The book “Les ogres” by Mr. Castanet offers a striking overview of the challenges facing young child care structures. In chapter 42, the author highlights the problem of the PSU (Single Service Delivery): as early as 2003, the directors of the Family Allowance Funds (Caf) were already reporting significant dysfunctions. “It’s not going well at all, we’re not getting through it, on the ground it’s dysfunctional », they underline, testifying to a reality increasingly focused on accounting considerations, to the detriment of the quality of care for young children.
This cry of despair coming from directors of early childhood establishments highlights the complex issues they face. The quality of reception, insufficient human resources, increasingly complex standards to apply, statistics on everything and nothing as well as standards on buildings, among others, weigh heavily on their daily lives. These dedicated professionals find themselves faced with increasing challenges, where management becomes more and more careful of budgets to guarantee the financial survival of their crèche leaves a bitter taste: they have less and less time to design educational programs and make their real job.
However, our children are the basis of tomorrow’s society. The Nobel Prize winner for Economics, James Heckman, demonstrates that one euro invested in early childhood saves thirteen euros in expenses linked to deviance in adolescence. It is therefore crucial, even vital, to invest correctly in this sector.
Currently, PSU nurseries are funded according to a complex formula based on three criteria:
– Hours billed
– Actual hours
– Total expenses of the nursery
These three elements constitute the basis of the PSU, to which are added seven bonuses with different brackets and calculations, representing in total 27 distinct criteria. And certain criteria are completely independent of the crèche, such as the financial potential per inhabitant! So, the job of educator of young children, which consisted of welcoming children and their parents, gradually transformed into a function of rigorous accounting of hours and expenses.
Let’s take an example : if your billing rate is 107% and your rate is €10.05 per hour (representing the maximum Service Provision), and a parent asks you to welcome their child for five additional days in December, you you find yourself going from €10.05 to €10.03. Although it may seem insignificant, this reduction of €0.02 makes you lose the maximum service provision and can, through a domino effect on bonuses, cause a loss of €10,000.
Thus, despite respecting your mission as a social worker to welcome children, you are penalized.
This is the height! And this goes against the very PSU.
So, are these three criteria really a guarantee of quality care for young children? Do the actual or billed hours guarantee a peaceful relationship with parents? Do the expenses ensure a quality of reception?
I don’t think so.
The COG (Objective and Management Convention) has never invested so much money in early childhood, but this money does not allow structures to welcome children and parents in good conditions, because the formula of calculation of the PSU is too complex and disconnected from the reality of nurseries, the quality of care for young children and the support of parents in their parental role.
The structures have been in chronic deficit for years.
It is urgent to help all types of early childhood care by creating a calculation formula aligned with current issues. We cannot wait until the COG ends in 2027 to reform early childhood funding. Let’s reinvent together new payment methods for reception structures.
An appeal to the minister: Let’s act together for early childhood
Faced with this reality, it is imperative to rethink public policies regarding early childhood. Directors, as pillars of these establishments, deserve to be heard and supported in their essential mission. This is why an urgent appeal is being launched to the Minister of Early Childhood: it is time to take concrete measures to guarantee the sustainability of childcare structures and improve the quality of the services offered.
The voices of directors must be raised beyond the walls of their establishments to bring about real change and prevent despair from taking a lasting hold in the sector. A collective commitment to early childhood is not only desirable, but also essential to guarantee a better future for our children and the professionals who care for them.
Conclusion: Early childhood deserves better than indifference.
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