Group family day care
Group family day care is provided in small, family-like groups. It differs from family day care in that activities take place in a group family day care centre and there are always at least two employees per group.
Group family day care is a form of family day care where two or three family day care providers work with the same group of children in a group family day care centre. Group family day care may be arranged by the municipality or a private service provider. Facilities used as group family day care centres must be approved by the City of Espoo. The city also monitors their suitability for the purpose.
A family day care provider must have relevant training in the field, such as a vocational qualification in family day care or a university degree in early childhood education.
Group family day care is a good option, for example, if you want your child to attend a smaller group. Two or three early childhood education employees work in a group family day care centre, and the size of the group is 8–12 children. Early childhood education in a group family day care centre is intended for children aged 1 to 5 years.
The opening hours of municipal group family day care centres vary. Usually, they are open from 7:30 to 16:30. You can check the opening hours of each group family day care centre on their website or by asking them directly. The opening hours of private group family day care centres also vary, and you can enquire about the hours directly from the service provider.
Cooperation with families is the strong point of group family day care. Group family day care providers can also cooperate with other group family day care providers as well as family day care providers and employees of residents’ parks and day care centres in their area.
As in other forms of early childhood education, the activities of group family day care centres are based on the city’s early childhood education plan. An individual early childhood education plan is also prepared for each child in cooperation with the guardians. You can read more about the early childhood education and care plan here.
The supervisor of the group family day care providers is the director of a local early childhood education unit. The City of Espoo guides and supervises the care and education activities of group family day care providers and advises them.
