„Relais des Kangous“, France : promoting training for early childcare professionals and diminishing their social isolation

Origin of the project / activity: In today’s society, it is common for both parents in a household to be employed. While every European state has its own system for childcare, some ideas could be duplicated or could at least be used as a source of inspiration for families as well as for communities and administrations. The need for these structures is high and the stakes are twofold: parents need childcare to be adaptable to their professional restrictions and the people responsible for the care must be able to be trained, to meet and exchange information, despite the lack of adequate infrastructure.

In the department of the Cher, two communities of communes have identified a lack of access to information for parents and the isolation of babysitters and other early childcare professionals. Seeking adequate solutions, they have turned to the ARPPE en Berry, which is as much an organisation of the department as a parenting and education movement that brings together parent associations and projects focusing on children and families at the local level (department). Its members are signatories of a childcare charter.

What is the project about ? : Once a week, a truck that combines a day-care service and a RAM travels between the various villages. In the morning, the babysitters and the children take part in different entertaining activities within the context of the day-care service; the afternoon is dedicated to administrative topics, meetings and appointments. As the setting is not too rigid, appointments can be scheduled outside these hours, according to people’s needs. Additionally, the hosts maintain a hotline. Once a month, a themed event is held for the babysitters, so that they may exchange experiences with one another. These get-togethers not only promote bonding and tackle the problem of isolation, but also make it possible to answer questions of a technical and administrative nature (drafting of the contract, offers of traineeship, work quotas, applicable tariffs etc.). These relays reach about 90 babysitters within the covered area.

Specific target group? : The members of the organization travel between the different communities of communes of the Cher, with the goal of supporting families, babysitters / nannies, family assistants, and early childcare professionals.