Halfway between the approved maternal assistant and the nursery, the family home – or family nursery – is a compromise between the community and the nanny. This uncommon type of care consists of entrusting your child to a childminder who practices partly at home, partly in dedicated premises in the presence of other children.

The family crèche is a special structure insofar as, unlike the traditional collective crèche, the children in care are looked after in the home of a childminder.

The management of the family crèche

The crèche is created and then managed as desired by:

• A public body: municipality, department, intercommunal social action center, etc.
• A private organization: company, company, association …

Whatever its mode of management, the creation of a family crèche is subject to the prior authorization of the President of the departmental council and is subject to control by the departmental service for maternal and child protection (PMI).

The conditions for admission to a family crèche

• The age of the child: children aged from two months to three years old, or until they enter kindergarten, are admitted to a family crèche. The child cannot be more than four years old.
• One place available: the nursery assistant employed by the family crèche looks after one to four children at home. Places in family nurseries are all the more limited as this type of structure is rare.

Reception conditions for young children

The family crèche – or family home – combines the advantages of the collective crèche and the approved maternal assistant. In fact, the children are looked after at the home of the childminder, in the presence of a maximum of three other children. This small staff is a guarantee of calm and allows the early childhood professional in charge to better adapt to the rhythm of each child. Once or twice a week, the licensed nursery assistant takes the children in her care to the premises of the family crèche: it is an opportunity for them to meet other children, for better socialization.

Like the nanny at home, family care offers great flexibility: each parent freely determines the hours at which their child is welcomed, within the limit of ten hours per day. The nursery assistant informs the parents in advance of the dates of her leave, during which a replacement can be proposed to take care of the young child.

The family crèche is a structure that brings together a multidisciplinary team of early childhood professionals:

• A director of family care: she holds a diploma in childcare or early childhood educator, or is a doctor. She trains and supervises childminders.
• Approved childminders: they are the ones who are in charge of looking after the children at their home.
• A referring doctor: he ensures regular medical monitoring of the children.
• When the family crèche is subsidized by CAF, parents pay a preferential hourly rate calculated on the basis of their income and their family situation (1).
• When the crèche is not funded by CAF, parents do not benefit from a preferential hourly rate but can receive financial assistance from CAF: the free choice of childcare system (Cmg) of the Paje system.

Unlike the traditional licensed childcare provider, the parents are not considered to be the employers of the childminder in whose home the young child is cared for. Parents pay for family care, which pays the childcare assistant. Under these conditions, families benefit from the rates applicable in traditional collective crèche. In addition, they do not need to carry out the administrative procedures inherent in the status of private employer.

In any case, parents benefit from a tax reduction for expenses incurred for the care of their young child.

There are few structures of this type. Parents should check with their town hall for the contact details of the family nurseries closest to their home. They then go directly to the director of family care, who offers them a suitable childminder.

To ensure a place in a nursery, parents will make sure to pre-register as early as possible – even before the birth of the child! Each crèche freely determines its admission criteria as well as the filing date and the list of documents in the registration file.

A mode of childcare that is not widely used, the family crèche is an advantageous compromise between the traditional municipal crèche and the approved maternal assistant.