Assens council moves kindergarten children out of basement

Children at Skovbrynet Kindergarten in Vissenbjerg in western Funen will no longer use the building’s basement after sustained criticism from parents, DR reports. Assens Municipal Council has decided to reduce the number of children at the kindergarten from 85 to 65 from 1 January 2027.

Children who are due to start kindergarten will instead be offered places at one of two nearby institutions that have not been full.

Katrine Bitsch Johansen, chair of the parents’ committee for the Vissenbjerg area, welcomed the decision but said it was only a step towards better conditions.

“We would like to see the concrete proposal for how the rooms can be arranged before we finally celebrate. It is a good step forward, given that we could not get the best solution, which would have been a major renovation,” she said.

The basement rooms are approved for use as a kindergarten, but parents have long objected to the oldest children having their classroom on the lower floor.

They had hoped Assens Municipality would spend money modernising the old institution, which they say needs improvement for the sake of both children and staff. The rooms are small and the layout is outdated, limiting the educational opportunities, they believe.

Jeanette Sandberg of the Socialist People’s Party, who chairs Assens Municipality’s Children and Schools Committee, said there was currently no budget for a major renovation.

“I agree that many parts of the building are worn. A renovation is something we can work towards politically, possibly during the upcoming budget negotiations,” she said.

“But as things stand, the committee has neither the money nor the authority to make that decision, so we have not been able to include a renovation for now.”