The Beauvoisine micro-crèche in Rouen (Seine-Maritime) will be closed from Monday. The inspection carried out on Thursday, which followed various unannounced checks after reports of “malfunctions” from parents since December, “made it possible to conclude that the safety of the children was not ensured within this place of welcome,” said the prefecture and the department in a joint press release released on Friday.
“As a result, the prefect of Seine-Maritime immediately took the decision of a temporary administrative closure, for a period of three months, starting this Monday, April 15,” according to the press release.
The CAF services were “immediately mobilized in order to offer the families concerned reception within early childhood relays, from this Monday”, according to the same source. The Beauvoisine micro-crèche belonging to the company Grandir (Les Petits Chaperons rouge) accommodates ten cradles, according to the group's website.
Several parents and former employees have accused this micro-crèche in recent months of acts of mistreatment, including unreported injuries, violence against children and a lack of food, France Bleu revealed on Tuesday.
At least six reports
The establishment had also been the subject of at least six reports to the department's maternal and child protection (PMI) for several months. The Little Red Riding Hoods admitted to Le Parisien on Wednesday that there were “dysfunctions” but assured that they had taken “measures” since then.
The PMI services “organized unannounced on-site checks in order to carry out findings” recall the prefecture and the department in their press release. “The formal notices from the Department having gone unanswered, a joint inspection with state services was carried out this Thursday, April 11,” they added.
“A major control program” in micro-crèches
Before any reopening of the site, “a counter-visit” must be carried out by the State and departmental services “in order to ensure that all the findings noted and the corrective measures imposed have been taken into account” , insist the prefecture and the department. “If this were not the case, a permanent closure could be pronounced. »
At the end of March, the government announced the launch of a campaign to control large groups of crèches, as recommended by inspectors from Igas (General Inspectorate of Social Affairs) last year. Missioned after the death of a baby in a private crèche in Lyon in 2022, Igas recommended last year to strengthen the control of crèches, public and private.
The Minister for Children and Families Sarah El Haïry wants to align the regulatory framework for micro-crèches (less than twelve cradles) with small crèches, as recommended by a report from Igas and the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF). Initially designed to develop childcare provision in rural areas, micro-crèches benefit from a less demanding regulatory framework. These exemptions lead to “operating with poorly qualified and poorly supervised personnel”, according to the Igas-IGF mission.