In recent years, more and more families have changed their parenting concepts, and the demand for the infant and toddler care industry has been increasing. Coupled with the strong support of favorable national policies, the childcare industry has entered a period of rapid expansion, and the number of childcare institutions has grown by spurts. As of June 2023, there are more than 26,000 childcare institutions registered on the information disclosure platform of national health entrusted education institutions nationwide
The increase in the number of childcare institutions has alleviated the contradiction between supply and demand to a certain extent, but according to public information, it is found that most of the childcare institutions that currently provide full-day care, half-day care, timed care, temporary childcare and other forms are transformed from kindergarten nursery classes and some early education institutions, and community childcare and family childcare account for a small proportion
In addition to the high price, vague industry standards, ambiguous relevant qualifications, and uneven service quality are also pain points in the current development of the childcare industry. A number of practitioners pointed out that it will take some time to improve the supporting system of childcare services. The operating costs of urban childcare institutions are relatively high, the recovery benefits are slow, and the substantial support obtained is less, especially in special periods, and the ability of childcare institutions to resist risks is weak
The spacious and bright park, picture books, toys, etc. are placed in an orderly manner, bubble balls, slides and other amusement facilities are made of circular sponge, and the color matching in each room is harmonious and unified. A 2-year-old child is concentrating on playing bubble balls while the teacher patiently demonstrates the movements.
This is the scene that the reporter of "Rule of Law Daily" saw after walking into a private nursery in Chaoyang District, Beijing.
According to Teacher Bai of the nursery school, his institution currently has 5 classes and more than 30 students, each class is equipped with 3 teachers, "two teachings and one guarantee". Among them, the nursing class is more special, with a teacher-student ratio of 1:2 or 1:3. "More and more parents are coming to the kindergarten to consult about childcare services, and they want to receive more professional support in childcare."
After the implementation of the "comprehensive two-child" policy, the problem of infant care has become more prominent, and more and more parents choose to send their children under the age of 3 to childcare institutions. According to data from the National Health Commission, at this stage, the number of infants under the age of 3 in mainland China is about 40 million, and more than 30% of infant families have childcare needs, but the enrollment rate of childcare service institutions is only about 5.5%. By the end of 2022, the number of trustees per 1,000 population in the mainland is about 2.5, which is still far from the target of 4.5 by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
Some social institutions have smelled the business opportunity and have set up infant and child care institutions. So, what is the current development status of the industry and what are the challenges it faces? The reporter interviewed a number of childcare institutions and found that practitioners generally reported that the industry has entered the fast lane and the quality of service has improved, but they are also facing different degrees of development difficulties.
Industry enters the "fast lane"
The number of institutions is increasing rapidly
"Babies, sit down. Come, let's put our hands on our knees. ”
"Qiaoqiao baby, come to the teacher to get the materials!"
……
At 10 a.m. on July 13, more than 10 children were threading toy snowflake pieces onto wool strips at a nursery near Honglingjin Park in Beijing's Chaoyang District, led by two teaching assistants and a childcare worker. "Qiaoqiao Baby" is more than 2 years old this year, she dresses very seriously, and helps other children operate from time to time.
"The curriculum is designed to include movements such as wearing, pinching, and pulling, and the teachers first demonstrate it, and then let the children follow along, exercising their hands-to-hand cooperation, hand-eye coordination, rule awareness and concentration." One of the nursery teachers told reporters.
It is understood that this childcare institution mainly provides early education and childcare for children aged 0 to 3, and there are currently 5 classes in the nursery class, recruiting 16 children, and the class is full. The teacher ratio of each class is 1:4, that is, 1 class teacher, 2 teaching assistants, and 1 childcare worker.
"For children who have just entered the kindergarten, we will arrange 1:1 teachers to help children adapt to the transition." The teachers of the institution introduced to reporters that there is no obvious division of labor among teachers, the life and education of young children, each teacher will participate, the class teacher is responsible for the overall management and arrangement, and the childcare staff is responsible for washing and scrubbing.
The teacher also introduced that the institution will arrange teachers to assist early education according to the content of the curriculum, such as children's sensory integration courses, and will arrange 2 teachers to assist, and train children through special physical and sensory integration equipment in special sensory integration classrooms.
In recent years, more and more families have changed their parenting concepts, and the demand for the infant and toddler care industry has been increasing. Coupled with the strong support of favorable national policies, the childcare industry has entered a period of rapid expansion, and the number of childcare institutions has grown by spurts.
Statistics from the National Health Commission show that as of June 2023, there are more than 26,000 childcare institutions registered on the National Health Entrusted Education Institution Information Disclosure Platform.
The "2023 Research Report on the Integration of Childcare and Kindergarten-run Childcare in China" released by the Preschool Education Professional Committee of the China Private Education Association further shows that as of the end of April 2023, among the childcare institutions that have completed the record, there are 10,800 institutions with "kindergarten" in their registered names, accounting for 43.30% of the total number of childcare institutions. This means that kindergartens are becoming an important force in running childcare.
Parents complain that the price is too high
The agency claims that the cost is not low
The increase in the number of childcare institutions has alleviated the contradiction between supply and demand to a certain extent, but the reporter found according to public information that the current full-day care, half-day care, timed care, temporary care and other forms of childcare institutions are mostly transformed from kindergarten nursery classes and some early education institutions, and community childcare and family childcare account for a small proportion.
The "2022 Beijing Childcare Industry Development Report" also shows that as of December 31, 2021, there were 520 childcare institutions in Beijing, and private childcare institutions were the main force in the market, accounting for 96.7%.
One result of this is that the price of childcare is high. The reporter visited 5 private childcare institutions in Beijing and found that only 1 institution was fully enrolled, and the vacancy rate of 3 institutions exceeded 50%. The maximum fee for childcare can be more than 16,000 yuan/month, the lowest is 6,800 yuan/month, and the remaining three institutions charge from 7,000 yuan/month to 9,000 yuan/month.
The reporter randomly interviewed 10 parents and found that the ideal monthly childcare fee for families who did not send them was concentrated within 3,000 yuan, and most families who had sent them hoped that the monthly childcare expenses would not exceed 5,000 yuan.
"We also want to send the baby to the nursery, but the price of a better nursery is too high, and my monthly salary is not enough, so after comprehensive consideration, I decided to let the elderly at home bring it." Ms. Zhou, who lives in Beijing's Haidian District, is a junior high school teacher who is usually busy with work and has no time to take care of her children, but she wanted to send her children to a nursery class but gave up because of the high price.
Parents complained about the high cost of childcare, and institutions said they also had difficulties.
The person in charge of a private nursery in Chaoyang District, Beijing, calculated an account for reporters: according to the policy requirements, the childcare institution must be located below three floors, so the rent of the house is relatively high; Coupled with labor costs, such as the teacher-student ratio of caring for children under 18 months is 1:2, and the teacher-student ratio of children over 18 months is 1:3, which is also a big expense; There is also teacher training, a teacher training for a week, about five or six thousand yuan cost.
"The annual cost of our park is more than 3 million yuan, and rent and wages account for the lion's share. The younger the child, the higher the professionalism and other requirements placed on the teacher. The person in charge of another childcare center in Chaoyang District, Beijing, said.
The person in charge of a childcare center in Qingdao, Shandong Province, also frequently "poured bitter water" when interviewed by reporters: the standard of childcare fees is 1,880 yuan per month, but the annual rent, water and electricity, teachers' salaries, etc., these costs are almost 1 million yuan, "living beyond means".
"Unlike ordinary kindergartens, infant and toddler care has three types of classes: nursing class (6 months to 12 months), nursery class (1 to 2 years old), and kindergarten class (2 to 3 years old), which can provide full-day care, half-day care, timed care, temporary care and other services, but in terms of curriculum settings, service items, fee pricing, etc., everyone is actually crossing the river by feeling the stones." The above-mentioned person in charge said.
The reporter noted that as early as August 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and other 13 departments issued the "Several Policies and Measures for Relief Support for the Old-age Care Service Industry", which clarified 26 relief support measures such as rent and tax exemptions and social insurance support.
In this regard, a number of practitioners pointed out that it will take some time to improve the supporting system of childcare services. The operating costs of urban childcare institutions are relatively high, the recovery benefits are slow, and the substantial support obtained is less, especially in special periods, and the ability of childcare institutions to resist risks is weak.
She Yu, researcher of the Social and Cultural Development Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, Shi Yi, associate researcher of the Chinese and Development Research Center, and Bai Yu, associate professor of the School of Economics of Minzu University of China, have carried out an online questionnaire survey of childcare institutions nationwide relying on local childcare industry associations and childcare leading enterprises, and the results show that:
8.66% of the self-built houses of childcare institutions, the market price of the house is about 8543.18 yuan / month, 3.25% of the self-purchased houses, the market price of the house is about 11285.56 yuan / month; 45.85% of the leased commercial buildings are used as institutional business buildings, with an average rent of 32558.24 yuan/month; 5.42% of the rental community public housing, the rent is 16162.54 yuan/month; 18.05% of leased private property rights, rent 25761.64 yuan/month; 5.42% of the leased state-owned assets, the rent is 46614.63 yuan/month.
Among the main equipment purchased, the average monitoring and alarm equipment is 60,400 yuan, the average kitchen equipment is 92,100 yuan, the average teaching aids and equipment is 287,600 yuan, and the average outdoor activity equipment is 150,700 yuan.
Among the payback period (or estimated cycle), 36.46% chose "more than 5 years", 31.77% chose "3-5 years (excluded)", 27.44% chose "1-3 years (excluded)", and 4.33% chose "less than 1 year (excluding 1 year)".
Standard qualifications are vague
There is a relative shortage of professionals
In addition to the high price, vague industry standards, ambiguous relevant qualifications, and uneven service quality are also pain points in the current development of the childcare industry.
From May 2019, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of Infant Care Services for Children Under 3 Years Old", which carried out top-level design of infant and child care services and clarified the registration department of childcare institutions; By October of the same year, the National Health Commission issued the Standards for the Establishment of Childcare Institutions (Trial) and the Standards for the Management of Childcare Institutions (for Trial Implementation), detailing the standards for venues, facilities, personnel, management and other aspects; In December 2019, the National Health Commission and the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the Measures for the Registration and Filing of Childcare Institutions (Trial), and the mainland's infant and child care services have made significant progress in standards and norms, putting forward clear requirements for the professionalization and standardization of childcare institutions.
However, during the interview, the reporter found that in the process of implementation, the provisions on the facilities and equipment, staffing, health and health, organization funds, safety protection and other provisions of the childcare institution have not been further refined, the corresponding monitoring and evaluation system has not kept up in time, the childcare institution lacks a workflow to refer to in the actual work, and the quality of the services provided is uneven.
Taking catering as an example, among the five private childcare institutions visited by the reporter, some adopted standardized catering and were uniformly delivered to directly operated stores by the central kitchen; Some have independent canteens to provide meals according to the amount of nutrition; Others adopt semi-finished products for simple processing. The pricing standards are also different, some are 950 yuan per month; Some are 60 yuan/day.
The survey results of She Yu, Shi Yi, Bai Yu and others showed that the number of 277 surveyed institutions with kitchens and pantries was 244 (88.09%) and 206 (74.37%) respectively.
Of the 269 institutions that did not provide catering, 230 (85.50%) provided catering services by themselves, 36 (13.38%) used central kitchen distribution, and 3 (1.12%) adopted simple processing of semi-finished products. The number of institutions equipped with disinfection rooms was 176 (63.54%).
For institutions that provide catering services in a self-made way, the relevant management and inspection are relatively perfect; For institutions that provide catering services by centralized distribution or semi-finished product processing, there is a lack of institutional norms for food safety traceability and extended inspection.
In addition, the reporter noted that at this stage, the qualification requirements for early childhood education teachers aged 0 to 3 in the mainland are relatively vague, and the standards for practice requirements vary from region to region. Some childcare institutions do not have high requirements for the academic qualifications and majors of their employees, and some practitioners do not even have a professional background in preschool education.
On the grounds of applying for a nursery teacher, the reporter called several childcare institutions in Beijing, Changsha, Guangzhou and other places. Some childcare institutions say that applicants for childcare teachers must first pass the resume screening, then conduct interviews, and conduct training after passing the interview, and after passing the training, they can be issued a graduation certificate to start the job; Some childcare institutions require that "the childcare teacher must have a college degree or above", "the specific major is not limited, and it is best to have a related major", "if it is not a related major, as long as the person is good and has affinity"; Some childcare institutions say that "it doesn't matter if you don't have a teacher certificate."
In fact, taking care of infants and toddlers aged 0 to 3 requires higher comprehensive ability of teachers.
"Kindergartens pay more attention to teachers' teaching and game organization skills, while nursery schools require teachers to be able to handle spitting milk, toileting, etc., so the professional background of teachers in childcare institutions is generally preschool education, nursing, early education, etc., in addition to meeting the conditions of kindergarten teacher qualification certificate and nursery teacher certificate." The person in charge of a childcare center in Chaoyang District, Beijing, said.
However, the reality is that in terms of early education teacher talent training, as of 2020, there are only 71 colleges and universities in mainland China that offer early education, and most of them are colleges and vocational colleges. It is worth looking forward to the new version of the "Introduction to Vocational Education Majors" released by the Ministry of Education in September last year, which has included the profession of infant and toddler care.