Børne- og Undervisningsudvalget 2020-21
BUU Alm.del Bilag 29
Offentligt
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Joint Submission
Universal Periodic Review of Denmark
38
th
Session of the UN Human Rights Council
April-May 2021
Submission date: 15
th
October 2020
This Joint Submission was prepared by
Better Child Life Denmark [Bedre Børneliv Danmark]
and is supported by
The Critical Pedagogical College [Den Kritiske Pædagogiske Højskole]
Family Policy Network [Familiepolitisk Netværk]
WhereIsTheAdult? [HvorErDerEnVoksen?]
FOLA
– Parents’ National Organization [Forældrenes
Landsorganisation]
Better Child Life Lyngby-Taarbaek [Better Child Life Lyngby-Taarbæk]
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Information about submitting organizations:
Better Child Life Denmark [Bedre Børneliv Danmark] was formally established in august 2020 as an independent NGO.
Better Child Life Denmark employs a rights-based approach and advocates that infants, toddlers and small children are
rights holders in society and that the government is responsible for effectively securing the well-being, education and
development of its youngest and most vulnerable citizens. Better Child Life Denmark informs about Children’s Rights and
the impact of public policy on small children. We promote children’s rights by mobilization,
and legislative activism.
Web:
www.bedreboerneliv.dk
E-mail:
[email protected]
Telephone: 004526648479
The Critical Pedagogical College [Den Kritiske Pædagogiske Højskole] is an independent NGO with focus on educators'
professionalism and autonomy regarding working conditions and education are recognized and revalued. In the area of
toddlers and preeschool, DKPH advocates that pedagogical work with young children's participation and understanding of
democracy is revalued in accordance with the Danish Daycare Act. That young children's right to a childhood providing
meaning and quality in a child's perspective is revalued in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Web:
www.denkritiske.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Family Policy Network, founded in September 2014, is a cross-political and independent forum of parents, teachers,
educators, pediatricians, researchers and political stakeholders with over 10,000 members, aiming to bring the well-being of
children and families higher on the political agenda. Developed 16 well-documented recommendations for a more visionary
family policy, inspiring child and family policy in several political parties. Collaborate with policy actors in DK to promote
the cause, especially the child’s perspective in relation to the intensive institutionalization of 0-6-year-olds.
Web: www.fampol.dk E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: 0045 40144980
The grassroots movement #HvorErDerEnVoksen (#WhereIsTheAdult) emerged March 2019. We mobilize and advocate
for 0-6-year-old
children’s rights to responsible day-care
in Danish institutions utilizing broad-based civic activism and
public-information campaigns via social media. Initiated by parents, the first demonstration April 6, 2019, had over 100.000
supporters in more than 57 towns across Denmark. Our demand is a legally-binding, research-supported minimum standard
pragmatically ensuring 1 adult (pedagogical staff) caring for 3 children in nursery and 1 adult for 6 children in kindergarten.
Web:
www.hvorerderenvoksen.dk
E-mail:
[email protected]
Telephone: 0045 61670904
FOLA was created by parents in 1974 to be heard politically. FOLA represents 150.000 parents with children in day care,
crèches, kindergartens and SFO and leisure clubs. We ensure that parents' perspectives on children's everyday lives are heard
inside Chrisitiansborg and by the National Association of Local Authorities (KL). We work to strengthen parental
democracy and cooperation and educate parents for the local parent boards in the Daycare Act and the strengthened
curriculum. FOLA is centrally located in partnerships under the Ministry and act as stakeholder in relation to daycare.
Web:
www.fola.dk
E-mail: [email protected]
Better Child Life Lyngby-Taarbæk (BCLL) was formally established in September 2019 as a local independent NGO. BCLL
advocates the rights of the 0-5 year old children in Lyngby-Taarbæk municipality. The work is centered around ensuring the
political agenda in the municipality reflects what is best for ensuring the wellbeing of the municipality's youngest citizens.
Board members of BCLL are parents which represent the daycares in the municipality. We promote rights of the
municipality's youngest by writing consultation responses, arranging deonstrations and speaking up at council meetings.
Web: www.bedrebørnelivlt.dk E-mail:
[email protected]
Telephone: 0045 269377
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Table of Content
1. Introduction
2. Conditions of daycare facilities
–
implementing child rights in early childhood
2.1
Resumé of issues
2.2
Considering the Convention on the Rights of the Child
2.3
Recommendations
3. Public
budgeting for the realization of children’s rights in early childhood
3.1
Resumé of issues
3.2
Considering the Convention on the Rights of the Child
3.3
Recommendations
Appendix I
Appendix II
References
1. Introduction
“In all actions concerning
children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law,
administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.”
Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 3, para. 1)
1.
The Nordic countries, especially Denmark, are among the countries in the world where most young
children enroll in daycare facilities at the earliest of age and for the far most extensive periods of
time. This intense institutionalizing of even incredibly young children ought to trigger a desire to
ensure comprehensive awareness of the daycare area and great efforts in safeguarding the well-
being of society’s youngest children.
However, in Denmark the question of whether measures to secure the general well-being and rights
of 0-5-year-olds are appropriate and effective appear to have extraordinarily low priority and go
largely unmonitored by organizations, the ombudsman, researchers, the state, and municipalities.
Consequently, 0-5-year-olds have little say in Denmark and lack access to the ear of those in power
and with the ability to help.
For the past years, narratives from parents, caregivers and statements from specialists in
children’s
psychology have surfaced
– in addition to documentaries testing children’s stress levels
i
and hidden
camera recordings
–
all of it telling tales of children in ordinary daycare facilities not thriving and
subject to conditions clearly detrimental to their cognitive development. Children are left to
themselves for many hours every day without enough care. Daycare facilities have now deteriorated
to a point where many struggle to provide for the well-being of, education of, development of
–
and even the basic care and comfort of
– Denmark’s infants, toddlers and
young children who are
daily overlooked.
Considering the Convention on the Rights of the Child this joint submission summarizes key issues
related to children in Danish daycare facilities and provides recommendations.
2.
3.
4.
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2. Conditions of daycare facilities
–
implementing child rights in early childhood
Convention on the Rights of the Child articles 3, 4, 12 and 27
2.1
5.
Resumé of issues
Danish legislation regulating daycare facilities
According to the Daycare Act [Dagtilbudsloven], daycare must promote children's well-being,
learning, development, and education through safe and pedagogical learning environments where
play is fundamental, and a child perspective is the guiding principle. According to the instruction
preamble, a child must have the necessary nursing, physical care, and emotional contact when the
child is in daycare, and daycare is more than just being looked after or a place to be. The child
perspective is inserted explicitly in the law to clarify that childhood has value in itself, and that the
pedagogical learning environments must always be based on a child perspective. It is also explicated
that children in daycare have the right to participate and to understand and experience democracy.
The articulation and essence of the Daycare Act
signal awareness of children’s rights and a genuine
focus on the well-being of children. Yet, for the past decades Danish daycare facilities have been
exposing children to relentless reductions in the number of adults surrounding them, cost efficient
mega-institutions accommodating increasingly more children and an increase in uneducated
caregivers
,
children in larger groups and decisions that children must transfer at an earlier age from
nursery to kindergarten. This is the case even though research for years have been emphasizing that
the quality of the interaction between adult and child is the most significant single factor for
children's development in daycare.
Impact of adult-ratio on children
Young children show attachment by seeking comfort and reassurance when they are insecure, and
they indicate wellbeing and feeling safe when a caregiver returns after a short absence. Insecure
forms of attachment can have a great impact on the child's emotional and cognitive development.
The insecure and evasive child chooses to downplay the child’s needs of feeling secure. That way
children appear to be independent and cooperative, which will make the caregiver become more
accessible. Some children may become more apathetic or they may lapse into starting conflict and
display behavioral difficulties. Their cognitive development becomes inhibited; they can face
difficulty with self-regulation and behavior control, and difficulty in entering into relationships with
other children. Children’s’ linguistic abilities can also be affected. Consequently, in these
surroundings children end up giving up their needs at the expense of their emotional and cognitive
development
ii
. An insufficient number of caregivers may also result in a dangerous impact on the
overall child safety
–
especially very young children left alone. Creating a safe and pleasant daycare
environment without for instance bullying or accidents naturally requires enough employees and
pedagogical competence.
Experts in children’s psychology continuously emphasize
that children
enrolled in Danish daycare facilities are at high risk of cognitive impairments, depression, anxiety,
and stress.
iiiivv
Studies reveal that in larger groups with a low adult-ratio and untrained staff, caregivers fall into
more passive positions of supervising many children simultaneously unable to provide for proper
care and comfort. In a Danish survey conducted in 2020, 63 percent of caregivers working with
nursery and kindergarten children responded that they daily or several times a week experience not
6.
7.
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being able to provide sufficient care. 41 percent of caregivers experience situations daily or several
times a week being unable to comfort a child in need of comfort
vi
. Corresponding research shows
that low adult-ratios increase stress symptoms and sickness among staff, and thereby naturally
effect how caregivers interact and form attachments with the children.
Transparency and data on adult-ratio in Denmark
8.
In Denmark, psychological research and organizations advocate an absolute minimum of 1 adult
per 3 children aged 0-2 years and 1 adult per 6 children aged 3-5 years
vii
. In Norway, this principle
has been implemented into law, although well-established
children’s rights organizations have
contested this and advocated a higher adult ratio.
Box 1:
Recommended absolute minimum adult-ratio
•
•
9.
Nursery children aged 0-2 years: 1 adult per 3 children.
Kindergarten children aged 3-5 years: 1 adult per 6 children.
Data on the adult-child ratio in Danish daycare facilities is in many cases unattainable and no
standardized method for the calculation of adult-ratio has been adopted nationally.
One municipality in Denmark has adopted a standardized adult-child ratio calculation model
viii
. The
calculation model is developed by an interdisciplinary working group of parent representatives,
representatives from the national union for pedagogical staff (BUPL), FOA (union) and
municipality officials,
cf. box II below:
10.
Box II:
Adult-ratio calculation model by official interdisciplinary working group data
The calculation model by Fredenborg Kommune
is developed by an interdisciplinary working group of parents’ representatives,
representatives from the national union for pedagogical staff (BUPL), from FOA (trade union) and municipality officials.
•
•
The model was subjected to interdisciplinary negotiation and was ultimately adopted by the municipality. The model must
therefore to some extent be regarded as true and fair.
The institution tested by the municipality revealed an average adult-ratio of 1 adult per
5 nursery children
and 1 adult per
10.3 kindergarten
children,
cf. Annex I
for details.
11.
The only nationwide data on adult-ratio available in Denmark is provided by Statistics Denmark,
which cannot
–
according to a press release issued by Statistics Denmark itself
ix
–
be applied to
reflect the actual adult-ratio, as the data purely serves to depict the average yearly costs associated
with the daycare
area. As Statistics Denmark’s ratio provides for a somewhat satisfying impression
of the adult-ratio there is, nonetheless, no incentive for government and municipalities to adopt an
alternative calculation model and make it accessible to the public. An appropriate model will
evidence the need for more caregivers.
Box III:
Statistics Denmark’s
data
compared to official interdisciplinary working group data
The data provided by Statistics Denmark purely serves to depict the average yearly costs associated with the day care area.
•
•
Statistics Denmark's model revealed an average ratio of 1 adult per 3.1 nursery children and 1 adult per 6.4 kindergarten
children on average in that same municipality in which the working group tested a specific institution.
The result from the working group was 1 adult per 5 nursery children and 1 adult per 10.3 kindergarten children. Thus, the
ratio by Statistic Denmark must be multiplied with a factor 1.6 in order to present the appropriate result.
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12.
As Annex I
shows, indications are that the ratio in many Danish daycare facilities by far exceeds
the recommended ratio and also exceeds what children can bear being exposed to.
2.2
13.
Considering the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 4 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
states that all states shall undertake
all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights
recognized in the Convention. The UN Children's Committee on the Rights of the Child has, in its
General Comment No. 7 (2005) on implementing child rights in early childhood, emphasized that a
comprehensive strategy for early childhood must take account of
individual children’s maturity and
individuality, in particular recognizing the changing developmental priorities for babies, toddlers,
preschool and early primary school groups, and the implications for program standards and quality
criteria. States must ensure that the institutions responsible for early childhood conform to quality
standards and that staff possess the appropriate psychosocial qualities and are suitable, sufficiently
numerous and well trained. To ensure that young children’s rights are
fully realized during this
crucial phase of their lives it requires an increase in human and financial resource allocations for
early childhood services. The current adult-ratio in Danish daycares facilities represents a
fundamental negligence in relation to these considerations expressed by the Committee.
The Committee has emphasized
the government’s
direct responsibility to all children within its
jurisdiction and where services are decentralized; this should not be to the disadvantage of young
children. Today it is up to the individual municipality or daycare facility to determine the adult-ratio.
This means children’s enjoyment of rights vary dependent on in which
municipality the child lives.
Article 12 of the Convention
states that every child has the right to express their views and be
heard. The Committee has, in its General Comment No. 12 on the child's right to be heard (2009),
emphasized that the notion of the child as the right holder must be rooted in the child's daily life
from the earliest stage of childhood. The Committee emphasizes that a complete implementation
of Article 12 presupposes recognition of and respect for non-verbal forms of communication,
including play, body language, facial expressions and drawing, through which young children like to
show their understanding and their choices or preferences. Considering article 12 of the
Convention, the Danish Daycare
Act's rights provision in section 7 (4) on children’s right to
participate and to understand and experience democracy, is vital. However, to fulfil the intentions
behind the provision, competence and an adequate number of caregivers are particularly important,
as true fulfillment of children's participation undoubtedly requires enough adults for each child to
be adequately seen and heard without it happening at the expense of other children.
The Committee underlines the importance of comprehensive and up to date quantitative and
qualitative data on all aspects of early childhood for the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of
progress achieved, and for assessment of the impact of policies. Data on the adult-ratio in Danish
daycare facilities are in many cases unattainable and no standardized model for the calculation of
adult-ratio has been adopted or accepted nationally making it problematic for children and their
parents to be heard, to question, challenge or substantiate the conditions of the daycare facilities.
Article 27 of the Convention
gives children the right to a standard of living that is adequate for
the child's
physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. When experts in children’s
psychology continuously emphasize that they consider children enrolled in Danish daycare facilities
14.
15.
16.
17.
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at high risk of cognitive impairments, depression, anxiety and
stress it is clear that children’s
standard of living in terms of the child’s mental development is at risk. Article 19 of the
Convention states that all children have the right to protection from violence, which for instance
includes bullying. Creating a safe and good daycare environment without bullying and other
violations is always the responsibility of adults and naturally requires enough caregivers and
pedagogical competence.
18.
Article 3 of the Convention
states that the best interests of the child shall always be a primary
consideration, and Denmark has undertaken to establish national legal rules and administrative
practices in accordance with the Convention. This strong position is justified by the special
situation of the child: Dependency, maturity, legal status and, often, voicelessness. Children have
less possibility than adults to make a strong case for their own interests and those involved in
decisions affecting them must be explicitly aware of their interests. If the interests of children are
not highlighted, they tend to be overlooked. Conditions in Danish daycare facilities demonstrate
that the articulation and spirit of the Daycare Act cannot stand alone. To ensure the actual
realization of children’s
rights it is critical that
the Daycare Act is supplemented with detailed
statutory standards subject to monitoring including statutory standards on the adult-ratio drafted in
accordance with the principle of best interest of the child. This requires that economic
considerations must never be the determining factor when determining the adult-ratio or when
determining the calculation model on adult-ratio,
cf.
also this joint submission section
3
below on
Public budgeting for the realization of children’s
rights in early childhood.
Recommendations
Recommendation: Detailed and statutory minimum adult-ratio
That the government of Denmark including at municipality levels urgently implements a detailed
and statutory minimum adult-ratio in daycare institutions effectively ensuring the best interest of
the child.
i.
The calculation model of the adult-ratio must be true and fair and reflect the
best interest of the child and thereby reflect actual time permanent qualified
caregivers spend directly with children,
cf. the model published by Fredenborg
Kommune in Annex I.
ii.
Circumvention of the adult-ratio at the expense of the children must be
prevented.
▪
Staff qualifications must be clearly defined in the law
▪
Children must not be transferred prematurely from nursery to
kindergarten.
iii.
The minimum adult-ratio must effectively safeguard the equality of all children
and against deteriorations in the ratio.
▪
The adult-ratio must be unaffected by budget cuts.
▪
The adult-ratio must be unaffected by an increasing number of children.
▪
Pedagogical support hours for children with special needs must
supplement the minimum adult-ratio so that all children have equal
means of having their needs met.
iv.
To be able to perform satisfactory pedagogical work all daycare institutions
must be able to ensure a minimum of adult contact and the adult-ratio must
2.3
I.
19.
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v.
vi.
II.
20.
therefore be implemented at individual daycare institution level and not at
municipality level.
The statutory minimum adult-ratio must always be considered an absolute
minimum and thus daycare institutions should be required to individually assess
the need for a higher ratio by considering the best interest of the child case-by-
case.
Legislative measures should clearly reference the Convention.
Recommendation: Transparency in the operation of daycare institutions
That the government of Denmark including at municipality levels ensures transparency in the
operation of daycare institutions.
i. Information on the adult-ratio per individual daycare institution must be
available to the public.
ii. If the best interest of the child
–
in any format
–
cannot be guaranteed while the
child is in daycare parents have the right to be informed.
iii. An evaluation of the current monitoring of daycare institutions to ensure
efficient, sufficient, and independent monitoring.
iv. An evaluation of the
role of the Ombudsman’s Children’s Office as watchdog
and complaint mechanism in relation to the daycare area must be carried out.
▪
Young children must receive particular attention.
▪
Access to the Ombudsman should be unrestricted.
▪
It must be ensured that the daycare area is effectively covered by the
Children’s Office.
▪
The Ombudsman Act [Ombudsmandsloven] should be investigated to
ensure consistency with the principle of best interest of the child.
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3.
Public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights in early childhood
Convention on the Rights of the Child articles 3, 4 and 12
3.1
Resumé of issues
Framework governing the public budgeting in relation to the daycare area
21.
Denmark encompasses 98 municipalities all forming a part of the public administration of the
Danish state. Article 82 of the Danish Constitution of 5 June 1953 [Grundloven] defines the
framework for local self-government:
“The
right of the municipalities to manage their own affairs
independently under the supervision of the State shall be laid down by statute”.
Thus, municipalities operate
within a framework set by Parliament but make independent decisions and have significant degrees
of freedom.
22.
Every year Parliament passes a Finance Act [Finansloven] on state expenditure for the coming year
where financial resources are prioritized. The Financial Agreements [Økonomiaftalerne] between
the government and Komunernes Landsforening (KL)
–
the organization representing the
municipalities’ –
determine the financial framework for municipalities (and regions). The Finance
Agreements are entered into earlier in the year than the Finance Act and include decisions on the
size of the state block grant
–
some funds earmarked
–
from government to municipalities and sets
the framework for the size of the municipal service costs, construction costs and the total
municipality tax burden within which municipalities must operate in the coming year. The Financial
Agreements are not legally binding, however if
municipalities’ reported budgets
do not remain
within the agreed financial framework economic sanctions apply the following year. The results of
the Financial Agreements governing municipalities are incorporated into the Finance Act.
Impact of current structure of public budget allocation to
children’s area
23.
There is great variation in the political priorities of the 98 municipalities, and the resources spend
on childcare per 0-5-yearolds differs greatly across the country. A common point of reference is
that municipalities do not have sufficient funds to provide sufficient care due to high levels of
overall service costs related to the welfare area, a lack of funding from government and restrictions
on raising taxes or economic sanctions if maximum service costs agreed are exceeded.
Municipalities will argue they have no option but to carry out budget cuts or
–
if the daycare area be
required to be prioritized
–
it will be prioritized at the expense of another vulnerable welfare area
–
likely impacting another children’s area.
In relation to daycare quality, the level of expenditure does
not necessarily reflect the level of service, as expenditure covers big expenses such as i.e. rent, and
sometimes high levels of temporary staffing due to high levels of sickness absence among staff etc.
24.
Overall municipalities attribute their budget cuts to the size of the block grant and governmental
restrictions. Government refers to local self-government and call for municipalities to prioritize
funds differently and more cost-efficiently. In recent decades, municipalities have presented
children with increasingly worse conditions in daycare institutions. The impact on young children
of such measures are elaborated upon in section 2 above on
Conditions of daycare facilities
–
implementing child rights in early childhood.
As
Annex II
depicts; an analysis of the retrogressive development in the adult-ratio in daycare
facilities 1972-2018
x
indicates that compared to 1972 there are between 58-86 pct. more children
25.
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per adult in daycare facilities as of 2018. In this context, the important thing is not the exact adult-
ratio, but rather the fact that the figures can be used to document the retrogressive development.
For the past decades government and municipalities have been under pressure to resolve these
issues. However, no agreements
having real impact on children’s everyday lives have yet been
implemented. In 2020 the quality of childcare was yet again on the political agenda and is included
in a “paper
of understanding”
based on which the current government is established. According
to this
paper, a minimum adult-ratio should be introduced gradually towards 2025. With the Finance Act
for 2020, DKK 500 million was set aside for childcare staff. The funds will increase to 1.6 billion
kroner in 2025. The measure is elaborated upon in the below section.
Transparency and data on
children’s’ budgets
Box IV:
The 2020 Finance Act
and issues challenging the realization of children’s rights
•
The 2020 Finance Act is silent on which model should be applied to calculate the adult-ratio making it challenging to
evaluate the sufficiency of allocated resources. The model for calculating the adult-ratio is negotiated in the Ministry of
Children and Education in 2020 with a view to adoption in the parliamentary year 2020/2021 and entry into force as a
statutory requirement in 2025.
The funds allocated on the Finance Act are argued insufficient and it has also been argued that funds will barely be able to
maintain status quo in daycare facilities and do not consider the demographic increase in children.
So far, no specific level of additional allocation of funds at municipality level is mandatory.
According to government it is not possible to lock the municipal budgets and accounts in the daycare area. Consequently
municipalities will be able to adjust both in 2020 and in the future, so that budgets and accounts are lowered to a level
below what the budgets and accounts were at the time of allocation of funds from government
–
i.e. essentially offsetting
the government funding in the municipality’s own budget. This can for example legitimately be done by the municipality
referencing “local
priorities”
xi
.
The Finance Act neglects the urgency of the issues related to the lack of resources allowing five years to pass by before a
yet undefined piece of legislation is put into force in 2025.
•
•
•
•
Box V:
The 2013 Finance Act where money for daycare ended up mismanaged and lost
In 2013 BUPL (the national union for pedagogical staff) documented that the municipalities did not live up to their agreement with the
government to implement 500 million DKK to ensure quality and better ratios in daycare facilities. On that background, BUPL
forwarded the below information to Parliaments Municipal Committee as well as the Children and Education Committee
xii
.
•
•
•
26.
The municipalities only used DKK 261 million of the total DKK 500 million on the daycare area.
A quarter of the municipalities did not use their share of the DKK 500 million on the daycare area or the municipalities even
went as far as to prepare budget cuts on the daycare area.
A third of the municipalities spent their entire share of the DKK 500 million on the daycare area.
The review of the two Finance Acts,
cf. Box IV
and
V
can be seen to illustrate that maintaining the
daycare area as a budgetary priority firstly requires political determination at governmental level and
secondly requires political determination at municipality level. It also appears that not many
safeguards prevent municipalities from carrying out budgetary tactics on the 2020 Finance Act
similar to those carried out on the 2013 Finance Act. Thus, it is challenging to ensure that
children’s budgets are on –
and stay on
–
the political agenda and children often fall between two
stools: Government and municipalities.
That displacement of budgetary responsibility can enable a lack of transparency is possibly
illustrated by Denmark’s latest reporting to the UN Children’s Committee. Every five years ratifying
states are requested to provide relevant information pursuant to article 4 of the Convention on the
27.
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Rights of the Child, including information on budgetary measures taken to harmonize national law
and policy. The Danish reporting on budgeting appears to some extent vague and unsubstantiated,
cf. box VI
below:
Box VI:
Danish reporting on implementation and
budgets to the UN Children’s Committee
In its last report
xiii
(2016) to the Children’s Committee
addressing the state’s fulfillment of article 4 in relation to budgets, the
then
Danish government reported that:
“The
municipalities are financed through taxes as well as grants from the Government. The annual block grant is adjusted to
compensate for changes in the responsibilities of the municipalities and to ensure that the municipalities’ financial resources
correspond to their responsibilities. As part of the municipal reform a financing reform was implemented with the object of i.a.
achieving a higher level of equalization between the municipalities.
In the area of social services the state shall reimburse part
of the municipalities’ expenses to assistance and support under the Act
on Social Service if these exceed a defined threshold.”
This statement from the government appears misleading as reality is much more complex:
•
To substantiate the statement reported
by the Danish state, data on all of 98 municipalities’
spending on children would
appear essential.
•
•
If
such data were in fact obtained the data would likely reveal budget cuts on the children’s area at municipality levels
and
that prepared budgets likely
did not correspond to the municipalities’ responsibilities.
Data would also reveal great inequality in services provided for children, dependent on in which municipality the child lives.
3.2
28.
Considering the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 4 of the Convention
concerns the way in which the Convention is implemented and reads:
“States parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the
implementation
of the rights recognized in the Convention. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States parties shall
undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the
framework of international
cooperation.”
Overall, the Convention emphasizes that legislation and budgets are interlinked and that the
principles of the Convention cannot be complied with unless sufficient financial resources are
allocated at all levels. Decentralization of power does not in any way reduce the direct responsibility
of the state’s government to fulfil its obligations to all children within its jurisdiction. “To the
maximum extent” also means that
the government
–
and municipalities
–should
not take deliberate
retrogressive measures and should not allow the existing level of enjoyment of children’s rights to
deteriorate. The lack of resources and consequential decrease in the adult-ratio
since the 1970’s,
cf.
annex II
constitute retrogressive measures.
Article 3 (1) of the Convention
provides that the best interests of the child shall be a primary
consideration in all measures concerning children that have a direct or indirect impact on children,
including budgets. The best interests of the child should be a primary consideration throughout
every phase of the budgetary process and in all budgetary decisions that affect children. The
obligation is crucial when states weigh up competing budget allocation and spending priorities, and
states should be able to demonstrate how the best interests of the child have been considered in
budgetary decision-making, including how they have been weighed against other considerations.
The expression ’primary consideration’ means that the child’s best interests may not be considered
on the same level as all other considerations. In Denmark, several budget decisions appear adopted
based on economic criterions alone
–
sometimes with the sole purpose of making budget cuts.
29.
30.
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31.
Article 4 includes a duty to implement programs that meet the aims of agreed legislation and
ensuring adequate public budgets to do so. In its General Comment No. 19 (2016) on the public
budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art 4) the Committee emphasized that the
legislative measures, which states are obligated to take in relation to public budgets, include
reviewing existing legislation and adopting legislation that aims to ensure that budgets are
sufficiently large for the realization of children’s rights at
all levels. In Denmark there is no
apparent structure in place anywhere generally ensuring that budgets are sufficient for the
realization of children’s rights –
not at governmental nor at municipality level. In addition, financial
resources are often determined prior to legislative processes and without assessments of whether
these budgets are sufficient,
cf. Box IV: Issues related to the 2020 Finance Act.
Such procedures pose
challenges to the adoption of legislation truly reflecting the best interest of the child.
Article 12 of the Convention
establishes the right of every child to be heard and states should
regularly hear children’s views on budget decisions
that affect them through mechanisms for the
meaningful participation of children at the national and subnational levels. Budget transparency
means user-friendly information made publicly available in a timely manner in relation to the
planning, enactment, execution and follow-up of budgets. This includes both quantitative budget
data and relevant information about legislation, policies, programs, the budget process timetable,
motivation for spending priorities and decisions, outputs, outcomes and service delivery
information. Overall, the Danish governmental and municipal negotiating processes, non-binding
and vague nature of framing during the public budgeting process, the inability to examine whether
public budgets are adequate, whether funds are distributed correctly and to place responsibility
–
these elements constitute key challenges in relation to article 12 and the right to be heard.
Recommendations
Recommendation: Obligation not to
take retrogressive steps concerning children’s budgets
That the government of Denmark including at municipality levels is obliged not to take any
retrogressive steps concerning children’s budgets.
Recommendation: Best interest of the child as primary consideration in budgetary decision-making
That the government of Denmark including at municipality levels implements procedures
guaranteeing that the best interest of the child is a primary consideration in budgetary decision-
making to the maximum extent of available resources and implements procedures ensuring
adequate public budgets meeting aims of agreed legislation.
i.
Implement principles and priorities guiding consistency and coordination between
economic and social policies.
ii.
Implement principles and priorities guiding the use of resources for children.
▪
Assessment of the sufficiency of resources for specific legislation.
▪
Mandatory impact assessments of all legislative measures and budget decisions
to clarify positive or negative consequences for children.
▪
Mandatory impact assessments on how major spending policy decisions are
likely to affect children.
Recommendation: Budget transparency
That the government of Denmark including at municipality levels ensures transparency in
budgeting and facilitates the participation
of children’s agents in the process.
32.
3.3
I.
33.
II.
34.
III.
35.
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i.
ii.
iii.
Budget tracking from a child rights perspective, with a view to monitoring budget funds
allocated to children and the percentage of available funds allocated to children.
Ensure procedures to regularly hear the view of agents acting on behalf of children on
budget decisions that affect children.
Ensure and enable follow-up on budgets through mechanisms for participation of
agents acting on behalf of children.
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Annex I: Outline of selected models of calculation of adult-ratio and results
Publisher
Model
Geographic
application of
method
Average
national ratio
amongst
participating
institutions.
Data
year
Adult-ratio
nursery children
(0-2 years)
•
Typically, 1 adult per
5
children.
•
In about half of
daycare institutions there is
never, or for 1 hour a day only,
max 3 children per adult.
Especially at 13.00 there are far
too many children pr. adult - on
average in every institution in
the study
1 adult per 7.4
children.
In about one quarter
of institutions there is 1 adult
per 3 children for more than a
few hours in the morning.
2018
•
1 adult per
5
children.
•
1 adult per
10,3
children.
Adult-ratio
kindergarten children
(3-5 years)
•
Typically, 1 adult per
9+
children.
•
In about half of
daycare institutions there is never,
or for 1 hour a day only, max 6
children per 1 adult. Especially at
13.00 there are far too many
children pr. adult - on average in
every institution in the study
1
adult per 13.6 children.
In about
one quarter of institutions there is
1 adult per 6 children for more
than a few hours about in the
morning.
Bureau 2000
and FOA
Source
available at:
Report
•
The report is based on a
representative sample of daycare
institutions.
•
Via the municipal websites were found
2831 functioning e-mails to daycare
institutions.
•
Managers and employees were
encouraged to participate in the study
and a response rate of 50 percent has
been achieved for managers and 24
percent for employees
–
respectively
836 answers and 671 answers.
•
Answers have been received from
daycare institutions in all 98
municipalities.
•
The calculation model is developed by
working group represented by parents,
BUPL North Zealand, FOA North
Zealand, daycare representatives and
municipality representatives
•
The model must be considered true
and fair and has been negotiated
between several stakeholders.
•
The model has to date only been
rolled out on one specific institution and
says nothing about average
municipality ratio or the average
national ratio.
•
The ratio shows how many resources
municipalities averagely assign the
daycare area across a year calculated
as the number of full-time employees
and in relation to “full-time children”.
According to Statistics Denmark the
ratio does not reflect the reality one
experiences in a specific institution at
any given time.
•
The model calculates average ratio
per municipality but not per specific
institution.
•
According to the report of
Fredensborg Kommune, Statistics
Denmark’s ratio must be multiplied by
a factor 1.6 to achieve the actual ratio
in the specific institution tested by the
working group.
•
The model is applied in Norway.
•
The challenge with the Norwegian
model for calculating adult-ratio is that
the model does not adjust for the time
caregivers spend on planning,
meetings, courses, parent talks,
cooking, half-hour staff breaks each,
-
holidays, time off and sick leave. The
model is however true and fair on other
parameters
-
such as only including
educated caregivers, not including
temporary cover in the calculation, nor
students, staff for children with special
needs and caregivers must
•
Overall, the Norwegian model does
not depict the actual average ratio and
needs adjustments to be fair.
2020
Fredensborg
Kommune
Source
available at:
Report
Average ratio
in one
specific
institution in
one specific
municipality
Statistics
Denmark
Source
available at:
Press
Release
Average ratio
in specific
municipality,
here
Fredensborg
Kommune
(municipality).
2018
•
1 adult per
3,1
children.
•
1 adult per
6,4
children.
Norwegian
model
Information
available
upon
request
Data
available per
institution.
i. -
•
Norwegian model
–
no Danish data.
•
Norwegian model
–
no Danish data.
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Annex II: Retrogressive development in adult-ratio in daycare facilities 1972-2018
Source: Bureau 2000:
Child per adult in daycare institutions
–
development 1972-
2018
[Børn
pr. voksen i daginstitutioner
–
udviklingen 1972-2018]
(2019)
Available here: Report
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References
i TV2 Dokumentar,
The experienment with our children
[Eksperimentet
med vores børn]
(07.11.2019)
TV Documentary available upon request
ii National Research Center for Wellbeing [Det Nationale Forskningscenter for Velfærd /SFI],
Daycare institutions’ impact on
children’s development
[Dainstitutioners betydning for børns udvikling] (2014)
Available here:
Report
iii
Berlingske, - Haaning, Karen,
Leading Child Expert: Children are at risk of lacking important skill if they attend kindergarten too early
[Førende
børneforsker: Børn kan komme til at mangle en vigtig egenskab, hvis de begynder for tidligt i børnehave]
(07.01.2020)
Available here:
Article
iv
Thorup, Rikke Yde, Sommer, Dion,
The COVID Crisis has given us minimum adult-ratios in a heartbeat. Lets keep it that way!
[Coronakrisen
har givet minimumsnormeringer med et snuptag. Lad os holde fast i dem!
Information (May 2020)
Available here:
Article.
v
Juhl, Pernille
Daycare institution’s impact on children’s development [Daginstitutioners betydning for børns udvikling]
0-14: Pædagoisk
tidsskrift for daginstitutioner og klubber (20017)
Available here:
Document
vi Bureau 2000 and FOA,
The everyday of daycare institutions 2020
–
yearly report published by Bureau 2000
[Daginstitutioners
hverdag
2020
–
årlig rapport udarbejdet af Bureau 2000].
Available here:
Report
vii
Sommer, Dion, Klitmøller, Jacob,
Ready for the future? [Fremtidsparat?], Hans Reitzels Forlag (2018)
viii
Fredensborg Kommune,
The ratio in daycare
–
Report from working group established by the Children and School Committee
[Normeringen
i dagtilbud
–
Rapport fra arbejdsgruppe nedsat af Børne- og Skoleudvalget]
(2020)
Available at:
Report
ix
Statistics Denmark [Danmarks Statistik]
Ratio statistics illustrate municipalities priority of childcare but says nothing about reality on the
floor
[Normeringsstatistik
viser kommunernes prioritering af børnepasning, men siger kke noget om virkeligheden på blå stue]
(05.11.2019)
Available here:
Press Release
x
Bureau 2000:
Child per adult in daycare institutions
–
development 1972-2018
[Børn
pr. voksen i daginstitutioner
–
udviklingen 1972-
2018]
(2019)
Available here: Report
xi
Ministry of Children and Education [Børne- og undervisningsministeriet]
Application of funds for ratios 2020
[Udmøntning
af
midler til normeringer for 2020
(2020)
Available at:
Webpage
xii
BUPL,
Orientation on municipalities application of DKK 500 mio. for daycare
–
sent to Parliments Children- and Education Committee
2013-14
[Orientering
om kommunernes udmøntning af 500 mio. kr. til dagtilbud
–
sendt til Folketingets Børne- og Undervisningsudvalg 2013-
14]
Available at:
Annex
xiii
The Danish State,
Fifth periodic reports of States parties due in 2016: Denmark
(14.10.2016)
Available at:
Report
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
UN Convention of 20 November 1989 on the Rights of the Child (the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
Committee on the Rights of the Child: General Comment No. 7 (2005) on implementing child rights in early
childhood
Committee on the Rights of the Child: General Comment No. 12 (2009) on the child's right to be heard
Committee on the Rights of the Child: General Comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or
her best interests taken as a primary consideration
Committee on the Rights of the Child: General Comment No. 19 (2016) on the public budgeting for the
realization of children’s rights (art 4)
The Constitution [Lov 1953-06-05 nr. 169 Danmarks Riges Grundlov (Grundloven)]
The Daycare Act [Lovbekendtgørelse 2020-0909 nr. 1326 om dag- fritids- og klubtilbud m.v. til børn og unger
(dagtilbudsloven)]
The Finance Act 2020 [Finansloven for 2020]
The Finance Act 2013 [Finansloven for 2013]
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