Emotional security
When children see familiar faces daily, it fosters a sense of safety and trust. We call this their emotional security. Therefore, we always ensure that each child has at least one consistent face present in the group each day. This staff member knows how your child is developing, what they need and what stresses them out. A familiar face does not change too often.
How we execute this in practice
- If one or two childcare professionals are needed per day in the group, your baby will see a maximum of two familiar faces. If your child is one year or older, we will assign a maximum of three familiar faces.
- When there are three or more childcare professionals per day in the group, your baby will have a maximum of three familiar faces. If your child is one year or older, they will have a maximum of four familiar faces.
Temporary familiar faces
Sometimes, there may be a different childcare professional present in the group than the familiar face. This is called a temporary familiar face. We use a temporary familiar face when:
- One of the familiar faces is absent for up to four weeks due to vacation, leave, or illness.
- The other familiar faces for the child are unavailable.
- There are a maximum of three familiar faces assigned to your child.
Extra effort
To ensure emotional security and stability for your child and the group, when using a temporary familiar face, we first look for a colleague from the same group, location, or a trusted substitute who already knows the group. If that is not possible, we ensure that the temporary familiar face gets to know the children and the group's routine well through a brief onboarding process.
Adjusting period
The other familiar childcare professionals in the group help the children adjust to the new familiar face at their own pace and in their own way. This ensures that the new familiar face aligns well with the children's needs.
Designated replacement
If a familiar face from the group is absent for an extended period and we are not able to find another familiar face, we strive to provide a designated replacement as much as possible.