De Kleine Houtrakkers provides care for children from 0 to 4 years old. We are open from 07.30 to 18.30 and offer care at two locations. At location Kleine Houtweg we have two vertical groups. At location Zijlweg we have two vertical groups and one toddler group. De Kleine Houtrakkers offers professional care and guidance for children by qualified staff. The staff also offers various activities and programs to promote children's social and emotional development. We have no other forms of care besides vertical care and the toddler group. But what forms of child care are there?
There are several forms of child care. Briefly, it consists of the following options:
- Daycare
- Preschool
- Extracurricular care
- Guest parent care
- Parent Participation Crèche
Daycare
Day care is also known as child care, nursery or crèche. We use the term child care ourselves, but it all means the same thing: taking care of children from 0 to 4 years old in a group consisting of a maximum of 16 children. The number of leaders depends on the age of the children and how many children are present. The maximum number of children depends on the size of the group. In daycare, a child is cared for all day in a horizontal or vertical group.
In a horizontal group, children of the same age sit together. This could be a baby group or a toddler group. In a vertical group, the ages are mixed and children do not have to transfer to another group at a certain age.
Preschool
Toddler playgroups are also called preschool. At toddler care, children from 2 to 4 years old can play. Children are not taken care of for whole days, but in half-day sessions. Toddler care is often open in the morning.
Extracurricular care
This is also commonly called bso. A bso takes care of children who attend elementary school (ages 4 to 13). Children are either picked up from school by the bso or they go there themselves. Children can attend after school, during school vacations and on study days. Hence the term after-school care (nso) is also used. In some cases, children can also make use of pre-school care (vso), but not every bso also offers vso. In vso, the child is taken to school by the leaders.
Guest parent care
Host parent care is care for children from 0 to 12 years old in a group of up to 6 children. Care often takes place at the host parent's home. If the host parent herself has children up to 10 years old, that counts in the group size. The host parent can also provide care at a family's home, in which case it is called "host parent at home. All guest parents are affiliated with a guest parent agency that mediates between the parent and guest parent.
Parent Participation Crèche
As of July 1, 2021, parental participation crèche (opc) is also included in Child Care Act. This is care arranged for and by parents. In an opc, one of the parents of the children to be cared for is themselves in the group. This is not done at the parents' home address, but in a designated room. This form of care is the least common in the Netherlands.
