First of all, child care is a separate responsibility.
There are two main types of childcare in the Netherlands. Different departments are in charge of this matter. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment is responsible for child care; The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports is responsible for the children's play group; The preschool classes (grades 1 ~ 2) incorporated into primary schools have been incorporated into the school management system, which does not belong to the category of child care and is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Child care services are divided into nurseries, extracurricular care classes and home care services. Nurseries mainly provide services for children aged 6 weeks to 4 years. At present, about 40% of children under the age of 4 attend nurseries. After-school care classes provide after-school care for children aged 4 ~ 12. About 12% of children aged 4 ~ 12 attend extracurricular classes. Home care provides home care for 0 ~ 12 years old or at the home of caregivers. Childcare services are provided by the society and operate according to market rules. At present, for-profit and non-profit organizations account for 60% and 40% respectively in the child care service industry.
Children's paradise is for children aged 2 ~ 4. It is operated by non-profit organizations and government subsidies. Children go twice a week for 2-3 hours each time. The purpose of running the park is to provide opportunities for school-age children to communicate with each other and promote their common development. Children's paradise gives priority to children from low-income families. Admission fees are linked to family income, and the fees are low. The government does not set educational goals for children's parks, and the standards for park operation, fees and employees are stipulated by the Social Support Law.
Two. Main contents of the Child Care Law
The Child Care Act promulgated in the Netherlands in 2005 stipulates the forms, quality standards and funding methods of child care services. Its legislative principles are: child care belongs to the common responsibility of family, employer and government; High-quality child care service not only ensures that parents can work and study with peace of mind. It can also promote the all-round development of children and ensure the smooth connection with primary schools.
The cost is shared among the three parties. The Child Care Law clearly stipulates that families, employers and the government share the cost of child care, and families who use child care services recognized by the government with up-to-standard quality can get subsidies. The amount of subsidy is linked to family income. In principle, the employer shall bear 1/3 of the total expenses (calculated by double employees, each employer shall bear 1/6 of a family), and the rest shall be borne by the government and the family. According to the income level, the family burden ranges from 3.5% to 67%. For particularly poor families, government subsidies reach 63%. Employers pay 33%, and individuals only pay 3.5%. Child care services are charged by the hour, and the government determines the upper limit of the hourly fee that can be shared. Child care service institutions can charge high fees, and the part beyond the government regulations is borne by the family. The government provides direct subsidies to families to stimulate competition in the child care service market and increase the choice of families.
Attach importance to quality standards. The Child Care Law only stipulates the quality and standards of child care services in principle, leaving room for child care service industry organizations and parent committee organizations (consumer representative organizations) to reach a consensus.
Articles 49-50 of the Child Care Law stipulate that child care service institutions should be responsible for the quality of their services and must ensure that there are enough high-quality staff and facilities to provide high-quality services; Be sure to pay attention to the ratio of employees to children, the number of classes, and employee training; Education development plan must be made; The educational development plan should include a clear and observable description of children's emotional and safety care, the improvement of communication skills and the establishment of values in child care institutions.
After consultations between the industry organizations of child care services, parents' committees and the government, the Netherlands has formulated the "registration system of quality management of child care services IS0-900 1" for nurseries, children's playgrounds and family child care respectively, and has also made specific provisions on the area of places, age groups, classes, employees and the proportion of children. For example, each class must have a fixed place (classroom), and the fixed place (indoor) is 3.5 square meters per person; 0 ~ 1 year-old must have an independent dormitory; There must be an adjacent outdoor activity venue: the outdoor venue is 3 square meters per person.
Emphasize the participation of parents. Nursery service institutions shall establish parents' committees to solicit parents' opinions on safety, education, health, opening hours, student activities, prices, complaints, etc. Parents should be provided with information such as class size, age group and activity arrangement.
Attach importance to the integrity of employees. Nursery service practitioners shall obtain a certificate of integrity issued by the relevant departments. The Judicial Data Law specifically stipulates the issuance and content of the certificate of good faith.
Strengthen risk prevention. In order to protect children's health and safety, child care service institutions should make a risk monitoring list, indicate all hidden dangers and risks involved in child care, and check and register regularly. To provide home care services, the risk checklist and inspection registration shall be handed over to the parents of the children.
Determine the status of Dutch. The working language of child care services is Dutch, and Frisian (the minority language of the Netherlands) and dialects can be used in daily life. According to the children's country of origin, foreign languages can be used in nursing services.
Clear regulatory responsibility. The responsibility for supervising child care services lies with local governments. According to the Child Care Law, the Appeal Law and the Child Care Service Quality Policy, the municipal government association has formulated the Supervision Guide for Child Care Service Institutions, and the municipal health department is responsible for the implementation of specific supervision and inspection work. The contents of the inspection include the following aspects: parents, employees, health, safety, facilities and their internal conditions, class size, the ratio of employees to children, educational policies and practices, and complaints. In principle, the inspection work is carried out once a year. If there is a complaint or the government thinks it is not up to standard. The inspection can be carried out at any time, and the inspection report can be divided into satisfactory, unsatisfactory and poor. The inspection report is announced to the public. The municipal government has the right to handle child care services,
Third, the pyramid early childhood education project
The issue of early childhood education has been debated for a long time in the Netherlands, and researchers and professionals have not yet reached a consensus. In the 1960s, the Netherlands began to fund early childhood education research. The results show that compared with the middle class, the children of the working class are in a weak position academically. Early education remedy or intervention for children can obviously improve this situation. Starting from 1999, the Dutch government has implemented the "pyramid early childhood education project" in child care institutions, children's playgrounds and primary school children's classes.
The project was developed by the National Institute of Educational Testing and Research in the Netherlands, and is aimed at children aged 3-6 from immigrants, ethnic minorities and families with low education level. At present, 64% of children's playgrounds and primary schools in the Netherlands have adopted this project. The core of the project is to provide a safe "play-study" environment for children, with emphasis on supporting children's development in the following eight aspects.
① Sensory development. Promote the development of touch, smell, taste, vision and hearing through auxiliary materials; ② Personality development. Cultivate the ability of cooperation, independence, self-control and perseverance; ③ Emotional development. Learn to deal with emotions of happiness, sadness, anger and fear: learn to deal with social behaviors of cooperation and defense; ④ Cognitive development. Learn to classify, grade, sort, number, calculate and compare; ⑤ Language ability. Learn oral communication, literacy, reading and writing skills: ⑤ the concept of time and space. Explore and learn the concepts of time and space through projects: ⑦ Action ability. Learn to use crayons, pencils, scissors, write and draw; Learn to jump, aim, swim and dance; ⑧ Art development. Visual arts: study ceramics, painting, paper art and other textiles, and learn color, modeling, light and space; Music art: learning songs, rhythm, beat, sound quality and volume.
The pyramid preschool education project adopts the theme activity mode. Through a series of purposeful activities, gradually improve children's ability and promote all-round development. The school is equipped with facilities and materials related to the eight development zones, so that children can play freely and stimulate their active participation, self-discovery and exploration to the maximum extent. Staff provide appropriate guidance and intervention, interspersed with games, songs and other activities. In order to achieve the scheduled goal of the project, 3-year-old children (two and a half years old can participate) will participate for four and a half days per week in principle; 4-6-year-old children (primary school 1 ~ 2 grade) will participate for five full days per week (09: 00- 15: 00).
(Editor-in-Chief Ganlu)