“A wonderful summer gift”: New Infant Care Unit to open in Seltjarnarnes

Sigurgeirsson in an interview with mbl.is. The initiative, aimed at strengthening the town's childcare services, was chosen as a more suitable option than expanding existing daycare facilities.

For months, Seltjarnarnes residents have voiced serious concerns about the lack of care options for the town’s youngest children. With no daycare currently operating in the municipality—and Reykjavík no longer granting access to its facilities—families feared their children born in early 2024 would not be offered preschool placement until fall 2026, when they would be nearly 2.5 years old. A petition had circulated among parents demanding immediate action.

Mayor Sigurgeirsson explained that while the town’s original plan was to enhance daycare options, the newly approved plan offers a more practical solution.

“Strengthening our daycare program was Plan A, but Plan B became the better route: opening a dedicated infant care unit, staffing it, and welcoming 16 children,” he said. “The town council approved this yesterday on the initiative of the Independence Party majority, and I’ve already shared the news with the parent group—everyone is overjoyed. This was truly a wonderful summer gift,” he says, but today marks the first day of summer in Iceland.

New regulations influenced the decision

The shift toward opening a care unit rather than expanding daycare was largely influenced by new regulations from the Quality and Supervision Agency for Welfare, which impose stricter limits on daycare capacity.

“I wasn’t aware of these new rules,” said Sigurgeirsson. “If we’d gone the daycare route, we’d be limited to a maximum of ten children. I initially believed we could staff the unit with three daycare workers caring for five children each. But the current regulation only allows a caregiver with over a year of experience to handle five children—new staff can only supervise four.”

Given these constraints, the mayor explained, the care unit model made much better use of the building’s capacity. Preparations are already underway: job postings will be announced shortly, and work is ongoing to adapt the building and outdoor space for the youngest children.

Sigurgeirsson expects the unit to open in August, following the summer break. “We’ll be able to take in more children than initially planned,” he said. “There’s not much left to do—final adjustments are being worked out over the coming days.”

Plans for a new preschool

Looking ahead, the town plans to issue a tender in May for the construction of a new preschool building—an election promise from the Independence Party.

“It’s designed to house eight departments and will significantly reduce the admission age for children—ideally down to 12 months,” the mayor noted. “Construction will take about a year and a half.”

Sigurgeirsson also pointed to recent challenges caused by changes in Reykjavík’s policies, which have impacted municipalities like Seltjarnarnes.

“In the past few years, Reykjavík has placed conditions on private childcare providers it licenses, requiring that all enrolled children be registered residents of the city. This change wasn’t communicated to us—or any other municipality—and it caught us off guard,” he said. “It’s one of the reasons our waiting list has grown so long so quickly.”