Crèche Altaïr is a 49-bed nursery built in the commune of Schaerbeek, Brussels, that opened its doors on 2 November 2021. Construction started in September 2019. Located at the intersection of the Général Eenens Road and Avenue Voltaire, the facility responds to a pressing need for childcare facilities in the commune, giving parents the peace of mind knowing that their children are well taken care of while they go to work.
Crèche Altaïr: a new nursery in Schaerbeek, Brussels, provides a vital resource for working parents
- 29 August 2017
Crèches have a vital importance, allowing working parents to drop off their children, knowing they are well-looked after. Parents on the waiting list have to make other plans, either leaving them with grandparents or using private nurseries.
The project was implemented in partnership with non-profit organisation Crèches de Schaerbeek, which manages a total of 18 public nurseries in the area. The newest additions, the Omega and Cérès nurseries, opened their doors in 2022.
The building housing the Altaïr crèche meets the criteria of a passive building and extra efforts were made to make it as energy-efficient as possible. In addition, environmentally friendly materials were used. The crèche is on the ground floor, and a kitchen, laundry and changing room are on the first floor. The building also accommodates the extension of the Frans Fischer technical high school.
An urgent need for childcare
Schaerbeek is one of 19 communes in the Brussels Capital region. In 2015 more than 5 % of the commune’s population was aged 0-3. There was only one childcare place for every four children.
According to news report dated March 2022, there are currently 400 children on waiting lists for public nurseries. Twenty years ago it was up to 1 000.
According to the Crèches de Schaerbeek website, Schaerbeek, like the whole of the Wallonia and Brussels regions, does not have enough places in crèches, largely due to a backlog that built up between 1980 and 1994. The construction, acquisition, or renovation of a building for a crèche generally takes about 4 years and costs around EUR 2.5 million.
Ensuring good management
Crèches de Schaerbeek was founded in 1973 with the aim of creating and managing public, French-speaking crèches to ensure good quality childcare, mainly for local children.
Due to the long opening hours of the reception facilities, Crèches de Schaerbeek hires 1 childcare worker for every 5 beds, well beyond the standards set by the Office de la Naissance et de l’Enfance, or Office of Birth and Childhood, (ONE) of 1 nursery nurse for 7 beds.
The non-profit organisation has a board of directors. Each crèche is managed by a nurse and/or a social worker, is approved and subsidized by the ONE.
Between 2007 and 2013, the region and EU invested EUR 116 million in 32 projects in the Brussels Region in childcare, re-employment, training, sustainable development, support for economic activities, improving infrastructure and social cohesion, sudinfo.be reported in November 2021.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Crèche Altaïr” is EUR 1 962 000, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 633 000 through the “Brussels Capital Region” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any discrimination”.