Barcelona Metropolis

Not only does there need to be more supply, but it needs to be more equitable. The native child schooling rate (52 %) is 3.5 times higher than the foreign rate (15 %), and the most disadvantaged districts of the city are where the schooling of infants happens the least (27 % in Ciutat Vella, 36 % in Nou Barris and Horta-Guinardó, far below the 57 % rate in Les Corts and Sarrià-Sant Gervasi). Therefore, equity must be a basic premise of the city’s education policy.

In this sense, it is worth noting the implementation of a social pricing system to promote the economic accessibility of families with less resources. Starting in the 2017-2018 academic year, this system has adjusted the price of each place based on the family’s income. Since the measure was introduced, the number of children attending preschool at more affordable rates has doubled (from 34 % to 65 %).

However, while the social pricing system greatly alleviates the cost of schooling for economically disadvantaged families, the fact that the total numbers of children in school have fallen in the two most disadvantaged districts of the city (−16.4 % in Ciutat Vella and −2.7 % in Nou Barris) indicates that in addition to the economic barriers, there are others that block the children’s access to early childhood educational services, which are shown to be so important in compensating for inequalities in education.

Therefore, in order to increase schooling at this stage, we must better identify the needs of families and outline the reasons for their low enrolment rates. At the same time, we must provide pre-enrolment support and information programmes on the benefits of schooling for children to try to encourage it.

New educational spaces beyond preschool

Based on the understanding that there are other barriers in addition to the economic one, a third challenge for the city emerges that requires answers to the following questions: In which environments do children develop when they do not go to preschool? What needs do families have for the education and upbringing of children under three years of age? And most importantly, what support do families have for the educational support of infants and children at this key stage?

The proliferation of different projects for early childhood education and rearing outside the public sector and private preschools (up to 73 were identified in 2015) not only makes it clear that the city’s coverage is insufficient to meet demand, but also that it is not diversified in terms of format, that it is often rigid in terms of access and that it does not meet the various social needs or all educational sensitivities.

In this sense, we should highlight municipal family spaces (around 15 running in the city), which offer children a stable educational space for two days per week, with an adult in charge and guidance by education professionals. Apart from being a different kind of service than preschool, family spaces are a first-hand approach for families to embrace early childhood education and also encourage them to later enrol their children in preschool.

Also noteworthy is the “De 0 a 3” [From 0 to 3] programme, which brings together four children’s centres in the Eixample. These centres provide a place for families to meet and share parenting concerns and experiences, as well as a play and socialisation space for children. This local initiative is an example of the potential of harnessing the city’s network of civic centres, play centres and children’s centres as suitable places for child rearing, and particularly for facilitating community-based experiences that require quality spaces.

Finally, we must mention the pilot test at the Aurora preschool in the Ciutat Vella district, which apart from offering a socio-educational family space, is committed to hourly flexibility with two shifts (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) to better suit families’ everyday needs.

It must be borne in mind that in other European countries, these diverse initiatives are structured and regulated in the context of what is available in the public and private sectors. As such, the authorities should establish conditions of quality and equity so they are also accessible to the most vulnerable young children. The authorities should also evaluate the types of support (recognition, regulation, space allocation, etc.) that may be appropriate.

In short, despite the steady increase in public availability and the recent measures implemented in the city, the schooling of infants and young children is still at low and uneven levels. We must therefore keep increasing the supply and, above all, diversify it. In addition, in order to do well, we need to improve our understanding of the different social realities and needs of families across the city, of the contexts in which children under three years of age are being raised out of school and of what families need to enrol them in school. Only in this way can we attract and better accommodate those who are missing and begin to break the cycle of educational inequalities in early childhood.