Childcare Sasha was in the news in 2019. After a complaint and a number of checks, Kind & Gezin decided to close the childcare. The comments at the time were too many children present, too few supervisors, no adapted nutrition, not announcing the flushing of noses or pulling a child up with one arm. In the end, at the beginning of 2020, it was decided that the shelter could open again, but that they did enter an enforcement process.
After another series of observations, Growing Up decided to revoke the permit in August 2021. The organizer objected to this waiver. The WVG advisory committee agreed with the organizer. However, Flemish minister Wouter Beke took the final decision on March 1, 2022 to close the shelter by April 1, 2022 due to persistent violations of the permit conditions and after the organizer was given sufficient opportunities to rectify this. “The cancellation of the permit follows a long enforcement process,” says Nele Wouters of Op Groei. “It’s about repeated shortcomings. We would like to emphasize that this is not about facts of child abuse or anything like that.”
Growing up also informed the local government about the lifting of the permit. The municipality is working through the local childcare counter to find a solution for parents with a child who goes to this childcare.