Employment of educational and out of school care coaches

We are one of the few childcare organisation within this region that employs their own educationalists and out of school care coaches. They ensure our educational quality as well as train and guide our staff members in daily practice.

Proven quality

Our educational quality is periodically researched by the Dutch Consortium for Childcare Research (NCKO, Nederlands Consortium Kinderopvang Onderzoek). By making our quality measurable, we can continuously increase it.

Our educational staff members are continually given further training by coaching in practice and an (online) offer of courses in the field of the latest educational perception. Additionally, they also do courses addressing First Aid for children, reading stories, numeracy and mathematics for toddlers and involvement in playing and children’s development.

All of our locations offer 2Samen quality

The educational policy allows all of our locations to clearly be a part of Kinderopvang 2Samen, without losing their unique characteristics or the specific wishes of parents. In the document below, you can find our shortened version of the educational policy. It consists of the most important part. Would you like to know more? Please contact your childcare centre with any questions.

Allergies and individual agreements

If your child needs special food (because of for example religion, allergies, etc.), please let us know during your introductory interview. Of course, we’ll gladly make sure to adhere to these agreements.

Eating rhythm

For babies, we keep their individual eating rhythm. When the children get older, we eat at set times, together at the table. We think it is important that children think of these food breaks as a social and pleasant part of their day.

Minimum purchase

We advise parents to purchase childcare for at least two days a week. There are several educational reasons for this advice:

Full daycare in a day nursery

For children aged 0 to 4, it’s important that they can get used to the other children, the agreements of the group and the staff members. Only then do they feel at home and is there room to discover. Scientific research, as well as our own experiences, shows that children that come to day nursery only one day a week, have more trouble finding their way and feeling at home. If parents do choose daycare for one day only, that’s possibly only if the child can adapt well to this situation.

Playgroup or preschool for toddlers

Because children in preschool/playgroup only attend a few hours a day, we don’t deviate from our minimum of two days for these children. This makes it much easier and a lot more fun for the children. It allows the children and the staff members to really get to know each other.

Out of school care

Things are a little different for schoolchildren. They have a broader network and have more experience adapting to new situations. For our out of school care it is sometimes possible to purchase only one day of childcare. We do set a maximum of children that attend a single day a week. Please ask the childcare centre of your choice about the possibilities.

In line with our policy regarding the advised minimum purchase of two days per child per week, children that attend care multiple days a week have a placement priority.

Placement at multiple locations

From an educational point of view, we strongly discourage parents to place their child(ren) at multiple locations. Such requests are handled prudently.

Vaccinations

In The Netherlands, vaccinations against certain diseases are given in four steps. The National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM, Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu) notes that it is essential that children complete the vaccination cycle as scheduled. If your child had not been vaccinated as scheduded, please seek medical advice to ensure your child receives adequate protection.

You may find the Dutch vaccination schedule in English on the RIVM website.

Unvaccinated children

In order to guarantee group immunity as much as possible, we place a maximum of one unvaccinated baby per child centre, and never more than 5%. We base this policy on the advice of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

Special care

It could be the case that your child needs special care, for example due to behavioural issues, a handicap or a delayed development. If this is known in advance, it’s important that you let us know when you apply for childcare at 2Samen. This way, we can decide whether or not it is possible to place your child and how this would work. We will do everything in our power to offer your child the care it needs.

At our location 2In de Wolken, we take care of children with special needs. Through Kombino, there is an extra member of staff available every day, as well as a nurse for extra care and support. If we cannot realise the care of your child within the possibilities of 2Samen, we will help you in finding the best alternative options for childcare.

Staff to child ratio: 15 instead of 16 toddlers

At toddler groups (with children from the age of 2), childcare organisations are allowed to deploy one professional per 8 children. If the inside and outside spaces are compliant with the legal obligation for the amount of square metres, a toddler group can legally consist of a maximum of 16 children.

2Samen has smaller toddler groups than the legal norm. Because we think 16 toddlers in one group is a little bit too much, we try to plan a maximum of 15 toddlers per group, per day. This way, our staff members can give each child just that little bit more attention.

Would you like to swap a day? You can also download our swapping policy below.

Separate school days off / scheduled days off

Primary schools also have scheduled days off. These are extra days off, outside of the regular school holidays and national holidays. 2Samen’s out of school care offers care on these days, on the condition that at least five children need care. If it’s possible, we will merge out of school care centres within the area, to get to this amount of five children. This minimum of five children is not required on regular holidays.

Would you like to know more? In the summary of our ‘scheduled days off protocol’ below, you’ll find everything on childcare on days your child’s school schedules off.