Finally, a crèche at CERN!
After many years of discussion, the CERN Staff Association’s first crèche will open its doors in September to welcome up to 20 babies and toddlers.
A delicate operation: the installation of 11 modules above the Nursery's School canteen. Image: Sigrid Knoops.
The CERN Staff Association’s Nursery School, which will soon turn 50, is pleased to announce the establishment of CERN’s first crèche. This project, which has come to fruition over the past academic year with the support of the CERN Management, meets an established and growing need among the Laboratory’s personnel and users.
As a modular construction, the Nursery School’s new second floor was assembled above the existing canteen in a matter of days. Its 11 modules are ultra-modern – they’re even equipped with underfloor heating. “Thanks to this extension, we will be able to accept around twenty babies at the start of the academic year," said Sigrid Knoops, a staff delegate and member of the Nursery School Steering Committee. "We can admit them as soon as the mother’s maternity leave ends and they will be able to remain at the crèche until they are two years old. Then from two to four years of age, the children will go to the kindergarten, and finally, at the age of four, they will enrol in CERN's pre-school, where they will stay until the age of six.”
“In total, we will have places for 160 children,” said Philippe Trilhe, a staff delegate and President of the Nursery School Steering Committee. “To guarantee that the new facility is run to a high standard, we are planning to hire four new members of staff, taking our team to a total of 39 employees.” Offering a room for preparing baby formula, a breastfeeding corner and all the equipment needed to ensure the well-being of even the youngest infants, CERN's new crèche will be open from Mondays to Fridays, from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Like the kindergarten and the pre-school, its holiday closures will follow Geneva’s academic calendar.
The crèche still has some places available! For more information, click here, email staff.kindergarten@cern.ch or call (+41 22 76) 73604.
