Flanders wants Marshall plan for childcare and is going to demonstrate in Brussels
No one will have missed it: there is a lot going on in childcare in our southern neighbors. The media is rife with reports of harrowing situations and the received ‘witch hunt’ that is underway, with the government (temporarily) closing several childcare locations. A large demonstration is planned in Brussels on Friday 1 April.
‘t Sloeberhuisje
The unrest with the drama in Ghent. on passed away on February 18 a six-month-old baby from her injuries sustained at daycare center ‘t Sloeberhuisje in the Ghent sub-municipality of Mariakerke. Picked up the baby from the daycare the day before, with a serious brain trauma, so set up and fixed later. a autopsy reveals It’s about baby shake syndrome. The suspect is the father of the daycare manager.
Baby chokes on balloon
Tragic accident a month later: in Deurne (Antwerp) a nineteen month old baby is choking in a balloon. It Design magazine headlines on Sunday, March 27: “Beautiful farewell to baby Camille with touching testimony from nurses” and writes, among other things: “The investigation into the circumstances of the dramatic death is still ongoing, but it is believed that the girl is not seen inside a swallowed balloon. Despite quick action by crèche employees and emergency services, the child died in the university hospital of Antwerp. Merlijn is a crèche that specializes in the care of children with special care needs. Two nurses from the nursery gave a heartfelt testimony during the funeral. Christel and Sarah Camille well known, surrounded her growing bigger and stronger. Until that fatal March 17, 2022. Both nurses were not present at Merlin then. It should look for other trouble finding faults†
witch hunt
normal it’s raining closing in Flemish childcare. Kind en Gezin, part of the Policy Area Welfare, Public Health and Family of the Flemish government, intervened more quickly ‘as a precaution’ and closed several childcare locations. From now on they will implement the ‘precautionary principle’ at Kind en Gezin “We encompass that which is profound, but it gives us the time to examine it in depth. That is in everyone’s interest,” Het Laatste Nieuws reports. It is called a witch hunt.
Childminder on non-active
For example, the news came out about an accident at a childminder in Attenhoven, Belgium. The childminder is not allowed to take care of children for three months. “A child may have fallen and that would have caused a minor injury. We do not have the impression that it is very essential, but we understand that parents expect themselves and would like to have their child with a childminder in complete confidence. Something has also been used, so it needs to be researched. In order to be able to find out everything thoroughly, the parent has even been placed on inactive’, says Caroline Audoor, van Ferm, a Flemish network of childminders. against the Nieuwsblad†
Research into abuses
Koen Daniëls, a Belgian politician for the New Flemish Alliance, will soon be heading the investigative committee that must find out what exactly is wrong with childcare, reports the Nieuwsblad: ‘People with stomachs who keep crèches open. Alarms are ignored. The sad low point is the death of a six-month-old child in Mariakerke. “Anyone who sees a permit hanging on the wall of a crèche must be able to trust one hundred percent that everything is in order.”
Working pressure high
But it is not only the abuses that keep people busy. The workload is extremely high and not only is the great shortage of personnel, but also the professional workforce is an important cause. In Flanders, one ‘child supervisor’ (PM’er) and one childminder (host parent) is allowed to care for no fewer than 8 children (babies and toddlers included). If there are two PM’ers in a group, they may even take care of 18 children. An unimaginably high number, certainly in comparison with the Dutch bkr.
Workforce-child ratio
How many children can a pedagogical employee have under her care in the Netherlands?
A pedagogical employee is responsible for:
- up to 3 babies;
- a maximum of 5 children aged 1 to 2 years;
- a maximum of 8 children aged 2 to 4;
- a maximum of 10 children aged 4 to 6 years;
- maximum of 12 children aged 7 and older.
Source: Rijksoverheid.nl
Demonstration April 1
On Friday 1 April, during a national demonstration, action group ‘The 1000 first days’ asks for attention to a Marshall plan for childcare in Flanders, which should really come to fruition now. ‘A recovery program for the entire sector cannot be delayed any longer. After years of short-sighted savings and ill-considered wipes for the bleeding, childcare in Flanders is at a standstill. It is unforgivable that a rich region saves on children and is involved in society as a whole’, write Bieke Verlinden and Hannelore Goeman in a opinion article on Knack.be†
‘Bad state of the sector’
‘The dire state of the childcare sector today comes as no surprise. Anyone who follows it a bit knows that this crisis has been going on for over 10 years. All this time, we have been sounding the alarm together with experts and people from the sector. In vain, because with a Flemish government that prefers blind austerity to care and quality, those warnings fall on deaf ears. The result is a mismanaged sector with the daily consequences of absurd political choices. Like 1 childcare worker takes care of 8 to 9 babies and toddlers.’
The activists call for recognition of the enormous pedagogical importance of the first 1000 days of a species and demand much-needed structural changes in childcare. She also calls for more appreciation for the job as a pedagogical employee and childminder.