(Finance) – Al December 31st 2020 are active on the national territory 13,542 services for early childhood, almost 300 less than the previous year (-2.1%). The overall seats are 350.670, of which 49% in public facilities, with a negative balance of approximately 10,600 places (-2.9%).
This is what Istat notes in a report in which it is emphasized that early childhood education services, as well as the other segments of the education sector, from 2020 they have been affected by the impact of the pandemic from Covid-19, which led to periods of closure
of facilities and disruption of attendance by many children.
From the point of view of the availability of services on the territory, very wide gaps remain to the detriment of families residing in the South and in the smaller municipalities. The Northeast and Central Italy, at the end of 2020, they consolidate the coverage of available places with respect to children under the age of three above the European target of 33% (respectively 35% and 36.1%); the North-West is below the target but is not far away (30.8%), while the Islands (15.9%) and the South (15.2%), which despite recording a slight improvement, are still far from target.
TO regional level the highest coverage levels are recorded in Umbria (44%), followed by Emilia Romagna (40.7%) and Valle d’Aosta-Vallée d’Aoste (40.6%), Tuscany (37.6%) and Autonomous Province of Trento (37.9%). Lazio and Friuli-Venezia Giulia have also exceeded the 33% threshold since 2019 (respectively 35.3% and 34.8%), followed by Campania and Calabria, still below 12%.
An additional section of the Survey gathered information about critical issues addressed and the measures adopted by the Municipalities during the 2020/2021 educational year for the Covid-19 emergency.
The main problem encountered by the Municipalities offering the service was the increase in management costs, reported by 74% of the Municipalities. This aspect is highlighted above all by the municipalities of the North (81%), less so by those of the Center (60%) and of the South (48%). There are also difficulties linked to the withdrawal of enrolled children (45%), the drop in enrollment and the lack of economic resources (37%). 29% of the municipalities found it difficult for families to pay the fees.
There are also many organizational difficulties: reorganization of the work of the sections to keep groups stable (43%), management of services in the presence of confirmed Covid cases (35%), staff shortages (23%), difficulties in procuring materials, products and personal protective equipment ( 14%), insufficient space available in relation to the number of registrations (11%), redundancy of staff (4%). Finally, 39% of the municipalities declared criticality in the management of relations with parents.