Childcare in Amsterdam fears impoverishment
Concerns about a possible closure are not unfounded. Recently, several reception centers have already closed because they could no longer pay the rent. The demand for childcare, but entrepreneurs can’t do anything with it. They can’t expand at all.
Lease contract
The owner of childcare De Natuurfontein with four locations in Amsterdam-West says that he currently pays 160 to 180 euros per square meter. That price later, when the lease is extended. Jeroen Hilbrink is also absolutely not thinking about expansion, despite the acquisition. Like other entrepreneurs, he fears considerably fewer childcare centers in the center of the city.
Property of municipality
There are currently about five hundred daycare centers and three hundred locations for out-of-school care (BSO) in Amsterdam. 15 percent of the buildings are owned by the municipality. Other locations are in a school or in a private building. Like Hilbrink, the BOinK sector also thinks that less childcare will be available in Amsterdam in the long term.
The municipality says it is lobbying the government for free childcare for everyone. “If it is officially seen as a public facility, then municipalities and no longer have to charge the same amount as the rest of the market, that is our ultimate goal,” said one.
By: National Education Guide / Johanne Levinsky