Childcare closures: planning holidays and school training days

When school or childcare is closed, start with the exact date, opening hours and confirmed care arrangement. A school holiday, a school staff training day and a childcare closure are different situations. Put them separately in your calendar. Then ask what care is actually offered, where your child can attend and how billing works. A request for additional care is not yet a confirmed place.

Bring school, care and work into one calendar

Collect your school's calendar, your provider's closure dates and your working schedule. Use your own school's calendar for staff training days; a general holiday calendar will not contain them all. Include shorter school days and days when childcare closes earlier. Do the same for other children in the family. Finding an arrangement for the youngest does not help much if someone still needs to collect the oldest.

Create one row for each unusual day: date, school open or closed, childcare open or closed, hours needed and responsible adult. Give each row a status: needs checking, requested or confirmed. Add the contact person's name and confirmation date. This prevents a possibility discussed on the telephone being remembered as a firm arrangement several weeks later.

Discuss the calendar while there is still time to adjust. A practical approach is to review the coming months when a new school calendar arrives. That is planning advice, not a legal application deadline. Ask when your provider finalises its holiday planning and which deadline applies to your package.

School closure does not automatically mean care is arranged

With after-school care, known as BSO, an ordinary afternoon may become a full day of care. Ask whether that school-free day is included in your package, whether a separate application is needed and which hours apply. Check the location too: holiday care may be organised differently from the usual afternoon. Ask about drop-off, collection, the group and how any change is confirmed.

A school staff training day is different from a training day at your childcare provider. The first may mean you need longer care; the second may mean care is closed. Describe the situation fully. For example: 'School is closed on 18 November; does my BSO offer care from 08.00 until 17.30 that day?' That helps the planner answer more accurately than 'Is the training day covered?'

Check these points before finalising work arrangements

• Is this particular date included in my agreement, or will there be an additional charge?
• What are the opening hours and the address?
• Must I register my child even if the day is included in the package?
• When will I receive final confirmation, and how do I cancel attendance?
• Who brings and collects my child when there is no school handover?
• Which billing details change if the provider offers different hours?

Ask for the terms relevant to the answer. A general brochure may describe a different package from your agreement. Keep the confirmation with your calendar. If the provider cannot yet confirm, agree a follow-up date and keep the day marked as uncertain. Do not base an irreversible work arrangement on an unanswered application.

Check closure, charges and childcare benefit separately

BOinK describes opening hours, public holidays and closures as contractual matters. Check your own agreement and terms. If care closes, ask how the hours are handled and how this appears on your invoice. Do not treat a public holiday, a provider's training day and your own holiday as the same situation.

BOinK's contract questions also distinguish swaps after your own cancellation from compensation when the provider closes. Do not accept swap credit as a closure solution without an explanation. Ask exactly what will be corrected and where you will see it. Credit still waiting to be used is not a guaranteed replacement care day.

An invoice correction and Dutch childcare benefit are separate checks. Dienst Toeslagen asks for changed childcare details promptly and within four weeks. Use the confirmed contract details. If you are unsure which hours or location apply, first ask for a clear specification and, where needed, an explanation from Dienst Toeslagen. Paying alone does not establish benefit entitlement.

An example with two different gaps

Imagine your child attends BSO on Tuesdays and Thursdays. School is closed all Tuesday. On Thursday school is open, but childcare closes at 16.00. You work until 17.00 on both days. This is an invented example and does not describe any real provider's availability.

For Tuesday, you need confirmation of full-day care, including drop-off time and address. For Thursday, you need someone to collect before 16.00 and look after your child afterwards. Two calendar rows show why one request for 'extra care this week' does not solve both gaps. Record collection authorisation, telephone numbers and handover details for each arrangement.

When there is no suitable place yet

Discuss a specific temporary solution with your employer, partner or personal network. Write down the hours someone can actually cover. Working from home is not automatically a care plan: discuss who is supervising the child and when you need to be available for work. Allocate transport as well. A relative who can help during the day may not be able to reach the school independently.

If you need another professional provider, use the childcare comparison guide and ask specifically about the date and hours. With a childminder, check both the care arrangement and the agency; the childminder and agency guide helps you prepare. Share only information needed for the enquiry. A listed location or registration does not establish current availability.

Compare practical options rather than names alone. Include travel, familiarisation, the person handing over and the time you must leave work. A place further away may cover the care hours but leave an impossible collection journey. Confirm the whole arrangement before cancelling another solution you are relying on.

Finish with a short final check

A few days before the unusual day, check date, address, hours, collection, contact person and belongings again. Explain the change to your child in simple words. After the day, check the bill if hours or charges changed. Discuss an unclear difference with the provider; use its complaints procedure if a dispute remains unresolved.

If the planning changes your ordinary schedule permanently, check the terms for a contractual change. A temporary solution does not need to become a lasting change. Keep temporary arrangements separate from the regular week and ask for fresh confirmation before relying on the same solution on a later occasion.

Sources and review

Sources checked on 11 October 2026. The calendar, questions and example are editorial planning tools. The provider confirms its offer and contract details; Dienst Toeslagen assesses benefit under the applicable conditions. The linked sources are in Dutch.

• BOinK: childcare contracts
• BOinK: contract questions
• Dienst Toeslagen: changed childcare details