Setting up a parents' committee in the childcare sector

Do you have a childcare centre or a childminding agency? In the Netherlands you must have a parents' committee. A parent’s committee is made up of a number of parents who represent all parents of children in your childcare location.

Each childcare location in your organisation must have its own parents' committee. You must set up a parent’s committee within 6 months after your registration in the National Childcare Register (LRK).

What does a parent’s committee do?

You discuss your pedagogical policy at least once a year with the parents' committee. You need to provide the committee with information on your organisation’s quality and financial situation. And you must ask parent’s committee advise before you make a decision on at least:

• your pedagogical policy plan
• your general policy on safety and health, and preschool education
• the group size and the daily routine
• the familiar-face criterion
• the professional qualification requirements for your staff, including language level requirements
• the role of trainees and interns in your organisation
• the opening hours of the childcare location
• your complaints procedure
• your pricing
• the parents’ committee regulations

The parents committee can offer unprompted advice on these topics at any time. You may disregard the advice of the parents’ committee if it is in the interest of childcare. However, you must provide the parents' committee with a written explanation of your decision. Parents may also keep you accountable for any operational problems. They can file a complaint with the Childcare Disputes Committee.

Parents' committee's regulations

You must adopt the parents' committee regulations within 6 months after you submit your application for inclusion in the National Childcare Register (LRK). The regulations must at least specify the following subjects:

• the number of members in the parents' committee
• how members are elected to the parents' committee
• the members' term of office

You draw up these regulations at your own discretion. You can use model regulations (modelreglement, in Dutch) from the Childcare Parents Representation Organisation (Belangenvereniging van Ouders in de Kinderopvang & Peuterspeelzalen, BOinK). If you want to make any changes to the regulations, you require permission from the parents' committee.

Exemption from parents' committee

If you do not succeed in setting up a parent’s committee you may be exempt if:

• your childcare centre hosts at most 50 children
• your childminding agency has at most 50 childminders

You must be able to prove that you have put reasonable effort in trying to set up a parents’ committee. You must also make sure parents are consulted alternatively (alternatieve ouderraadpleging, in Dutch) on issues on which a parent’s committee normally advises. You should be able to prove this upon inspection of your childcare facilities.