The Montreal School Services Center (CSSDM) cannot guarantee this year that all students will have access to daycare for spring break, unlike what was the case in previous years. Elsewhere in Quebec, parents will have to turn to resources other than the school if they are looking for childcare.
In recent years, the CSSDM has grouped children together in a neighborhood school to provide daycare services during March break.
However, “it was a service used by few parents,” writes Alain Perron, spokesperson for the CSSDM. “Attendance was around 2% before the pandemic and it dropped more last year due to teleworking,” he continues.
As a result, every elementary school is currently asking parents to express their interest in sending their child to spring break daycare. Only schools that have a minimum of 42 children enrolled will offer the service. This is the threshold set to allow “self-financing”.
This is the same way of doing things as the other school service centers in the area.
Alain Perron, CSSDM spokesperson
At the Pointe-de-l’Île school service centre, however, we are told that the threshold is set at 30 students to open daycare in an elementary school. However, if it is not reached, “the schools come together to open a daycare service which welcomes students from several schools”, writes its spokesperson Valérie Biron.
In its decision not to group the children in a school in a neighborhood, the Montreal school service center explains that there were “several issues associated with this way of doing things”. We quote in particular “the adaptation for the pupils to a new environment” and “the ignorance of the children for the educators who welcome the latter from neighboring schools”.
The CSSDM also says that the staff shortage is not unrelated to this decision.
Price caps in schools
Fees for school daycare services are capped across the province. For the spring break, it is provided by Quebec that “the pricing required cannot exceed the actual cost”.
By capping these rates in February 2022, the Ministry of Education considered that “flexible models with accessible rates for school childcare services would promote work-family balance”.
Outside schools, these rates are not capped. The City of Montreal, for example, offers a daycare service for a fee of $150 for spring break, while other organizations charge up to $270 for a cooking camp. Many are already almost full for the week of March.
Father is looking for a “charitable soul” for spring break
It is not only at the Montreal school service center that a minimum number of registrations is required to offer daycare services during school break. Schools across Quebec have already announced such a decision, raising the ire of some parents.
“Parents still have to get organized,” writes a mother about the decision of an elementary school in Saint-Raymond-de-Portneuf not to open daycare this year.
In Longueuil, a father launched a call on Facebook to try to find “a charitable soul” to watch his child during this week.
In Montreal, spring break will take place from February 27 to March 3. If daycare is not offered at school, parents are encouraged to turn to “community partners and recreation services”.
Some school service centers have instead chosen to hold their spring break from March 6.