Report flags unequal access to Swiss childcare system

Getting a place in a Swiss day care centre is harder for children from disadvantaged and migrant backgrounds, finds a study calling for more, and cheaper, crèches. There are a few factors behind the discrepancies, including employment rates, irregular working hours of some families, a lack of crèches in parts of the country, or a preference for other forms of care models among certain groups, said the COFF federal advisory commission for family questions on Monday. There is also the cost factor, which is an obstacle for lower-income groups, even if many crèches are subsidised based on salary levels. To improve this, the report says the number of day care places should be boosted, while the costs – especially for lower-income families – should be brought down. This would notably help the fact that children most often not in day care are the ones that would most benefit from it, said study author Nicole Baur. “Children from migrant families, for example, if they manage to...