Allocating a mentor in childcare

Do you run a childcare centre? Then you need to allocate a mentor to each child. You must inform the parents who their child’s mentor is.

What does a mentor in childcare do?

The mentor discusses the child's development and welfare with the parents or caretakers and is the contact person for the parents. In the case of out-of-school childcare, the mentor is also the contact person for the child itself.

You must specify the following in your facility's pedagogical policy plan:

• how the mentor discusses the child's development with the parents
• how you inform the parents who the child's mentor is

Who should be the mentor?

The mentor is one of the childcare centre's staff who is in charge of children in one of the groups. You inform the parents who the child's mentor is. The mentor does not need to be one of the familiar faces of the child. Is the child in multiple groups? Then the mentor is a childcare worker from the core or basic group.

There is no maximum number of children which can be assigned to a single mentor.

Parental meetings

In childcare centres, the mentor has to discuss the development and welfare of the child at fixed meetings. Parents can also request a meeting with the mentor. In the case of out-of-school childcare, this only needs to be done if asked by the parents.

There is no minimum number of times a mentor must speak with a child’s parents.