There are 205 families left (for now) without a place in the municipal nursery in view of September. The Municipality of Bergamo found itself faced with a boom in requests, 489 from families residing in the city compared to 431 last year (when the waiting list stopped at 175). Given the current overall capacity of the municipal structures of 541 places, and the large presence of girls and boys who will continue to attend next year, 257, the Administration is currently able to guarantee the acceptance of 284 applications. The other 205 remain in the queue. The demand for this important service therefore proves to be very high and growing.
Elena Carnevali
(Photo by Bedolis)
The mayor is aware of this Elena Carnevaliwho chooses this very theme for his first concrete intervention after entering Palazzo Frizzoni, underlining how the «the need to improve services in this area concerns mothers first and foremost, but also the well-being of family life as a whole, as well as the social and economic growth of our community, linked precisely to the importance of women’s contribution to the world of work.” Carnevali also says she is “concerned about the cuts in funding to Municipalities, which penalize, in particular, those most virtuous in acquiring Pnrr funds”.
The waiting lists
Returning to the waiting lists, the Municipality summarizes the numbers. «In the face of 489 applications received from families residing in the city (there are also another 18 from non-residents), the ranking tells us, to date, that there are 205 waiting, 191 for full time and 14 for partial time”. In the 2023-2024 educational year, 431 applications were received from residents and 256 were granted, with 175 applications on the waiting list. The overall capacity was 539 places in the municipal facilities.
In all, the nursery system in Bergamo offers over 940 places, distributed across 33 structures, of which 14 municipal and 18 private or accredited
The situation between now and September could improve slightly because the municipal offices will now begin to cross-reference any new availability – some renunciations are physiological – and the “second choices” of families. There are nurseries, for example, which have received few requests and which could accept applications submitted for other municipal structures. But the problem of lack of places remains. Also because, the Municipality reports, “from a check, for the next educational year, even at the accredited nursery schools there are no free places and the waiting lists have been opened”.
In all, the nursery system in Bergamo offers over 940 places, distributed across 33 structures, of which 14 municipal and 18 private or accredited. The families excluded from municipal nurseries will now have to find a plan B, looking around, even outside the city.
Work with Pnrr funds
Contributing to the lengthening of the waiting list this year are the demolition, reconstruction and expansion works of five municipal nursery schools, in which Palafrizzoni was unable to foresee new placements of children: «The contraction of available places – explains Palazzo Frizzoni – we know is a consequence of the construction work on 5 nursery schools through funding from the Pnrr which, as is known, will lead to a total of 140 more places when fully operational. Even in anticipation of this increase – underlines the Municipality – the need for public-private collaboration to cover the total places requested by users is further confirmed, with an evaluation, from a planning perspective, of childcare services also at the scope level”.
A first response will come with the 140 new places generated by the maxi-operation of the new nurseries financed by the Pnrr with 8,719,000 euros, to which is added 1 million of municipal resources
The request, however, is pressing. A first response will come with the 140 new places generated by the maxi-operation of the new nurseries financed by the Pnrr with well 8,719,000 euros, to which is added 1 million euros of municipal resources. In September, if the construction site proceeds as planned, the first of these nurseries will open, at the Villaggio degli Sposi, with 55 places available in total (during the construction site the children already enrolled had been moved to other municipal nursery schools).
Carnivals: priority theme
On the topic of nursery schools and the increase in demand from families, the mayor Elena Carnevali ensures maximum commitment: «In the electoral and mandate program I paid particular attention to educational and children’s services, interpreting the growing need expressed by families, and women in particular, of our city – he stated -. The issue of compatibility between family and work needs, and therefore the need to improve services in this area, concerns mothers first and foremost, but also the well-being of family life as a whole, as well as the social and economic growth of our community linked precisely to the importance of women’s contribution to the world of work”.
«I am extremely worried about the announcement a few days ago of cuts in funding for Municipalities, which will penalize, in particular, those most virtuous in acquiring Pnrr funds»
Meanwhile, the Municipality reads “the significant increase in applications” as a “confirmation of the appreciation that families express towards educational services in the 0-3 year age group. A fact that must be interpreted both as a consequence of a growing need for women to return to work, and as recognition by parents of the importance of nurseries as an educational reference for the growth of their children”.
The issue of funds
Despite the cultural change and the demand for the service from citizens, it will not be easy for the Municipality to provide answers: «I am extremely worried – adds Carnevali – about the announcement a few days ago of cuts in funding for Municipalities, which will penalize, in particular, those most virtuous in acquiring Pnrr funds. A forecast that creates an enormous distance between the government’s choices and the real needs of the country and, looking at nurseries, proves to be inconsistent with the serious demographic issue and the difficulties that would result in the activation of services in schools under construction”.
