Coronavirus: fewer children and fewer staff members at childcare centres
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) advises people with a cold, a cough or a fever to self-isolate. This means staying at home.
As a result, childcare providers may be faced with fewer children and fewer staff members. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment has been consulted about this.
The supervisory authority will take account of this situation while the RIVM measure is in force. Where the child-to-carer ratio is too high, where groups exceed the maximum size or, out of necessity, have had to be combined, or where children are confronted by too many different carers, the supervisory authority will decide whether the childcare provider is in contravention, taking into account that no evident harm may be done to the safety and interests of the children.
This measure has been taken to prevent childcare centres closing due to staff shortages caused by the RIVM’s temporary measure, and these closures consequently leading to additional staff shortages in other sectors.