(lives here with the kindergarten children) - Parents of children from two kindergartens in the Ramot Sapir neighborhood - one is "Anbar" kindergarten (for toddlers aged 3-4, compulsory pre-preschool) and the other "Barkat" (compulsory kindergarten, for children aged 6-5) are protesting that starting from the current school year they have been merged Afternoons The two kindergartens become one afternoon, where 3-year-old toddlers and older children are together - the children of the compulsory kindergarten. The consolidation of the after-hours was done because there are 17 children from Magen Barkat who stay for afternoon and Magen Inbar 15 children who stay.
The parents claim that although there are cases in which it is possible to combine after-school classes, this is when the children are more or less the same age, not when the age differences are so significant.
In a scathing letter addressed to the Neve Yosef High School (which is responsible for managing the after-school programs in Haifa) and the municipality, the parents protest that the after-school program, as it is now, does not suit the developmental needs of the children, which even puts them at risk. "We are very concerned about the situation. The helpers in the afternoon deal with the unrewarded children and then the older children find themselves without a response," says one of the mothers. "Even when you think about classes that are run in the afternoon, it is unlikely that children with such age gaps will be together in the class and be able to get something out of it," she adds.
"When you see the kindergartens themselves, you quickly realize that they are not suitable to cater to children of other ages. When the little children from Magen Inbar come to Kinder Barkat, they find there games with small parts, which are not designed for their age and put them at risk. Just yesterday one of the children was almost injured by a piece of Such a game. When the older children from Magen Barkat come to Kindergarten, they find games there that are not intended for them at all. The parents of the older children are upset that the children are not being answered, because the helpers are busy with the younger children, the parents of the younger children claim that they are being beaten. ".
The transition between the after-school centers puts the children at risk
According to the parents, there is also a problem when the children move from one kindergarten to another: "At the end of kindergarten, the children are supposed to move from one kindergarten to the other and it is dangerous for them. Moreover, on the municipality's website it is specifically stated that the kindergarten children are not allowed to leave the kindergarten gate. We are afraid that children from Magen Barkat may run to the nearby road While they are moving to Ganbar, there are very few helpers who accompany them, we are afraid that they will not be able to stop them before they reach the road."
The parents tellhaipo, because in the first days of the year, the younger children, from Magen Inbar, would come to Gen Barkat, but after they were almost hurt by the games there, it was decided that the older ones from Magen Barkat would come to Gen Barkat - for the little ones."
One of the mothers says: "This week, on Monday (9/9/24), one of the assistants did not come to work and they asked the parents who came to pick up the children at the end of the kindergarten hours, to help the children move from one kindergarten to the other. After that, a replacement assistant arrived," she says and continues: "We had no idea at all about all this, in our eyes this is not normal conduct and it endangers our children."
The parents also claim that in previous years there were cases in which an after-school program was opened with a small number of children. According to them, in 2019 there was an afternoon at Gan Odem nearby, where there were only 14 children, so they don't understand what has changed now.
The parents' fear even increases in light of the security situation, as they claim that the shelter at the Inbar Garden is small and cannot accommodate the 32 children of the after-school children, and they are particularly outraged that this whole unwieldy and disturbing consolidation of the after-school children was done in order to save the employment of only one more assistant.
A financial claim is being considered
In the letter sent by the parents to the Neve Yosef High School and the municipality, they refer to the danger of moving between daycare centers and the fear of the security situation and the damage that may be caused to the children's development:
"In the current situation, there is no possibility of enriching the compulsory children in accordance with the content suitable for their age, and there is no possibility of developing the children of Gan Inbar. From a visit to Gan Inbar, it became clear to us that our children will not enjoy age-appropriate games that could have been available to them if they had stayed in the afternoon in Barakat, especially since the area of Gan Inbar is It's not for nothing that less than 30 children are placed there every year, because of its size. We will consider a financial claim due to preventing our children from the developmental environment they could have received and considering the probability of future developmental damage," the parents wrote.
"A minimum of 23 children is required to open Tsharon"
The Neve Yosef community center and the Haifa municipality provided a response, because 15 participants were registered for the Inbar Garden Afternoon and 17 participants were registered for the Barkat Garden Afternoon: "None of the groups meet the minimum of 23 children required to open a Day Afternoon and therefore, in order to respond to the parents after all, the Day Afternoon has been consolidated. In Zaharon there is a leader and 2 helpers. Indeed there are Age gaps, but the educational team is accompanied by the pedagogical supervisor, on behalf of "Good Afternoons" from the community center, to cater to both age groups.
Regarding the claim about safety problems, it is about nearby gardens, there is no road crossing and two staff women accompany the crossing. No parent was asked to move the child, parents chose to join the move and their children asked to stay close to them. These are the first days of adaptation and we are confident that the children will enjoy a quality afternoon that is pleasant and suitable for all children."