Brussels (Brussels Morning) – MJ, the former manager of De Tijgertjes childcare centre in Tielt-Winge, was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 2,000 euros. In her daycare, she cared for too many children for the number of caregivers there. It is also said that a little boy once came home with a double fracture of his leg.
What were the initial concerns raised about the daycare centre?
The daycare centre opened in 2007 and had a good reputation in the region for many years. But on September 9, 2020, Kind en Gezin received an anonymous complaint about the daycare. It stated that the children were rarely given meat or fish and sometimes also fruit instead of vegetable porridge. But MJ denied this and after an inspection by the Healthcare Inspectorate, the complaint was declared unfounded.
How did the investigation reveal issues with childcare ratios?
The inspectors did have questions about the number of children in the daycare. For example, there were 21 children present at the time of the inspection, while there were only 18 allowed. They also reported that the kitchen was dirty, the floor was sticky and there were food scraps hanging on the kitchen cabinet doors.
Afterwards, it turned out that ‘De Tijgertjes’ was struggling with a structural shortage of childcare workers. According to the Growing Up Agency, one caregiver may care for a maximum of nine children. But during the coronavirus pandemic – when three caregivers worked in addition to MJ – 55 children were registered. That is 19 more children than allowed.
MJ tried to hide the fact that there were often more children than allowed. For example, children sometimes had to go to bed immediately upon arrival, so that other parents did not become suspicious. It is therefore not surprising that complaints arose about the way the children were cared for. For example, naughty children had to lie in a bed in the hallway.
What additional disturbing findings emerged during the investigation?
The distressing conditions came to light in December 2020. A caregiver, who had recently joined the daycare centre, raised the problems. She did this together with a colleague who had been working at De Tijgertjes for some time.
An investigation was conducted, during which investigators discovered that the situation was more serious than the inspection showed a few months earlier. This way, there would always be a hand cart ready behind the house, in case there was a new inspection. Children then had to be smuggled out through the window, so that inspectors would not notice that there were too many of them in the daycare. They were then taken to J.’s mother, who lived a little further away.
A month ago, the owner of the daycare had to appear before the criminal court for those facts. She was charged with accidental assault and battery. For example, a four-month-old girl once came home with a blue swelling on her eye and a boy was once diagnosed with a double leg fracture.
What was the outcome of the legal proceedings against the daycare owner?
For those facts, the Public Prosecution Service demanded six months in prison, together with a fine of 2,000 euros. J. herself indicated that she had not made any criminal mistakes, but the judge now does not agree with this. The owner of the daycare centre has now been sentenced to six months in prison together with a fine of 2,000 euros.
It is also striking that Opgroeien Regie, the former Child and Family, was also sentenced to a fine of 2,000 euros. The court therefore rules that the organization should have taken its responsibility to sound the alarm during the inspection.
