How to Sep Up a Day Nursery
Starting a new business takes good planning, advertising, financial wisdom and a caring staff. Luckily, good day nurseries are in demand in The Netherlands. Especially English-speaking nurseries. Below are a few tips to help you plan for a day nursery in The Netherlands.Step 1
Consider the age groups of children you want to care for. Do you want to include school-aged children or do you prefer only accepting children from infancy until they go to kindergarten at four or five years old? You will need to determine what work hours you and your staff are going to keep; most nurseries operate from 8:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening, though you could offer early morning hours or later hours for those who work later if you want to.
Step 2
Determine how you're going to run your nursery. Do you want to offer some full-time and part-time options to help different working parents? Will you include both breakfast and lunch and snacks with your fee? Would you like the parents to be responsible for bringing in their child's diapers and bottles since the baby will be used to it. Notify the parents if you will be teaching a preschool curriculum as well, and what you will cover during that section each day. What kind of toys do you want to use? Think about your day program.
Step 3
If you are going to offer daycare services, you must register with your local municipality (Aanvraagformulier Register Kinderopvang). GGD verifies your application. GGD considers a full-time nursery, play groups, and after-school childcare under these specifications. Your nursery will be registered in the Landelijk Register Kinderopvang.
GGD inspects your paperwork, your plans and your premises first, before you can start. After the inspectors have reviewed their points, they will send you a copy of the report with their findings: compliant, not compliant or not applicable. If all inspection items are compliant, you can start your nursery on a temporary license. The GGD will inspect your nursery in about six months after you started. The GGD will now be able to inspect your nursery whilst operating and working with children. Again you will receive an inspection report. If all inspection items are complaint with the Dutch Childcare Act, you receive your formal registration number.
GGD inspects newly registered providers to make sure that the nursery premises and equipment are safe for the children. They check that the children will being cared for by qualified nurturing staff and that their needs will be met. They make sure that all the safety guidelines are up to date, and that children not will be harmed in any way. They may look over the lunch and snack menus to monitor the children's proper nutrition and health standards. After the inspectors have reviewed their points, they will send you a copy of the report with their findings: compliant, not compliant or not applicable. If you receive an inadequate rating, depending on the inspection item, you will be given a time period to resolve the issues.
Step 4
Decide what to charge for childcare, remembering to calculate for staff's salary, and your business' overhead costs. Decide whether you're going to charge a flat rate or base it on age, starting off higher in infancy, and having it taper off as the child grows older. Will you offer sibling discounts or time off for family vacations? How much will you charge for a late fee and how long will you endure it before you must take action to collect your money.
