Combining two childcare locations: agreements, travel and benefit details

Combining two childcare locations can be useful, but check each placement separately and build one shared weekly plan. Compare more than the available days. Include travel, handover, invoices and details for Dutch childcare benefit. A confirmed day at location A says nothing about an application at B. Make any missing part visible before agreeing a lasting solution.

Describe why you need two locations

Start with the problem you want to solve. Is one provider full on Wednesdays, do opening hours conflict with work, or do you temporarily need another day? Write down essential days and hours, keeping possible alternatives separate. This shows whether two locations really help or mainly add tasks without covering the gap.

Distinguish combining care from switching providers. With a combination, both locations remain active in the week. When switching childcare, the old placement ends at an agreed point. These need different checks. For a temporary combination, record a review date and ask what you must do if you later want to end one arrangement.

Confirm each placement independently

Ask each provider about the specific days, hours, starting date, location and charges. An outstanding application or waiting-list entry is not yet a usable part of the timetable. Explicitly record which arrangements are confirmed. Keep the terms for absence, changes and ending care separate for each agreement.

Use Opvango to search and compare childcare and explain which part of the week is still missing. If you combine daycare with childminder care, the childminder and agency guide helps with questions for both parties. Do not assume a care type is automatically flexible enough for changing days.

Check the address and registration for each location

Dienst Toeslagen states that locations have their own LRK registration number, corresponding to the care address. Record the correct address and number for each placement. Two branches with the same organisation name are not automatically the same location for your administration.

Check each location's inspection information too. The GGD report guide helps turn findings into focused questions. A good conversation at branch A does not tell you exactly how branch B works. Compare the daily arrangements relevant to your combination, such as the contact person and how to report an unusual collection time.

Work out transport before signing

Plan a route for an ordinary workday and an unusual one. When do you need to leave home, who collects and what happens if someone is delayed? Try the journey at the time you would actually travel. A map distance says less than a usable route including parking, walking and handover.

• Who handles each day's drop-off and collection, and who can cover?
• Are belongings kept at both locations, or do you bring a bag each time?
• Which closing time determines when you must leave work?
• Who do you call if a meeting overruns or school hours change?
• For BSO, do both providers know the school they must collect from?
• Does each location know who is authorised to collect?

A two-location plan can work well when both routes fit. You may also find that extra travel makes an offered day unusable. Discuss this before accepting a place. For a schoolchild, the BSO and childminder comparison helps weigh school collection and transport as part of the choice.

Keep handover short and current

Choose the information both locations need: contact details, collection arrangements and practical routines. Ask each organisation how to report changes. Send relevant information directly through the agreed channel. A message to A does not necessarily reach B. Check important updates with both recipients.

Keep the overview no larger than needed. A short list of current arrangements is easier to maintain than two long separate files. Record the date and person responsible for an update. Discuss differences in daily routines that require attention without expecting the providers to make their entire approach identical.

Make the system usable for another responsible adult too. Someone covering a collection should be able to find the correct address and contact number without reading every email. Check that both providers know about the substitution through their own procedure; a note in your household calendar does not notify them.

Compare gross costs for each agreement first

Ask for a breakdown of hours, rates and other agreed costs. BOinK explains childcare contract arrangements. Put the two breakdowns alongside each other. A total without hours does not show whether unwanted or overlapping hours are being paid for. Check how each arrangement treats holiday care or a one-off extra day.

Calculation example using invented figures only: location A charges 48 hours at €10.50 in a month, giving €504. Location B charges 32 hours at €11.00, giving €352. Together that is 80 hours and €856 gross. These are not Opvango rates or market prices. Any other charges and childcare benefit are excluded from the example.

The example shows why you keep the underlying hours rather than recording one total alone. Calculate your own situation with real offers. Then use the childcare benefit guide and Dienst Toeslagen's current tools. A second location does not automatically create additional benefit entitlement.

Check benefit details against the confirmed arrangements

Collect each location's confirmed details and follow the instructions for your change. Dienst Toeslagen directs parents to Mijn toeslagen and the app. Check the entry against your overview and seek clarification for an unclear temporary location or combination. Do not assume one organisation name represents every address.

Keep the confirmation after making the change. Later, check whether invoices match the agreements you entered. A change at one location does not necessarily change the other part; review each row independently. Avoid recording only a new overall amount while the effective date or location remains incorrect.

Review the whole combination

After a few weeks, arrange a short review of daily practice. Are routes manageable, are all required days covered and do updates reach both locations? Consider the household workload too: two systems and two handovers take time. Record the helpful adjustment and who will ask which provider about it.

If you can later arrange everything at one location, first obtain confirmation of the new placement, then check how to end the other agreement. Do not stop a usable arrangement merely because you expect another place. Keep applications and confirmations distinct throughout.

Sources and review

Sources checked on 11 October 2026. The route overview and invented calculation are editorial tools. Providers confirm places, hours and charges; benefit depends on current conditions and your circumstances. The linked sources are in Dutch.

• Dienst Toeslagen: registered care and LRK numbers
• BOinK: childcare contracts
• Dienst Toeslagen: changing childcare details