News item | 17-12-2024 | 12:27
In childcare, requirements apply from 1 January 2025 for the oral language skills of pedagogical professionals. According to childcare employers, 95% of employees already meet this language requirement. This is evident from a survey among location managers and employees commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. Some of the employees who do not yet comply are over sixty years old. More flexible rules apply to them. State Secretary Jurgen Nobel (Participation and Integration) reports this in a letter to the House of Representatives
State Secretary Nobel: “I am pleased that almost all pedagogical professionals have the desired language level. I think it is important that we can retain as many employees as possible for childcare, we need everyone. At the same time, we also want to maintain quality with sufficient attention to language.”
Language important for children
The language requirement in childcare was established in 2017 based on the view that children’s language skills are important for their entire future life and career. Good language skills of pedagogical professionals are an important condition for being able to offer this rich language offering. The language requirement means that the oral language skills in day care are at language level 3F/B2, comparable to the MBO 4 level. In after-school care this is either 2F/B1. This corresponds to the MBO 2-3 level.
The language requirement would actually come into effect in 2023. In 2021, it was decided to postpone the introduction to 2025, due to the workload and the tightness on the labor market. Relaxations were also introduced at the beginning of this year, so that the language requirement is less restrictive in practice. This includes a lower language requirement for employees in the BSO, extra time for employees who have been absent for a longer period of time due to illness and more flexible rules for people over 60. This last group – approximately 7% of the total – has three years longer to meet the language requirement. In addition, different rules apply within multilingual and non-Dutch childcare, depending on which language or languages the professional speaks with the children. The language requirement does not apply in childcare.
Research
In August, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment commissioned research into the introduction of the language requirement. More than nine in ten location managers (91%) indicate in this survey that they expect all their pedagogical professionals to meet the new requirements as of January 1. Employees who do not meet the requirements will continue to be trained until they pass. They also indicate that, as long as employees do not reach the required level, they will work elsewhere in the organization, for example in after-school care. Only in a few cases does the location manager expect the employee to resign due to failure to meet the language requirement. This often concerns employees who are approaching retirement age and would already be leaving employment.
Of the pedagogical professionals, 84% indicate that they meet the language requirement. 7% do not know and 9% indicate that this is not the case. Employees are therefore slightly less positive than their employer.
Stress
The research also shows that both employees and managers experience stress when someone fails the language test. Research from 2023 also showed this. That research showed that this stress can be reduced if the organization conveys that meeting the language requirement is a shared responsibility and guides the employee in this. In addition, that study called for the method of testing to be tailored as much as possible to employees and professional practice. This also happens in practice.
There is also a role for social partners to inform employers and employees about the options for retaining a professional if that person does not yet meet the language requirement. All parties, including the ministry, believe it is important that as many employees as possible can be retained in the sector. That is why the aforementioned relaxations on the language requirement have been introduced in 2024.
More information about the language requirement: Rijksoverheid.nl/taaleis