Daycare in a Foreign Land
(Originally Published in Barcelona Metropolitan, September 2005)
A baby cries inconsolably in his parent’s lap and Lourdes Usieto steps out from behind her desk. With an assuring look to the parent, she takes the child in her arms and smiles in his eyes. Immediately, he stops crying and –after a moment’s hesitation—grins back at her, pleased. She turns back to the parent and their conversation. “Parents only need to call the Ensenyament, at the Generalitat, then say, ‘I want a report on said guardería in said pueblo or in Barcelona or whatever,’ and they’ll tell the parent if everything is correct or if there is something wrong with the school.” The child watches her speak and touches her lips with his fingers. She laughs and tickles him.
The ensenyament that she refers to is also known as El Departament d’Educació, the branch of the Catalan government which oversees all daycare centers in Catalunya. Lourdes is the director of Escola Pins, a daycare center on c/ Entenca in Eixample. It is one of Barcelona’s 281 licensed guarderías, also referred to as “Escola Bressols.” At present, only sixty-two of these schools are municipal, or public. But the Departament d’Educació has already taken steps to increase the number of public daycare centers by the year 2008, hoping to add 30,000 new vacancies for children 3 years old and younger. In Barcelona alone, eleven new guarderías are scheduled to open in the year 2006, which will accomodate 647 more children than are currently placed.
However, there are many who say that, although it’s an improvement, it is a far cry short of what is needed. Gina Argemir, who tried to enroll her one year-old into an escola municipal, found it next to impossible. “The matriculation is like a lottery, based on a point system. They award points based on family income, whether or not there are special health needs, if there is a brother or sister already enrolled. Also, they may post that there are 12 openings, but students who are continuing in the same school are given precedence. So, out of those twelve openings, maybe only four are actually new, incoming students.”
The actual percentage of solicitations that result in matriculation is not a statistic that the Generalitat is proud of. When asked directly by email, Eugeni García, Subdirector General del Centros Docentes, chose to ignore the question and responded instead that some 33% of all children under 3 years of age in Catalunya are enrolled in pre-school. That figure, however, even further evades the question, because about 90% of the 36,000 children enrolled attend private pre-schools, such as the Escola Pins.
Though the facilities and staff in the municipal schools are generally considered to be superior, the sad fact is that –despite the planned increase in public pre-schools—the majority of parents who are in need of daycare will have to decide on a private facility for the care of their infant. The quality and care of these schools is wide-ranging. Though every one of them is licensed and inspected by El Departament d’Educació, the methodology differs from school to school. Some, like the Col.legi Montserrat (www.nazaretti.org/cmontserrat), offer extensive stimulation activities, such as the Suzuki Method of music education, artistic acrobatics and chess. The majority rely on games, songs and lots of playtime.
The increased cost of private daycare is another unfortunate fact for majority of parents who must work outside the home. The public schools are subsidized by the Ayuntamiento and Generalitat, who pay 15% and 85% respectively. The remaining 15%, which comes to 231 euros per month, is paid for by the parents. This covers a full day from 8:00 to 5:00, whereas the same period would cost 395 euros per month in a private school like the Escola Pins. This tuition, however, is graded so that if the child were only to attend four hours, the cost to the parents would be 260 euros. Many parents who are fortunate enough to have scheduling flexibility stagger their schedules in order to minimize the number of hours in daycare.
Given that they will more than likely have to decide on a private pre-school, the next question for parents is, How to find and decide on a center? A good way to begin is by going to the website provided by the Generalitat, www10.gencat.net/pls/ense_ensenyam/p01.menu. It has a directory of educational centers from pre-school to university and even includes schools of further education. The site, which provides a list of daycare centers grouped by neighbourhood, is comprehensive. However it’s in Catalan only, but is simple enough that just about anyone could manage it. Another good site to search is the Ayuntamiento’s website, www.bcn.es/escolesmunicipals/frames/bresol2005.htm. It offers basically the same information in a simpler format. And also in Catalan.
Unfortunately, neither the Ayuntamiento nor the Generalitat have a service to help foreigners venture into the terra incognita of daycare in a foreign land. And surprisingly, neither do the U.S. and British Consulates. A phone call to them will get you a list of English language schools –all but one of which begin at three years of age—and nothing else. Not even tips on places to avoid. “We do not keep a school blacklist,” declares Juan Alsace, Consul General of the U.S. Consulate, in a brief email. However, another employee of the consulate, who preferred not to be quoted, did say that if they receive a complaint about any school, said school is generally removed from their list. Well, at least that’s something.
So, without the help of any governmental bodies, what is the newly arrived –or even seasoned—immigré supposed to do? Arm yourself with knowledge and fortitude, weary traveler. And when all else fails, head for the internet. A simple Google search will turn up all kinds of advice, but two sites, www.babycenter.com/childcare and http://mrdad.com/qa/firstyear/finding-daycare.html are not bad. Things to look for when interviewing daycare centers are:
- Licensing by the Departament d’Educació.
- The teacher to student ratio.
- The number of certified maestras compared to teachers doing practicas, or “interning.”
- The existence of a patio or other open-air playground.
- Quality of the food. Some schools prepare meals on-site while others have pre-cooked meals delivered.
- The condition and number of toys.
- The cleanliness and security of the facilities. Are the doors well-locked? Is there exterior access to the playground?
- Are the classrooms spacious and full of natural light?
- Are the teachers friendly and communicative?
In principle, all facilities are licensed and regulated by the government of Catalunya, which –according to Eugeni García—is composing a new decree that will regulate even further the conditions, cleanliness, class size and certification of the professors, as well as outline the educational principles and objectives for all pre-schools in Catalunya. The decree, he predicts, should be published before the end of the year.
“Ordinarily, [we send inspectors] two times during the school year,” says Eugeni. “Or whenever there is a complaint.”
However, when asked how often inspectors come around the Escola Pins, Lourdes finds it difficult to say. Once a year? She shakes her head and frowns. “More or less. Not even that much, really. Health inspectors, yes, they come around once a year.”
Lourdes, who has worked 20 years as a licensed profesora docente, thinks that the ultimate choice in an Escola Bressol must ultimately be based on instinct. “It’s relative, what to look for, because every parent is looking for something different. Above all, the most important thing to look for is communication. At some schools you can only leave your child at the door and that’s that. But if you can come here whatever day or time you want and enter, be with your child, see how they are, that is something that instills confidence in the parent. And if the parent can see that their child has tranquilidad, then the parent also will have tranquilidad.