Helpers at infant school are mostly specialized town council employees whose professional and legal status bears heavily on perceptions of identity. The close analysis of the work of these agents work shows how both the working conditions in which they carry out a large number of specific tasks in an environment designed for very small children and the way other members of the community perceive their work make the crossing of many borders (between small and large, hygiene and education, execution of tasks and full cooperation/partnership) particularly difficult.