Toddler programmes and pre-school education

The city of Aalsmeer provides subsidies for toddler programmes and pre-school education for children from the age of 2,5 up to and including 4 years old.

Toddler programmes

Do you find it important that your child attends pre-school? Are you ineligible for childcare benefit from the tax authorities? Then you can make use of a toddler programme. Your child is entitled to eight hours of pre-school per week, for two week days, with a maximum of forty weeks per year.

Conditions

• The child is between 2,5 and 4 years old and registered in the city of Aalsmeer
• Parents are not eligible for childcare benefit (‘kinderopvangtoeslag’)
• Your child has not received a pre-school advice indication

Enrolment

Multiple organizations offer toddler programmes in Aalsmeer. However, there is a limit to the number of available placements for the subsidized programmes. You can find the organizations and their contact details below.

Costs

The contribution for the toddler programme is dependent on your income. The city of Aalsmeer will pay the contribution up to the maximum tariff of € 8,50. The contribution will be calculated using the VNG table. You will find these calculations in a table below this paragraph.

Does your child care centre have a higher rate than € 8,50? The you have to pay the difference between the € 8,50 and the rate of the centre yourself.

The child care of your choice can help you calculate the correct fee. The hourly rates and the availability can differ per centre. This means that your contribution can differ per centre.

Monthly fees for eight hours of child care per week

Below calculation of the monthly fees is based on the hourly rate of € 8,50 and two days of child care of four hours for forty weeks per year. This calculation is based on the invoicing of twelve months a year. A child care centre can also choose to invoice ten or eleven months a year, which would mean a higher fee per month.

Early childhood education (VVE)

Having a good start at primary school is important. This is why local governments offer Early childhood education (‘Voorschoolse Educatie’ or ‘VVE’) for toddlers from 2,5 to 4 years old. This VVE programme entails a minimum of sixteen hours a week for forty weeks per year.

In the VVE toddler groups there is extra time and care for the development of the child. There is extra support for language learning. Everything, from the play materials, books, songs and games, has a focus on the development of language skills. The VVE toddler groups are run by specially trained pedagogical staff.

Conditions

• Your child is between 2,5 and 4 years old and registered in the city of Aalsmeer
• Parents with or without eligible for childcare benefit (‘kinderopvangtoeslag’)
• Your child has received a VVE indication from the GGD*
  *The criteria for the VVE indication are determined by the city. The child healthcare centre (GGD) tracks the development of your child from birth. They will check if your child meets the criteria for early childhood education.

Enrolment

There are multiple organisations in Aalsmeer that offer early childhood education in half day-care. Did you receive an indication from the GGD? Then your child, with the indication, can apply with one of the toddler groups VVE at the organizations below.

Costs

The VVE programme entails a minimum of sixteen hours a week. The city covers the first eight hours of VVE. You will not have to pay a fee for these hours.

• Parents who are eligible for child care benefits (‘kinderopvangtoeslag’) can use these to pay for the remaining hours.
• When you are not eligible for child care benefits from the tax authorities, the city of Aalsmeer will subsidize the costs. You also have to pay a contribution towards the costs, which is dependent on your income. You can find the contribution per income bracket in the table below.

Example costs

In the below table you will see an example of the costs based on eight hours of early childhood education for forty weeks with an hourly rate of € 8,50. This calculation is based on an invoice per twelve months. Some child care organisations choose to invoice per ten or eleven months, in which case the monthly total will be higher.

VoorleesExpress

The VoorleesExpress supports parents in helping their child develop language skills. You can find more information on the website of the Voorleesexpress (in Dutch).

Need more information or have a question?

Do you have any further questions or should you like to have further information about the toddler programmes or pre-school education?

Please contact the coordinator of the municipality at vvecoordinator@aalsmeer.nl.