News item | 10-04-2025 | 16:39
With targeted measures, the government wants to maintain the range of childminder care in the Netherlands. New childminders can count on a reimbursement of a large part of their training costs. Where possible, rules are deleted or relaxed to reduce the regulatory pressure. And a campaign must increase the fame and attractiveness of the childminder shelter.
State Secretary Jurgen Nobel (Childcare) writes this in a letter to the House of Representatives.
‘With current staff shortages we need all hands in childcare. Gastouderopvang is a solution for parents who are looking for flexible care or a homely environment for their child. With the proposed measures we do everything we can to ensure sufficient and high -quality childminder care – now and in the future. So that the work also remains attractive for host parents themselves’says Nobel.
The childminder shelter plays an important role within the Dutch childcare system. About 75,000 children use it. Parents consciously choose this small -scale and flexible form of care, for example due to irregular working hours. In 2005, childcare allowance became available for parents who used Gastouderopvang and increased the number of host parents sharply. A lot of informal care that was already offered was formal care by a childminder. When five years later demands were made for the professionalism of childminders and childminder agencies, the decline started.
New research into this decrease, commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), shows that childminders often stop due to increasing regulatory pressure, for financial considerations and because of personal circumstances, such as retirement. Almost a quarter of the host parents is 60-plus. The researchers note that in shrinking areas – regions with a decreasing population – the offer of childminder childcare is not falling more than in other areas.
Training of new childminders
Together with the sector, a package of measures has been worked out to maintain and strengthen the range of childminder care. For example, there will be better information about laws and regulations on Rijksoverheid.nl and existing rules are deleted or relaxed where possible to reduce the regulatory pressure. Branche organizations will actively support host parents in determining their rates.
To make the profession of childminder more attractive, there will be a subsidy from the government in the coming years for the training of new childminders. This covers 90% of the training costs. In 2025, € 3.2 million will be available for childcare and education. There is also attention for quality, so that the childminder shelter is safe and contributes to the development of children. A bill on this has been adopted by the House of Representatives.
With a new labor market campaign, co -funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the sector actively recruits among potential childminders. There is also more commitment to increasing the awareness of this form of reception among parents and professionals.