The nest represents an important educational opportunity and a fundamental service for families, but the situation in Italy is still difficult and uneven
The choice to send their daughter or child to the nursery can sometimes be perceived, by families who do not have the help of grandparents or other emotional figures of reference, such as a practical necessity, but but There are now many scientific evidence of the fact that this is also an important educational opportunity for girls and boysespecially when spaces and activities are designed in order to offer children a plurality of stimuli. Some socio-economic analyzes also see you an important tool for Promote equality and reduce poverty.
The Italian situation
Also for these reasons it would be important to act in order to make kindergartens accessible to all families who wish to take advantage of their services. Unfortunately, the Italian situation still appears very problematic.
In the June 2020Istat has published the results of a research, conducted together with the Department for the Policies of the Family of the Prime Minister and the Ca ‘Foscari Venice University, which concerns precisely the educational services for children on the national territory.
The results of the research highlight the deep deficiencies of this system of services and their strongly uneven distribution in the different areas of Italy (The data refer to 2017-2018).
The numbers of the deficiencies
Throughout Italy, the places available in nursery schools they only cover 24.7% of potential users of the service and the deficiencies in the South (12.3%) and in the islands (13.5%) are definitely more marked and problematic. In general, Istat known as You are still far from the threshold of 33%, set by the European Council of Barcelona in 2002 and scheduled for 2010. This percentage appeared adequate to allow to reconcile work and professional needs with those of families, also promoting women’s participation in the labor market. Beyond practical needs, a greater availability of seats could encourage the choice of nest also based on the educational opportunities it offers.
A decidedly better situation presents the North-East, with a percentage of places available of 32.5%, and central Italy, with 32.4%; Finally, follows the North-West, with 29.2%.
A reality with a leopard spot, therefore, which has as a consequence a little fair access to rights and services by the families of our country. Istat also highlights a sadly predictable data: Places focus on economically developed areas and larger municipalitieswhile the most serious deficiencies in children’s services concern smaller, peripheral and disadvantaged areas. This clearly is a further element of aggravation of social injustices.
The cost of services
But clearly to weigh it is also the not indifferent cost of the services, which Istat quantifies in an average of 2000 euros per year For families who use it, both in the public and private fields. The excessive cost constitutes, sadly, a selection element at the base: The average income of families who can afford the nest, in fact, is higher than that of those who do not access the service (an average of 40,092 euros per year against 34,572). In Italy that of the nest is still an opportunity of which not everyone can take advantage and from which some are excluded for merely economic reasons, with an evident limitation of right to rights.
Nurse bonuses
An important help can come from the nursery bonuses, whose amount today reaches a maximum of 3000 euros On the basis of the ISEE referred to the minor for which the contribution is requested (the renewal of which for 2021 has already been confirmed). However, as rightly it is highlighted by the Istat survey, The possibility of accessing these contributions and therefore the services is connected directly with the availability of placeswhich, as we have seen, in some areas it is quite poor.
The road to a fair access to this important resource appears, therefore, still long.
