Derogation to extend crèche hours, possibility of accommodating up to 12 children in micro-crèches, access to occupational medicine for childminders: the government unveiled on Thursday November 26 the main axes of a reform of the modes of 'welcome for toddlers implemented from January.
This reform, started more than two years ago and which ends after eight months of consultation, is formalized in the law on the acceleration and simplification of public action (Asap), which must be promulgated in December.
Read also: 500,000 transparent masks for early childhood professionals
Its main objective is "
clarification
" with "
rules that are now understandable and coherent, better accepted by professionals in the field, better applied by local authorities, and which will reassure parents as to the guarantees of safety and quality of the reception of their children. children
”, presented in a press release the State Secretariat for Children and Families.
Among the twenty or so measures, the principle of checking the criminal records of all professionals in the care of young children, including home care, is notably established.
A “
national quality charter for welcoming young children
” will be enshrined in law, setting out “
ten simple and clear principles
” such as the discovery of nature, the fight against gender stereotypes or artistic and cultural awakening from the start. younger age.
Regarding nurseries, the current rate of supervision of a professional for five children who do not walk and one for eight children who walk is preserved, but it will be possible to have a single rate of supervision of a professional for six children.
Gatherings were held in 2019 to oppose the relaxation of regulatory standards for these establishments.
Similarly, to promote reception earlier in the morning or later in the evening, establishments may have only one professional for three children at these times (compared to two currently).
It is also specified that early childhood professionals will now be able to administer drugs within a specific framework, which is the subject of a legal vacuum and leaves children without solution.
Read also: Early childhood: the government is preparing a "1000 days offer"
For childminders, the reform will open up the benefits of occupational medicine, and will strengthen the support missions of Relais Petite Enfance, two strong demands of this sector.
Regarding micro-nurseries, numbering 4,400 on the territory, the maximum reception capacity will be increased to 12 children against 10 currently, which could allow "
the very imminent creation of thousands of new places
", rejoiced to from AFP Elsa Hervy, General Delegate of the French Federation of Nursery Companies.
