France/Early childhood training plan: the territorial aspect meets with the support of professionals

In addition to the national training programme for 600,000 early childhood professionals, the State Secretariat for Children launched a call for territorial projects. 124 training projects have been funded in 2020/2021.

It has taken three years to finally put on track the vast training plan for 600,000 early childhood professionals "ambition enfance égalité" announced by Emmanuel Macron on September 13, 2018, during the launch of the strategy to prevent and fight poverty. The National Center of the Territorial Public Service and all the operators of skills have contracted with the State, and 180 training modules have been adapted according to the seven themes pointed out by the High Council of the Family of Children and Age in 2019.

"You have an offer available. The catalogue is there. It must be used, including on the digital component, "encouraged Marine Jeantet, interdepartmental delegate for the prevention and the fight against poverty, on 30 September 2021, at the "rentrée de la petite enfance" event organized by the "Les Pros de la petite enfance" information site. In charge of the implementation of this plan, she was pleased with its "rise to power".

124 territorial projects

The State has allocated 36.7 million euros to the plan. A significant investment which she hopes will have a real impact on practices. The plan is articulated in two parts. According to the latest information from the Secretary of State for Children, 21,000 professionals have already benefited from the modules offered under the national component (a total of 41,000 departures).

The territorial component, based on calls for projects, has been a real success, with 124 projects funded in the first wave launched at the end of 2020. With 3 million euros, it has enabled 20,000 training departures. A second call for projects has been launched in September 2021, with the same budget as last year.

A four-dimensional project in Seine-Saint-Denis

The training project of the Seine-Saint-Denis departmental council is one of the winners of the first wave, with a budget of 119,000 euros. It has four dimensions. A "childhood and equality" day on 15 December 2021, with a session on the fundamentals of child development, and a session on the role of women in society.development, and three round tables on language diversity, arts and culture, and gender equality. This conference is aimed at 200 professionals in collective and individual childcare. "We want to bring together elements of research and field experience," explains Ana Larregle, head of the Early Childhood and Parenting Innovation Unit.

Another problem faced by the departmental council is adapting to the profile of the region's families. "In Seine-Saint-Denis, we have a coverage rate of 31% for childcare needs and a poverty rate of 28%. We are in the process of installing hourly billing with diversified schedules. This requires us to change our care arrangements, and in so doing to better meet the needs of families. The professionals need to be supported in this evolution", agrees Daphné Bogo, deputy director of the child and family department. This is also a problem for childcare assistants. "We want to encourage them to move away from the five-day-a-week arrangement, which is not at all suitable for our families.

Continuing education meetings on the issue of diversified working hours are therefore also planned, with exchanges of experience with professionals from vocational integration day care centres (AVIP). 200 professionals are expected to attend. The theoretical part of the course is also to be made available online, so that more people can benefit from it.

A third action will specifically concern childcare assistants to train them in digital technology. "Of the 4,800 childcare assistants in the department, only 2,000 are connected to Monenfant.fr. This is a real challenge, linked to illiteracy," warns Daphné Bogo. But only 160 childminders will be able to benefit from it. "We will have to find a relay", agrees the deputy director.

Finally, a last training session will be organized to articulate the cooperation between childcare establishments and childminders' homes (MAM). These meetings between professionals will take up the themes discussed during the "childhood and equality" day.

In total, 600 professionals should be trained. "It's a start", agrees Daphnée Bogo, who in any case wishes to continue working on these themes beyond 2021. "This work helps us to conceptualize models and to ask ourselves how to continue them by making them evolve", because the framework of the call for projects is restrictive: training courses of one or two days maximum, and if possible, in small groups of proximity.

In Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, training in body awareness

This is also what the early childhood department of Saint-Pierre des Corps (15,766 inhabitants, Indre-et-Loire) felt. In this community, the cultural centre has given priority to awakening the youngest children. Many shows are designed for babies.

When the call for "childhood and equality" projects was launched, the Regional Directorate for Cultural Action therefore proposed dancer and choreographer Anne-Laure Rouxel to work on body awareness with the city's early childhood professionals. "We wanted to break down the barriers of our agents who are sometimes less comfortable with their bodies," explains Mickaël Chapeau, deputy in charge of culture and communication, who also convinced the Drac to provide a training course on the subject.It's by showing that the children are not only the ones who will be able to see the world, but also the ones who will be able to see the world.

"It is by showing that the agents are trained on a daily basis. A single session would not have been enough to dare to do it," points out Anne Lefrançais, head of the early childhood centre. "At first, the agents are with the children in body awakening workshops with the choreographer, then the professionals are alone in the evening with Anne-Laure Rouxel to repeat the same movements and body games, but with theoretical explanations.

The agents of the four structures of the community were able to participate, on a voluntary basis, but there too, the city had to defend its position. "The call for projects concerned children in priority neighbourhoods. Fortunately, we don't have any specific agents for the city's political districts! "Mickaël Chapeau, who is delighted with the cohesion that this type of training creates within the structures, is ironic.

On the condition that they do not stop there. "After the 8,000 euros from the call for projects, we are looking for co-financing to continue this approach with singing, music and artistic expression, because on a daily basis, this is what our professionals need to enrich the awakening of the little ones. And this is the difficulty with the specifications of the territorial component: by imposing one or two days of training, the risk is to end up with a simple varnish that does not last...

Source: www.lagazettedescommunes.com