Three-hour rule in childcare

Do you have a childcare organisation? Then you must keep to the three-hour rule (drie-uursregeling). This rule allows you to deviate from the professional childcarer-child ratio (beroepskracht-kind ratio, BKR) for up to 3 hours a day. During these 3 hours you are allowed to employ fewer childcare professionals than the ratio prescribes.

Three-hour rule

You can deviate up to 3 hours a day from the professional childcarer-child ratio only if:

• your childcare facility is open at least 10 consecutive hours
• you employ at least 50% of the prescribed number of childcare professionals during these hours

You may spread these 3 hours over the day, but it must be the same each week.

Three hour rule in your pedagogical policy plan

You have to indicate the general framework on how you deal with staff deployment in relation to the childcare-child ratio (BKR) and three-hour rule in your pedagogical policy plan. To do so you indicate:

• how many (pedagogical) staff you have per group (depending on the childcarer-child ratio), and what their usual shifts and break times are
• in which situations you will deviate from the childcarer-child ratio
• how you decide when to deviate from the childcarer-child ratio (pedagogical considerations)
• how you will pay attention to the children’s needs when less professionals are available to them

Do you fail to make this clear in your pedagogical policy plan? Then you may not deviate from the professional childcarer-child ratio. The parents' committee must give advice on these issues.

Deviating from the ratio for out-of-school care

Out-of-school care (buitenschoolse opvang, BSO) may also deviate from the professional childcarer-child ratio:

• up to half an hour daily, only before and after school hours, and on free afternoons
• you have to employ at least 50% of the ratio-prescribed childcare professionals during these hours.

During school vacations and national holidays, the three-hour rule applies to out-of-school care the same way as to other childcare organisations.