On Thursday 5 July a new law concerning mini-crèches in Luxembourg was passed as communicated by the Ministry of National Education, Childhood and Youth.
After the idea was introduced in March of this year, mini-crèches have now officially been approved. They will offer small friendly childcare facilities for up to eleven children from infants to twelve years of age. This will be limited to four babies under the age of one.
These mini-crèches will each be managed by two people consisting of a qualified educator, and also a person having trained in the socio-educational supervision of children or having a training certificate regarding parental assistance.
Because of their size, location and staff, these mini-crèches offer an alternative among approved conventional childcare facilities which is especially important in small communities or where there is a high demand for childcare. They will offer continous supervision from 5:00 to 23:00 providing flexibility for parents who work shifts.
The mini-nurseries will benefit from the Home Childcare Check (CSA) system and, unlike the Parental Assistants, will apply the Plurilingual Education Program for children from 1 to 4 years old. They will therefore benefit from 20 hours of free supervision per week for 46 weeks per year.
As a provider of the home check voucher system, mini-crèches will be required to adhere to the National Reference Framework on Non-Formal Education and the Quality Framework applicable to all registered childcare facilities. The monitoring of the quality of the mini-crèches will also be ensured by regional agents assigned to the National Youth Service (SNJ).
The maximum state contribution for the reception of children in a mini-crèches equals €6 per child per hour, with an additional €0.71 per child per hour in plurilingual education.
