Marie van Westerhovenstraat

Strengths

• Positive pedagogical climate: children experience emotional safety, predictability, and individual attention
• Language, motor skills, and social competencies are actively stimulated through thematic working (Uk & Puk)
• Domestic violence reporting protocol known and practiced annually
• Early childhood education (VVE) program in order: 960 hours in 1.5 years, sufficient coaching hours, good transition to primary schools
• Spacious, challenging play and learning environment indoors and outdoors

Shortcomings

• Ensure clear, up-to-date information on website and in location guide (number of groups, early childhood education offer)
• Strengthen location management's knowledge of rules regarding deployment of staff in training and core group policy
• Guarantee that schedules always meet the qualified staff-child ratio without moving children between groups

Violations

• Qualified staff-child ratio not met on September 22, 2025 (10 children, 1 qualified staff member) – since resolved
• Consistent caregiver criterion not observed: BBL student was deployed as consistent caregiver before completing training – since resolved
• Insufficient diploma requirement: pedagogical professional in development was wrongly counted as qualified staff
• When deploying two staff members in training, at least one qualified staff member per day was missing from the core group
• Children were cared for outside their own core group on September 15 and 22, 2025 to fix the ratio

Summary

Daycare center (kinderdagverblijf/KDV) Marie van Westerhovenstraat (Smallsteps/Partou) received an unannounced annual Municipal Health Service (GGD) inspection on September 29, 2025. The pedagogical climate is experienced as positive: children experience emotional safety, there is plenty of interaction, language and motor development are stimulated, and the team works thematically with the early childhood education program Uk & Puk. The domestic violence reporting protocol is also in order. However, 5 violations were identified, all within the Personnel and Groups domain. Two violations (qualified staff-child ratio on September 22 and the consistent caregiver criterion for a BBL student) received a recovery offer and have since been resolved; the team will now scale down rather than move children when short-staffed. Three violations received no recovery offer: insufficient diploma requirement (a pedagogical professional in development was wrongly counted as qualified), deployment of two staff members in training without qualified supervision, and repeatedly caring for children outside their core group. According to the inspection, the cause lies in insufficient knowledge of the location and assistant location managers regarding rules around staff in training and core group policy. The Municipal Health Service (GGD) advises the municipality to enforce according to policy for the three unresolved violations; no additional measures for the two resolved ones.