Complicated return to Toulouse, nearly 1,500 files for a place in a crèche pending
On the eve of the start of the school year, the lack of places in nursery worries many parents still without a solution, especially in Toulouse and Haute-Garonne which would be among the most affected areas in France according to the CAF. In Toulouse, where there are between 1,400 and 1,500 files pending on the 5 to 6,000 requests this year.
In the meantime, families have turned to other childcare solutions, namely associative crèches, private crèches or even childminders.
Lack of staff in nurseries
On the town hall side, we are doing our best but it is difficult to open up more places. The fault in particular with the lack of personnel explains, Laurence Katzenmayer, assistant to the city of Toulouse in charge of the first reception of the young child.
“We have allocated the vast majority of places. I would say that we must have 10 to 15% of places left in certain structures because – I will give you an example – at a crèche where six professionals are missing. It was in July I haven’t heard back yet. Have we found them? But six professionals on a 60-seater, that’s still quite a lot. Personally, I think we’ll still be able to open all the crèches, but it will be decided afterwards on: are we going to welcome all the children and what are we going to prioritize? Generally we still prioritize working families. And then develop bridges, perhaps with other structures. Now, we still need professionals. If there are no professionals, whether for our new projects, whether for existing crèches, we cannot make it work because we must respect a supervision rate.”, explains Laurence Katzenmayer.
Childminders taken over
So some parents manage and anticipate. The places are so expensive that parents are already preparing for the start of the school year next year. This is the case of Hélène who lives in the Minimes district, in Toulouse. This brand and mother of three is expecting a fourth child in November. And she already has reserved a childminder for the start of the 2023 school year because she is afraid of not finding a place in a crèche.
“I tell myself that, if they say ‘no’ to me in June, this year it was the end of June itself, what do I do in the middle of the summer to find a childminder. I know that I will have nothing. I don’t I can’t afford at the last moment not to have a place and to have to go back to work. Knowing that if I have to take parental leave, I have to declare it beforehand. So, I turned to a childminder who is in the neighborhood, which I know by reputation, because she babysits the children of friends of ours. It’s not the same budget. But that’s it, the one I found, she no longer has room for 2023 already. She has the three children. So there you go, I know that after the risk, it is to have to interrupt work and suddenly, to find yourself without a salary.
New commission in October
A new allocation commission must take place in October, after an inventory of fixtures, adapted or not. On the previous mandate, the town hall of Toulouse had opened nearly 1,000 places. Since 2020, two crèches have opened in Toulouse, one in the city center and one in Compans. That is a few hundred places. The projects have been hampered by the lack of personnel but also by the Covid epidemic.