Small tears for some. Screams for others. In this back-to-school period, dropping off at school is sometimes synonymous with great sorrow for the youngest children, who are not always in a hurry to let go of mom or dad’s hand. If they are accepted near kindergarten classes at the start of the school year, the parents of pupils must quickly keep away from the places of education. A phenomenon that the Covid-19 epidemic had further accentuated when adults were no longer allowed to set foot in schools. In Rennes, several of them have expressed their wish to obtain meeting places, within the school itself. Requested several times, the municipality of the Breton capital decided to open “parents’ houses” wherever it could.
On this day of return, the small room located at the entrance of the Champion-de-Cicé school, mainly served as an airlock. Furnished with sofas and a few armchairs, this new parents’ house will aim to welcome the parents of pupils for privileged discussion times, away from the tumult of entering or leaving class. “When you’re outside, it’s less practical. We don’t have time to see each other, to talk. People don’t stay long, some don’t have time,” says Alice, a member of the school’s parents’ association (APE). “We are on the sidewalk, the environment is not conducive. And we see more and more primary school children coming to school alone, even young ones, ”engages another mother.
A few years ago, this school in the working-class district of Cleunay caused a stir when it was wrapped in black tarpaulins to keep children out of sight of drug traffickers stationed next door. Some parents had tried to raise their voices to denounce the presence of the dealers, gathering around the school when they could. But not easy for everyone to expose themselves in front of the gates. “We held meetings with the APE but we did not reach everyone. Here, we hope to attract other parents, people we don’t see the rest of the year”. By offering a dedicated space in its schools, the city also hopes to bring out ideas from families who often do not mix. Here, a computer could be made available to carry out certain procedures online. “The spaces existed here and there but they had disappeared with the Covid. We wanted to revive the activity. We are opening four at this start of the school year to support parents’ projects, ”explains Gaëlle Rougier, education assistant. Fifteen schools in priority neighborhoods now have these rooms.
“It’s a transition between our classes and the outside”
Open during but also outside school hours, these houses will in no way be a free-access cafeteria. In charge of animating the places, the parents’ associations will rely on the associative actors and the social workers to propose meetings, debates, meetings on themes directly or indirectly related to education. “We need to be able to carry out co-education work with people in the neighbourhood. The associations are not only neighbors, they are also partners, ”assures Mayor Nathalie Appéré (PS).
For teachers, these spaces are also an opportunity for parents to stay within the premises of the establishment without interfering with lessons. “During the Covid, it was complicated. We had to meet the parents at the door, it was frustrating for them, for us and for the children. This space will reassure them, they can sit there to discuss. It’s a transition between our classes and the outside,” testifies Virginie. The kindergarten teacher from Champion-de-Cicé says that she regularly tries to bring parents into class, in particular so that they can talk about their job. An activity appreciated by children which has the advantage of being totally free. “We received musicians, cooks, nurses. It is a real contribution”. Her manager nods. “The programming must allow parents to come for something other than simply dropping off their children. We have to attract them to another context”.
The French education code provides for “a space for the use of parents of pupils and their delegates” in all educational establishments. Sometimes, only elected officials are accepted there for a few meetings during the year. Other cities have chosen to open these spaces more widely.