“Well, literally critical, because there were added concerns," says Marlie van de Ven, Preschool Education Manager. “I arranged additional support – by twice as much – for the groups in my region. Thanks to our good relationship with the municipality, we were able to secure the funds we needed for this purpose. It's something I'm very proud of!”
<"Some children are unable to fit in with their peers in a regular group. As far as I’m concerned, dropping out of childcare is not an option, but we need to look at how we can tailor the activities and curriculum to the child’s development stage and provide additional help so that each child is given the opportunity to develop to the best of their ability.
In addition to appropriate education, you also need to provide appropriate childcare services – including preschool education – in every community!”
Flourishing at preschool
every municipality, every district, and therefore every preschool is different. "We tailor the activities and curriculum to the children in the group and bring
'the whole world' inside. We practise active vocabulary and social situations through themes and role play.”
Preschool education is substantially different from regular childcare groups. “Suppose a toddler from a war zone attends a daycare centre here. It’s a far cry from the world he came from. He can flourish at preschool, in a smaller group with specialist staff, in a place that is adapted to be familiar to him.”
It is estimated that 15% of toddlers in the Netherlands benefit from additional support in language and speech, maths, and social-emotional or motor skills. Marlie: “And if there are delays in several areas, we can – in consultation with the parents – call in other specialists.”
Network
“In a number of municipalities, I sit at the table during the decision-making process, with aldermen, policy staff, social workers and sometimes school boards. That network is very important. Together, we ensure that all children can benefit from the best preschools. And the great thing about it is that because of the subsidy relationship, you make structural agreements, which ensures quality because there are municipal frameworks and statutory quality requirements in place. The municipality checks this continuously. I just received a call from the municipality of Rotterdam asking me how things are going, if there were any problems they could help with and what our children needed. They are very involved,” says Marlie.
Our responsibility
Marlie is also very concerned about the children in her region: "You should always get the support you need, no matter how young you are or whether you have learning delays or a referral not. Who else is going to stand up for these children? Unless the parent decides otherwise, I think that's our responsibility.”
A commitment to care
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