The case caused horror. Then the excitement. Wednesday June 22, when the firefighters arrive in a private crèche from Lyon, they discover an inanimate little girl. She dies after several attempts at resuscitationat 11 months, a few hours after her father placed her in the hands of a childcare assistant, alone that morning to welcome the ncubs. Annoyed by the cries of the child, she quickly recognizes having addicted to Destop, a product chemicals to unclog drains.
This tragedy – extremely rare – does not reflect the reception conditions in early childhood structures. But it sheds a harsh light on the malaise within this sector and the ills it has been facing for many years: accelerated commodification in the private sector, degraded working conditions and increasing turnover for make up for the lack of graduates.
This shortage has even become “the number one problem in the sector”, according to Elisabeth Laithier, president of the “early childhood” sector committee set up in January by the government to respond to the difficulties of the profession. Proof of the urgency, the subject was invited, Wednesday July 6, in the speech of general policy of Elisabeth Borne. The Prime Minister has therefore undertaken to create 200,000 childcare places to meet the urgent need for childcare solutions.
Like nursing homes, childcare establishments (EAJE) are struggling to attract childcare auxiliaries, these qualified employees who must represent at least 40% of the staff of a crèche. At issue: a degraded image of the profession and salaries deemed insufficient.
Annick*, director of a Parisian municipal crèche, knows this problem well. She is currently in the middle of a recruitment period for the start of the school year in September and is part of the selection jury. Ten sessions were organized in June by the town hall to try to fill its establishments.
But the account is not there. She herself will not be able to accommodate the twenty babies authorized in her structure. “For the moment, I only accept six, because I don’t have enough professionals”, she breathes. The causes of this disaffection are largely linked to the arduousness of this work, according to her.
“The days are very tiring. For eight hours, you carry other people’s children, you are in the noise, the tears. The pace is steady.”
Annick, director of a municipal crèche in Parisat franceinfo
This observation is supported by Emilie Philippe, from the collective Pas de bébés à la consigne, herself an educator: “The profession is almost exclusively female, with many mothers. Some crèches open from 7 a.m.: managing staggered hours and one’s own children is not easy.”
Added to this is a lack of recognition, denounced by the first concerned. “Many have the impression that working in a crèche means changing diapers, while there is a fundamental aspect of awakening and pedagogical fulfillment”, insists Emilie Philippe. This form of contempt is sometimes palpable on the parents’ side “who tend to think that we are domestic workersregrets Annick. They tell us: ‘You will make my child do this and that’. While they’re talking to professionals, they know their stuff.”
A job that requires up to four years of training. In crèches, there are indeed two types of professions: on the one hand, CAPs, who cannot represent more than 60% of the total workforce. The remaining 40% must provide proof of a state diploma. These are essentially childcare auxiliaries, whose training lasts one year, and educators of young children (bac +3), more trained in the psychology of children. Finally, child nurses (bac +4) have the highest level of responsibilities since they carry out health missions.
But whatever the level of diploma, the salaries are considered too low. “The CAPs start at the minimum wage, the auxiliaries hardly more. It’s miserable, whereas they do a crazy job. In nurseries with less than 20 cradles, they manage everything: the reception of children, they give the meals, do the housework”lists Fabien Marchand, Ile-de-France delegate of the National Association of Graduate Childcare Workers and Students (ANPDE) in Ile-de-France.
On the side of child nurses, the first pay of 1,500 euros net is also criticized. “We start with 100 euros more than a nurse while we have an additional year of study to specialize in children from 0 to 3 years old”regrets Fabien Marchand. “In the private sector, by negotiating, it can become interesting, but absolutely not in the public”, he says. The Minister of Civil Service, Stanislas Guerini, announced at the end of June a revaluation of 3.5% of the index point for civil servants. But not sure that this is enough to satisfy a suffering profession, whose strike movements have multiplied in recent months.
Large cities are particularly affected. In Lyon, the situation is alarming, assures Steven Vasselin, deputy mayor in charge of early childhood. “In municipal and associative nurseries, we reach at least 200 unfilled positions”, he explains. This shortage causes “turnover almost everywhere and a very strong use of temporary workers to make up for absences”.
“A year and a half ago, the situation was difficult, but here we are in a context of extreme tension: there are posts published for which we have zero candidates.”
Steven Vasselin, assistant in charge of early childhood in Lyonat franceinfo
If he defends a “revaluation of these professions”, the heart of the problem lies, according to him, in the lack of places in schools for childcare assistants and educators of young children. He believes that the State must increase its funding to meet the needs, because the regions that pay for these training “will not be able to increase the capacity of schools with an equivalent budget”. The National Federation of Crèche Companies considers that training should be “in absolute urgency” at least 30,000 professionals by 2027.
Faced with the shortage, the CAPs of early childhood educational support (AEPE) are a little less aware of the crisis. But this certification of National Education, accessible from the third class, remains criticized by the directors of nursery interviewed by franceinfo. They believe that many students engage in this training by default, without being really informed about the reality of the job.
“Early childhood has become the back door for those who don’t really know what to do. But you have to have a vocation to hold on in this profession.”
Fabien Marchand, childcare worker and director of two micro-crèchesat franceinfo
Annick is also reserved about the content of the CAPs – general courses of which only some are specific to the child – which she does not value in terms of the tasks entrusted: “Very often, they do not have enough knowledge and it is up to us, the colleagues, to train them, when we already have a lot to do.” Fabien Marchand says he recently dismissed two CAP holders, believing that they were endangering the children in their care. “They couldn’t bear their tears and got angry quickly”he describes.
The report of the “first 1,000 days”, submitted to the government in September 2020 by child psychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik, nevertheless considers that the “early childhood professionals should benefit from high-level training in view of the growing knowledge about the importance of the first years of life for the later social, cognitive, emotional and relational development of the child”.
The political choices of recent years have rather been in the opposite direction to this recommendation. In 2010, the Morano decree, named after Nicolas Sarkozy’s Secretary of State for the Family, had lowered the qualification of professionals in the teams, increasing the rate of supervision by state graduates from 50% to 40 %, to recruit more CAPs. Micro-nurseries also benefit from a derogatory regime since they are not subject to this rule.
In addition, the government is preparing to further relax the hiring criteria via a text that is causing serious concern. This text, which was obtained Releaseprovides that“on an exceptional basis (…) derogations from the conditions of diploma or experience [puissent] be granted in favor of other people, in consideration of their past professional experience and their motivation to participate in the development of the child”. In summary: people without a diploma may be authorized to work in a nursery, being trained directly in the field for 120 hours, by a tutor.
“That is to say an employee of the crèche, when they are already overwhelmed and understaffed”, resumes Emilie Philippe. The Directorate General for Social Cohesion ensures Release that such derogations are already permitted, but does not specifically mention the “local context of scarcity”. For Emilie Philippe, “This kind of decree is an integral part of the devaluation of our professions. It conveys the idea that taking care of children is within everyone’s reach. Yet we are facing the most vulnerable age of life. ” Last month’s drama in Lyon only reminded us of this.
*Name has been changed.