The nursery schools pressure Education so that it stops the advancement of the start of the school year in some centers

PalmaThe workers of the nursery schools demand that Education act against the centers that would have advanced the start of the school year calendar and that, according to their complaints, are applying criteria different from those officially established. The Xarxa 0-3, in a statement signed by a large part of the unions and collectives in the sector, warns that some centers would be following the indications of some employers and offering families different dates to start the adaptation period. Faced with this situation, the workers demand that the General Directorate of Early Childhood intervene immediately to ensure that all centers comply with the same instructions.

According to their complaints, while municipal nursery schools and those directly dependent on Education maintain the official calendar and have informed families that the course will begin on September 10, some centers would be advancing the welcoming period by up to nine days with respect to the planned date.

For the 0-3 Network, this situation poses an equity problem, especially since it is a service funded by public funds. Education assumes the gratuity of the four hours of educational care for families, with a contribution of 45,000 euros per classroom, and the workers consider that this funding should be accompanied by the same treatment for all children, regardless of the center they attend.

Progressive start

The entities in the sector also focus on the adaptation period, which they consider especially delicate for children and their families. They argue that this period requires prior pedagogical planning, preparation time for educational teams, and homogeneous conditions among different centers. The Xarxa 0-3 assures that it has already communicated to the Ministry of Education the cases it considers irregular and demands an "immediate and firm" response so that all centers respect the officially set dates. It also requests that Educational Inspection act ex officio and supervise compliance with the calendar in centers fully or partially supported by public resources.

However, the workers lament that no action has been taken by the Administration so far to correct this situation. In their opinion, allowing each center to establish different criteria can end up generating nurseries with unequal conditions for families and children.