The letter, sent on 2 March 2021, is a response to the Scenario Study on the Design of Child Facilities (SVK), which the government presented to the House of Representatives at the end of 2020. In this report, the government presented four scenarios for reorganising childcare in the Netherlands.
The organisations are pleased with the SVK report because it lays the foundation for an open discussion about the organisation of childcare. In their letter, however, the organisations emphasise several aspects that must explicitly be taken into account in a redesign.
Increasing equal opportunities
The organisations believe that childcare is important for all children up to and including the age of 12. Every child deserves maximum opportunities for development. If there is a suitable provision for every child, this increases equality of opportunity.
To relieve the burden on young families, good cooperation is needed between childcare, schools, social work, youth and sports facilities, and municipalities. It is the government's task to remove obstacles and facilitate cooperation, the organisations state. In addition, a new system of child facilities should be designed so that the childcare cost system is understandable to all parents and the risk of repayments being reclaimed is kept to a minimum.
Joining forces
According to Josette Hoex of the Netherlands Youth Institute, the appeal from the sector organisations conveys a powerful and forward-looking message. “It shows that a broad range of facilities in the everyday living environment of children and parents wants to work together to create a strong foundation for upbringing. The past year made it even clearer that joining forces across childcare, education, welfare, culture and sports is necessary to enable children to grow up with opportunities, in good health and resilient. In all these places, children learn how to live life. They are indispensable places of learning, for children and their parents alike.”