Cutting childcare services and allowing 5th and 6th year students to stay at home before and after school to relieve childcare services is not a good solution for the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ ).
Some school service centers have decided to offer training to 5th and 6th graders so that they can stay at home and relieve childcare services in order to alleviate the shortage of employees, according to a press release from the FPSS-CSQ.
“We are aware that we must find innovative solutions to counter the shortage of manpower, but there are limits to be cut in the services” declared the president of the Federation of school support staff (FPSS- CSQ), Eric Pronovost.
According to Mr. Pronovost, daycare services are an integral part of the education offered by the school. “We must avoid overloading daycare educators with too many students, but we must not forget that they offer educational services and that it is not babysitting. We must not shovel the problems in the courtyard of the parents, ”he explained.
The Canada Safety Council also advises that 10-year-olds can be left alone before and after school, as long as there is contact with an adult.
Éric Pronovost believes that the solution lies in the position of the educators themselves. “The problem of shortage cannot be solved by reducing services, we must make the positions of educators in daycare services more attractive, people must have the desire to work in a school environment, it starts with an improvement in the number of hours and improved working conditions,” he added.