2023-09-07 15:38:23
Published on September 7, 2023 at 12:42 Updated on September 7, 2023 at 3:38 p.m.
After nursing homes, it is the turn of the early childhood sector to be the subject of worrying revelations. Two investigative books published this fall highlight the excesses of the race for profitability in private daycare centers. This quest pushes them to neglect the well-being of their employees and that of babies, the authors argue. Faced with these scandals, the government intends to react.
“We must and we will strengthen the supervision rate in nurseries with one professional for every five children. We must first guarantee the safety of our children, the quality of their reception and the well-being of the professionals who are committed with dedication,” promised Aurore Bergé, Minister of Solidarity and Families, on Thursday on BFMTV. The standards for supervision rates today are one professional for six children of all ages, or one professional for five children who do not walk.
“Yes we must and we will strengthen the supervision rate in nurseries with 1 professional for 5 children.
We must first guarantee the safety of our children, the quality of their care and the well-being of the professionals who are committed with dedication.”#faceaface pic.twitter.com/BSGdStXkp5— Aurore Bergé (@auroreberge) September 7, 2023
These nurseries could be closed if they do not respect the new standards, she warned. The government, she recalled, “will put 200 million euros on the table to upgrade staff, but I will not give 1 euro of this money to private groups if […] there are no clear commitments on the quality of reception”, as well as on the improvement of collective agreements for employees.
A “culture of control”
In addition, the government “will change the law from September so that we can send all the necessary inspections directly to the headquarters” of the private groups managing many crèches, promised the minister, calling for the establishment of a “culture of control “. A term already used the day before by the government spokesperson, Olivier Véran. A more muscular component on the public service of early childhood must indeed come to flesh out the France labor bill, under debate in Parliament.
Daycare centers “will have to adapt,” insists Aurore Bergé, in particular by recruiting more staff. The minister, however, recognized that changes could not happen overnight. In fact, the sector is already facing significant recruitment difficulties.
These commitments are made after the publication of two investigative books: “Babyzness”, written by Bérangère Lepetit and Elsa Marnette, from “Parisien” (Robert Laffont), and “Le Prix du cradle. What the privatization of nurseries does to children (Seuil, released September 8) by independent investigative journalists Daphné Gastaldi and Mathieu Périsse.
Shortage of professionals
In two different styles, the two works reveal the model of private companies, in particular the four main ones: Babilou, Les Petits Chaperons Rouges, People & Baby and La Maison bleue. These state-subsidized structures have seen strong growth and now have 80,000 cradles, around 20% of the total.
“Insufficient meals, reduced teams, abused babies and pressure on employees”… are some of the excesses denounced in the “Cradle Price”. The authors of “Babyzness” which comes out this Thursday drive the point home and reveal the behind the scenes of private crèches, through 200 testimonials and reports throughout France.
The publication of these two books comes five months after the publication, already widely publicized, of a report by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) on the prevention of abuse in crèches, both public and private, which highlighted that “The first mistreatment was the shortage of professionals,” emphasizes Aurore Bergé.
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