The Community of Madrid has announced this Sunday that it will allocate close to 18 million euros to the creation of a new line of subsidy for nursery schools, closed since March 11 and which still have no date to reactivate their services. The regional government then suspended the so-called “nursery check”, the aid it grants to the families of children between the ages of 0 and 3 who attend private nursery schools and which represents an important part of the income of the centers.
The regional executive planned to dedicate more than 36.6 million to childcare checks This course, for 33,300 students under the age of three. The amount of these grants, designed to promote family and work reconciliation in the absence of public places to serve all children, is 100 or 160 euros per month for 11 months, depending on income. The most common is to receive 100 euros, 1,100 in total per year. They are granted to families in which both parents work full time and in which the per capita family income does not exceed the limit of 25,000 euros. Although they are awarded to parents, the money is given by the Community to the schools and they discount the amount of the monthly receipt.
The note from the Community indicates that a new line of subsidy will be created for nursery schools with enrolled children who were entitled to early childhood education checks and also that agreements with municipalities will be modified.
The opposition criticized the regional executive for suspending these agreements with municipalities and the nursery check. The education counselor, Enrique Ossorio, argued that this is a measure that complies with the contract law, the agreements and the regulations of the concession order, which establish that students must go to schools. “I cannot pay something that the law, the agreement or the order of subsidies calls says that it cannot be paid,” he said.
The amount, adds the text of the announcement, would increase if the closure of nursery schools was prolonged. At the municipal level, according to data from the Community, 125 nursery schools and 128 children’s homes will benefit from this measure. “The objective is that they can meet the expenses originated from March 11 until they return to their normal activity, a period during which they have had no income,” adds the note, which does not offer more details on how this aid will be managed or the expected deadlines.
“The Community of Madrid intends to avoid the closure of nursery schools, something that could be very damaging to the educational system, and that could create serious pedagogical problems and problems for families once the health authorities order the time to return to the classroom”, add. These months, some centers have run out of income: in addition to losing the daycare check, in some cases they have chosen to reduce fees or not collect them.
In many cases, these are SMEs that survive month by month with “very aligned income and expenses,” according to industry sources. For example, a school with 25 workers leaves no less than 42,000 euros per month on payroll and social security, to which must be added the rent of very large premises, at least 9,000 euros, plus insurance, taxes, electricity, suppliers, alarm … And now, in addition, the uncertainty of not knowing when they will return to serve.
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