Free nurseries for all children born on or after September 1, 2021 begin in September and it is expected to reach 100,000 children in two years, according to the agreement between the Government and the Social and Solidarity sector.
Information from the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security (MTSSS) disclosed this Monday to Lusa indicates that the agreement is ready and the ordinance that regulates gratuity has already been signed and will be published this week.
The agreement between the Government and the representative organizations of the social and solidarity sector (União das Misericórdias, National Confederation of Solidarity Institutions, Confecoop and União das Mutualidades) establishes that the Gratuity includes “all the pedagogical activities carried out (except the extra-pedagogical activities of the project), food, registration and insurance costs, as well as expenses with periods of extension of opening hours.
In the debate on the State of the Nation, last Wednesday, the Prime Minister, António Costa, announced that he had closed an agreement between the executive and the social sector to guarantee that nurseries are free for children born on or after 1 September. 2021 and who attend the nursery for the first time from September 2022.
This Monday, in information sent to Agência Lusa, the MTSSS explains that the gratuity applies to children who attend nurseries in the social and solidarity sector, regardless of the room they come to attend.
Until 2024, free nurseries will be implemented in a staggered manner, increasing the number of covered nurseries annually by one more year, until reaching all the children of the social and solidarity network. The children, now covered by the free program, maintain it for all the years they are in the nursery”, explains the Ministry.
“Free childcare is a decisive and priority measure for the country, both in terms of fight against child povertypromoting integration and equal access to opportunities and breaking the cycles of poverty, or promoting a policy of support for families, especially young people who need support and conditions to stay in Portugal, to become self-employed and start a family” , says, quoted in the document, the Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho.
The MTSSS also highlights in the agreement the establishment of a “prioritization” in the allocation of places for children.
Children with disabilities and/or disabilities are a prioritychildren from disadvantaged families, children whose parents are the main informal caregivers, children from single parent households or large families and whose parents live or work in the area, or children identified as being at risk.
In relation to the values, the information given to Lusa explains that, as for the children covered by the first phase of the agreement, who go to daycare in September, the contributions paid by the parents are now assumed by the Government.
Currently, Social Security pays 293 euros for each child who attends nurseries in the social and solidarity sector and families pay an additional amount of variable co-payment. With the implementation of gratuity, Social Security will also assume the differential value of the contributions that were borne by the families, that is, the total technical cost of the response in the amount of 460 euros”, explains the MTSSS.
Last week, the president of the National Confederation of Solidarity Institutions, Father Lino Maia, told Lusa that around 80,000 children should attend the nursery for free from September, as he estimates that there are currently around 50,000 children who attend daycare free of charge because their parents are in the 1st and 2nd income bracket.
Also last week, the association that represents private nurseries accused the Government of discrimination, by excluding the sector from the agreement that allows guaranteeing free nurseries for children of 1 year from September.
Source: Observadora
