The first company-owned scuola materna (nursery) in Tuscany has been opened in Careggi. Launched 4 years ago as a private school for children aged 0-6, it is now the first in Tuscany, and one of the very few in Italy, owned by a business. The company in question is the L’Abbaino cooperative of the Co & So group and it was inaugurated in early September at the structure part of the Careggi University Hospital.
Many activities take place outdoors
11 children are part of the structure, between the ages of 3 and 6, who are the children of doctors and nurses of the Careggi and Meyer hospitals, as well as private families. 4 employees operate the school, including a mother tongue English teacher. Digital, creative and nature activities make up the programme and the pre-school lasts from 7-30am to 6.30pm.
“We worked for over a year and a half to open this, between works, authorizations and with the pandemic, but we did it,” says Paola Cecchi, director and pedagogical coordinator. “It was also the parents of the children in the nursery who asked us and they waited until we were ready. In this way, we can provide an extra service to families and guarantee educational continuity for children up to 6 years of age”.
Large open-air spaces
“This new adventure co-designed together with the Careggi University Hospital represents a unique solution in Tuscany: from September 2020 the continuity of the educational path from zero to 6 years will be guaranteed for Careggi employees, responding to the request for flexibility of services to reconcile life and work commitments” comments Claudia Calafati, head of the education sector of the Co & So group.
The Il Giardino dei Grilli infanzia is located on the first floor of a building in the large green area of the hospital that already houses a nido (children aged 0-3) on the ground floor. They were formed as a service for Careggi employees, but are open to all citizens.
