Childcare sector organizations: jointly developing an inspection procedure

This is what the sector organizations BK, BMK and BOinK write in a joint letter to the Association of Netherlands Municipalities, GGD-GHOR Netherlands and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment.

The advice from the Association of Netherlands Municipalities, GGD-GHOR and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment on the latitude available to a supervisor when monitoring the familiar faces requirement and the three-hour rule addresses the situation in which a childcare organization has done everything possible to comply with the rules. Sufficient structural measures have been taken to ensure compliance with the rules, but this has not been possible due to force majeure. The children's interests are not harmed as a result. In that case, the Association of Netherlands Municipalities, GGD-GHOR and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment advise that a supervisor should not record a violation.

BK, BMK and BOinK are now concerned about how the terms ‘force majeure’ and ‘the interests of the children’ will be interpreted. They question how GGD inspectors can decide whether force majeure is involved without specific frameworks. It is also unclear what is meant by ‘the interests of the children’.

What is ‘force majeure’?

With regard to the familiar faces requirement, the joint sector organizations take the position that force majeure applies not only in unforeseen circumstances (for example, sudden illness or calamities), but also, as a result of the increasing staff shortages, in foreseeable circumstances (for example, leave or training). The sector organizations wonder whether all inspectors are aware of this.

Unequal treatment under the law

The sector organizations therefore expect differences in interpretation between inspectors and, consequently, unequal treatment under the law for childcare organizations. BK, BMK and BOinK therefore advocate that the inspector's assessment be included in the inspection reports as transparently as possible and with sufficient justification.

The organizations hope that the announced amendment to the Policy Rule on the Procedures of Childcare Supervisors as of 1 January 2020, intended to support supervisors and enforcement officers in implementing the new procedure, will provide this clarity. The organizations are therefore offering to contribute to drafting the procedure.

Read the sector organizations' letter here.