Growth of Shared Childminding Facilities: Why and How to Professionalize Childcare Providers Who Choose This Way of Working?

Published on: 28/04/2021Updated on: 28/04/2021

Since 2010, licensed childcare providers have had the option to work together outside their homes in premises called "Shared Childminding Facilities" (Maisons d'assistants maternels - MAM). Although their share in childcare provision remains low for now, they are growing rapidly. But with creation projects that don't succeed and facilities that close quickly, the question of professionalization has been raised for several years. IPERIA now offers an adapted solution with the "Working in MAM" Professional Qualification Certificate, registered in the Specific Directory and currently being piloted in several areas.

What is a MAM?

A shared childminding facility allows up to four childcare providers to each care for a maximum of four children simultaneously in premises that ensure children's safety and health. To work in a MAM, each childcare provider must hold a specific license issued by the Departmental Council. As with home-based care, they are employed by the parent who hires them.

This new childcare format is generally created by childcare providers who want to work differently or break the isolation of working from home. In practical terms, the alternative solution of MAM-based care offers several advantages:

For children: larger play spaces and more opportunities for social interaction
For parents: extended operating hours, flexible care arrangements, and the possibility of care delegation allowing for replacements and therefore continuous care in one location
For childcare providers: working outside their homes, including skill sharing and teamwork

The Growth of MAMs: Between Fantasy and Reality

The first MAMs appeared in the Mayenne Department in 2005 through close collaboration between departmental services, the CAF, and non-profit organizations. In 2010, legislation creating MAMs authorized these structures nationwide. Subsequently, numerous MAMs flourished across France. "They are popular with parents and attract childcare providers by offering a way of working that breaks isolation at home. They also constitute complementary childcare provision in areas that meets the regional coverage desired by public stakeholders. MAMs are particularly present in rural areas. They thus contribute to territorial dynamics by offering an attractive childcare solution and strengthening paid employment in these areas," explains Marina Guimaraes Maria, Head of Institutional Relations at IPERIA.

In 2015, 95 departments had MAMs, and among them, 44 had more than 10. These facilities offered nearly 17,800 places, a 32% increase in one year. However, their development is sometimes disorganized and success isn't always guaranteed. In 2016, public stakeholders recognized the need to support MAM development and proposed several tools:

A ministerial guide for PMI (Maternal and Child Protection) services and childcare providers
A quality charter developed by CNAF
A start-up grant provided by CAF or MSA

Professionalizing MAMs: A Necessity?

The question of professionalization has been unanimously supported for several years. Everyone agrees that MAM development must be supported to strengthen childcare quality and promote facility sustainability. This is evidenced by a 2016 Senate report which notes that "initial training [...] doesn't specifically address working in MAMs. [...] Regarding continuing education, there is real demand from professionals. It's necessary to strengthen childcare providers' training from a professionalization perspective."

For its part, the High Council for Family, Childhood and Age (HCFEA) recommended in 2018 to "Support the improvement of qualifications to enhance the physical and relational availability of professionals, foster their pedagogical motivation, and ensure quality connections with the families they serve." As for public stakeholders in the territories, they report a significant risk of short or medium-term failure for certain projects, with lack of training and preparation cited as the main causes.

"All these elements, supported by additional analysis, led us to reach the same conclusion," announces Camille Savre, Head of Certification Engineering at IPERIA. Indeed, since 1994, IPERIA, the national platform for domestic work professionalization, has invested in skills recognition, knowledge, analysis, and future planning of occupations and qualifications in the individual employment and domestic work sector. In parallel, it develops, delivers, and registers certifications with France Compétences, notably the three level III qualifications "Family Assistant", "Dependency Personal Carer", and "Childcare Provider/Childminder".

These aspects, along with many others, allow it to support and guide social partners in reflecting on practices and trends in occupational development. "That's why, in November 2019, we conducted a survey analyzing skills needed for working as a childcare provider in MAMs, involving 40 relevant childcare providers, professionals, and institutional stakeholders supporting MAMs. The survey results reinforce this necessary professionalization," continues Camille Savre.

This conclusion was supported by facilitating a working group of eight experts in January 2020 in Bordeaux, and analyzing the "Working in MAM" module (14 hours) offered since 2017 in the priority training program of the professional branch of individual employers' childcare providers.

The "Working in MAM" Professional Qualification Certificate: An Adapted Solution

Based on these various findings, IPERIA designed and submitted to the Specific Directory in 2020 a Professional Qualification Certificate "Working in MAM." "Supported by professional branch of individual employers' childcare providers, this certificate aims to highlight this activity for childcare providers and formalize their professionalization in a MAM," indicates Camille Savre. It takes into account four different challenges:

Building a solid MAM creation project
Considering the MAM's financial viability
Integrating interpersonal dynamics within the MAM
Taking into account collective practice of the childcare provider profession

A Variety of Potential Profiles

The "Working in MAM" Professional Qualification Certificate is intended for early childhood professionals, but also for career changers and job seekers planning to create a MAM or join a MAM team who already have child-related experience. "It also concerns childcare providers already working in MAMs who wish to enhance their skills," specifies Camille Savre.

Two Components and Six Target Skills

This Professional Qualification Certificate gives candidates the opportunity to acquire and validate the following skills necessary for working as a childcare provider in a MAM:

Leading a MAM creation project
Determining the MAM's identity and educational/participatory framework
Implementing MAM sustainability measures
Organizing teamwork in a MAM
Communicating as a team in a MAM
Supporting children in a group setting

A 112-Hour Blended Learning Path

For the "Working in MAM" Professional Qualification Certificate, the training program was created by the University of Home Care Services (UDD), IPERIA's partner. It comprises six modules, plus periodic support sessions: assessment, individualized monitoring, practice analysis, and evaluation preparation. Total pathway duration: 112 hours (excluding optional internship).

Within UDD, the training engineering department, in collaboration with the digital team, has designed multimedia educational resources for this training pathway (including a digital logbook) and two e-learning modules, constituting Component 1:

Needs assessment approach for a MAM
Financial management and communication plan for a MAM

The objective: to support trainees in their learning throughout the program. These modules were developed to address childcare providers' availability constraints and to individualize the training pace according to professionals' progress in their MAM creation project. They are accessible 100% remotely.

Pilots to Operationalize the Training Pathway

While awaiting response from France Compétences, IPERIA has initiated pilot programs for the Professional Qualification Certificate across several territories to operationalize the training pathway while maintaining a partnership with the University of Home Care Services. Partner response has been favorable. Early childhood, employment, and training stakeholders have expressed keen interest in piloting this certificate with both employed and job-seeking participants. The objective is twofold:

Strengthen existing MAM projects and reduce risk of failure
Increase early childhood care solutions by reinforcing local provision

They also see it as an opportunity to offer a training pathway that helps childcare providers, whether unemployed or underemployed, secure sustainable work and establish long-term careers in the profession. For partner departmental councils, this Professional Qualification Certificate is a relevant complement to the mandatory training they provide to childcare providers. It's now crucial to equip project leaders with skills such as administrative, financial, and HR aspects of a MAM.

So, IPERIA launched the first pilot of the "Working in MAM" Professional Qualification Certificate in January in the Gironde department, thanks to the commitment of the Departmental Council and support from two local training organizations: Greta-CFA Aquitaine and the Réseau Girondin Petite Enfance. Thirteen childcare providers have just completed their training pathway and the certification committee has recently met. This month a second pilot, also supported by the Departmental Council, begins in Ille-et-Vilaine with employees who already work in MAMs or intend to. ARIFTS is providing the training in this territory. In the second half of the year, IPERIA plans to conduct another pilot in Nord, this time with job seekers, with support from Crefo.

This experimental phase brings to fruition a year's work on the "Working in MAM" Professional Qualification Certificate, which is nearing completion. IPERIA's certification design teams and the University of Home Care Services' training teams will now evaluate the pilot results and analyze whether the training content, assessment methods, and identified skills align with the intended objectives, and propose adjustments if needed. In parallel, IPERIA, through its institutional relations and promotion services, is working to mobilize other partners who might engage in further pilots. Food for thought...

[1] https://drees.solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/er1030.pdf