest and motivate future first graders. In addition, you can create a succession educational program for kindergarten and school, making it easier for children to adapt to the first year of schooling.
First-graders do not have to go through a period of adaptation to a new team: They have the opportunity to go to school as part of their group.
Interaction between teachers will also have a positive impact on the education process: they will be able to discuss plans, methods, forms, teaching aids in the mode of meetings, and also share their individual experience with certain pupils and students.
Closer interaction with parents: they will be able to receive more clear and understandable information about the transition of the child from one level of education to another.
Supplement with the necessary specialists: for example, a kindergarten could not afford a sensory room, but when connected to a school, kindergarten children can attend it.
Consolidation of resources: For example, school library becomes available for preschool children, and the pool that belonged to the kindergarten - for elementary school who didn't have it before.
Schoolchildren can have an interesting experience of communicating with toddlers: to organize holidays for them, to help in something, to teach something. This will have a positive effect on the upbringing of children of all ages.
teachers primary school have the opportunity build relationships with your future first graders in advance, attending their classes, holding interesting games and participating in their holidays.

Educational complex: negative points

Despite a fairly large number of "pluses", the reorganization in education has a lot of negative sides. Is everything really so wonderful, as they want to present the authorities and the "top" of the education system? What are the disadvantages of this phenomenon?

Massive staff cuts: quite a large number of people are losing their jobs, which are currently hard to find. An educational organization may also lose valuable personnel, the importance of which can hardly be overestimated.
School management is not well versed in preschool age and in the importance of the game rather than teaching preschoolers. On this basis, conflicts may arise between the management and the kindergarten department, since the employees of the latter understand the importance and necessity of gaming activities, and they will have to defend their point of view. If they fail to do this, then the children already in the kindergarten risk losing all interest in learning.
When the garden and school are in different buildings, with succession and preparation for school, not everything is so smooth: school and kindergarten teachers can not meet as often as the situation requires, preschool children can rarely actually attend school for preparatory adaptation, and it is also not easy to organize the interaction of teachers.
The head of such a large-scale complex can overlook important points , as it may not always be in contact with all subordinates.
Often funding is distributed unfairly: the school gets more money, including for salaries, even despite the quantitative superiority of preschool workers.
Due to too early immersion in school life, future first graders may lose interest and motivation in learning.
If there are special correctional groups and classes in the educational complex, then they will most likely get rid of them soon: their number is smaller, and the costs for them are higher than in general education groups and classes.

Combining kindergartens and schools is a rather “young” practice in our country. On the one hand, it can lead to an increase in the quality of education and close interaction between structures, or it can lead to the destruction of existing opportunities provided by educational organizations, as well as the reduction of workers and the infringement of the rights of those who are a little weaker.

From September 1, 2014, all kindergartens in Moscow became part of. Perhaps a similar reorganization in the future awaits regional preschool organizations, especially small organizations. Natalia Tverskaya, Director of Education Center No. 345 in Moscow, talks about emerging in the process of merging kindergartens and schools.

Is it worth creatingeducational complexes?

Natalya Viktorovna, tell us about the procedure for merging kindergartens and education center No. 345.

N.T.: For more than 15 years, our education center has included a preschool department located in a separate building. And now, when educational complexes are being created in Moscow, which include several kindergartens, schools and organizations of additional education, we have already accumulated a lot of experience working with preschool departments. Currently, the process of reorganization of the educational complex is being completed. It will include two schools, including our education center with a pre-school department, and two kindergartens, which, in turn, were created two years ago through reorganization on the basis of four kindergartens.

Thus, the complex will include five buildings for preschool groups. It should be noted that we are connecting kindergartens of a compensatory type, in which all conditions have been created for children with speech defects, children with disabilities, including those with cerebral palsy. All kindergartens are combined into a structural subdivision of the Preschool Department complex. In addition, each kindergarten will have its own name: "Lukomorye", "Solnyshko" and others.

In your opinion, is the union of kindergartens and schools the right decision?

N.T.: Yes. Firstly, all financial issues should be dealt with by qualified specialists: accountants, economists, lawyers, office staff. They work in the interests of the entire complex, including kindergartens: purchases in a kindergarten within the framework of the 44th federal law are carried out centrally, the accounting service draws up a general plan for financial and economic activities, etc. Of course, not every kindergarten, especially a small one, can afford it all. So I had to train a senior educator or a teacher-psychologist in the organization of purchases or record keeping. And in the educational complex, special centralized services are being created.

Therefore, employees of the preschool department can safely do their favorite thing - raising children. Secondly, a common educational environment is formed in the educational complex, getting into it, preschoolers become part of it. For example, pupils of our preschool department always take part in the activities of the education center together with schoolchildren. This greatly facilitates the adaptation of not only graduates of the preschool department to school, but also their parents, who sometimes experience more than their children. A single parent community is being formed in the educational complex. For parents of preschool children, the tasks facing the school are obvious. When they bring a three-year-old child to the kindergarten, they immediately get acquainted with the school, primary school teachers, get an idea of what awaits their child in the future.

A single parent community is being formed in the educational complex. For parents of preschool children, the tasks facing the school are obvious. When they bring a three-year-old child to the kindergarten, they immediately get acquainted with the school, primary school teachers, get an idea of what awaits their child in the future.

What kind of educational complexes should have?

What is the management structure of preschool departments as part of the educational complex?

N.T.: The educational complex is headed by a director. Kindergartens are supervised by the Deputy Director for Preschool and primary education, thereby ensuring continuity between these levels of education.

Senior teachers work in kindergartens, some of them are former heads. They are directly involved in the organization educational process and for all questions, contact the Deputy for Preschool and Primary Education.

Once a week, an administrative meeting is held, in which all deputies participate. We discuss what has been done, what has not been successful and for what reason, what difficulties have arisen, and we set tasks for the next week. If an operational meeting is required, we will meet unscheduled.

In addition, after the merger of the kindergarten and the school, an internal website was created in our education center. Each teacher and educator can access it through a computer or their own mobile devices at any point of the school or kindergarten, since the Internet is available everywhere with us

I issued an order, according to which all employees of the education center must go to the local network daily at 8 am, 3 pm and 5 pm to view ads in the chat. Head teachers, educators, teachers write in a chat about everything that happens in the education center: open classes, holidays, reporting, the release of new documents (which can be found there, on the local network), etc. Thus, constant communication is maintained, and all employees of the education center are in the know. This innovation has been introduced only in our center so far, but after the reorganization we plan to extend it to the entire educational complex

How did you manage to build relationships with the heads of kindergartens? After all, they were actually demoted ...

N.T.: If people still have an interesting job, the prospect of professional growth, respect for children, their parents and colleagues, and all this is provided with a decent salary, then people will work with pleasure, no matter what their position is called. In addition, we should not forget that in recent years, the heads of kindergartens have been entrusted with a heavy burden of financial and economic activity in conditions sharp increase independence educational organizations. And within the framework of the educational complex, this task will be solved by its services.

Staff of educational complexes

What is the ratio of the level of salaries of teachers in the school and in the preschool department?

N.T.: Last year, in our education center, teachers' salaries amounted to approximately 60,000 rubles. In kindergarten, the salary of educators was no more than 30 thousand rubles. - an average of 22-28 thousand rubles. To date, the salary in kindergarten has increased and averages 40 thousand rubles. The possibility of its increase appeared, including at the expense of extrabudgetary funds. Upon completion of the reorganization process, additional funds will appear due to savings, in particular, reduction in utility costs, as a result of optimizing the staffing of the complex and (or) increasing the volume of paid educational services. For example, to clear the roof of snow, the school will pay 100 thousand rubles, each kindergarten - 50 thousand rubles. For us, as a single organization, the same service will cost less - not 250 thousand, but 200 thousand rubles. The money saved can be used to increase salaries. The financial independence of the organization has its advantages - we see how much money we have, we decide where and how it can be distributed.

Did you have to reduce the staff of kindergartens during the reorganization?

N.T.: The fact is that for a year and a half the attendants - nurses and cooks - are not full-time employees of our center. It was always like this at school - a third-party organization with which the Department of Education entered into a service contract was responsible for the nutrition of children. Medical workers were employees of medical institutions.

In kindergartens now also: the Department of Education concludes a contract for three years with an organization that provides food for pupils. At the same time, we managed to leave our chefs in their place. For example, a cook and his assistant, who had worked in our preschool department for 30 years, were transferred to the staff of a food service organization without any loss in salary.

It is more difficult with medical workers: after being transferred to the staff of a medical institution, their wage rates turned out to be lower than in kindergarten. I hope this problem will also be solved in time. In a kindergarten, a medical worker cannot be visiting. The nurse should receive children in the morning and stay in the institution all day, monitor the sanitary and hygienic condition of the premises, the health of the pupils, and carry out preventive measures.

In my opinion, the gradual transfer of all non-core functions to outsourcing is the right decision. Having concluded contracts for security, medical care and catering, we reserve the function of control.

Prospects and development of educational complexes

What are the prospects for the development of kindergartens in your educational complex?

N.T.: Now young families have a great need for nursery groups for children from one and a half years old. Our kindergarten is ready to accept children of this age. We also have teachers who can work with them, and the material base. The preschool department occupies a new building, which was built seven years ago according to a project that provides for the placement of nursery groups.

In addition, we plan to open weekend and short stay groups for children. The services of the weekend group are in great demand by parents who have the opportunity to leave the child in kindergarten for several hours on Saturday and Sunday.

The increased demand was caused by one more idea. We offered young parents a service to teach how to raise a child. Our teachers provide methodological assistance, advisory support, explain to parents how to teach a child to draw, dress, and be obedient.

What would you wish to the heads of kindergartens who are about to join the school?

N.T.: First of all, don't be afraid to join. Kindergarten and the school should be one team! Combining will definitely give a good result. The longer we work with preschoolers, the more I become convinced that this is the case.