More than nine months after the death of a little girl in a private nursery in Lyon, after a professional had forced her to ingest caustic soda, the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) publishes, Tuesday April 11, an alarming report on the early childhood sector. She had been seized by the Minister of Solidarity, Jean-Christophe Combe, for “provide rapid clarification as to the factors which, in this crèche, in this network and in the general framework of collective reception methods, could have contributed to the installation of such situations”.
Their reflections are based on hearings, field visits in eight departments and in thirty-six establishments welcoming young children (EAJE), but also on three questionnaires sent to establishment directors, professionals and parents, which received 5,275, 12,545 and 27,671 responses respectively.
The result of four months of investigation, the document sheds harsh light on the major shortcomings within the ECEC. Admittedly, the sector is characterized by a “great heterogeneity”underlined the authors during a preview presentation organized at the Ministry of Solidarity, Thursday, April 6, before the members of the Early Childhood Sector Committee, which brings together the main professional actors – presentation to which The world has assisted. However, very often, “the conditions are not fully met, to date, to guarantee a quality reception”.
Thirty-eight recommendations
The report warns of the “institutional abuse” burdening professionals, which increases the risk of situations of individual abuse. Part of the document is devoted to this delicate subject. “The reception of young children presents risks similar or even greater than the risks observed in all places of reception of vulnerable or dependent people”warn the authors.
Approximately 2,000 situations of mistreatment were reported to Igas via questionnaires. A quarter of professional respondents indicated that they had worked in an establishment considered abusive. Restraint, forced food, physical and psychological violence… Reading the verbatim statements, reproduced in the report, is trying. The authors plead for another approach to mistreatment, which still very often remains a “unthought” and is rooted in deteriorating working conditions, insufficient training and reporting culture, and lack of time to reflect on professional practices. The parallel with the situation of nursing homes is assumed.
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