One of the ways to measure quality in childcare is with the NCKO quality monitor. This quality monitor has been developed by a team of experts in the field of childcare. What is the NCKO, what do you measure with the NCKO quality monitor and what are the results of the last national measurements in 2012?
The NCKO
The NCKO is an abbreviation for Dutch Childcare Research Consortium. A scientific partnership in which educationalists and developmental psychologists from various universities work together on research to promote the pedagogical quality of Dutch childcare (0-4 years). The NCKO has developed the NCKO quality monitor to measure the pedagogical quality of childcare (0-4 years) in a scientifically responsible manner.
Principle of NCKO Quality Monitor; the basic pedagogical goals of Marianne Riksen-Walraven
The starting point for the NCKO quality monitor is Marianne Riksen-Walraven’s basic pedagogical goals (providing emotional security, stimulating the development of social competencies, stimulating the development of personal competencies and the transfer of values and norms). These basic pedagogical goals are part of the Childcare Act. Many daycare centers have included these basic pedagogical goals in their pedagogical policy plan.
Who is the NCKO Quality Monitor intended for?
The scientific version of the NCKO quality monitor is used in periodic national quality measurements (you can read about this in the media) and in scientific research. The derived version is intended for managers and quality employees in childcare. This quality monitor is shorter and more practical. It makes clear what the strengths and weaknesses of the childcare in question are and shows which specific points need more attention to improve the quality of childcare.
Topics NCKO Quality monitor within a daycare center
Interaction skills of the pedagogical staff
- Sensitive responsiveness (how well you respond to the signals a child gives)
- Respect for a child’s autonomy
- Structuring and setting boundaries
- Talk and explain
- Development stimulation
- Guiding interactions between children
Quality of the living environment
- Drop off and pick up (how are the contact moments between the pedagogical staff, the children and their parents)
- Space and furnishings
- Activities (presence, accessibility and use of materials for the different development areas)
- Language
- Dealing with children
- The program (daily schedule and game activities)
Structural quality
- The group size
- Staff-child ratio
- Staff stability
- Stability of the children in the group (the latter two concern the extent to which children encounter the same children and the same pedagogical staff on the days they are present)
How can the NCKO Quality Monitor be used within a daycare center?
- As a baseline measurement
- To see to what extent a quality measure has worked
- To identify a problem
National NCKO quality measurement 2012
In 2012, the NCKO carried out a major national quality measurement into the pedagogical quality of childcare (0-4 years) for the second time. It was a representative survey among 50 groups from 50 daycare centers throughout the Netherlands. In addition, research was conducted among 25 groups from 25 daycare centers that had previously participated in 2008.
The most important conclusion is that, after earlier declines in previous years, the pedagogical quality has increased. It was also found that there is still room for improvement. The pedagogical quality is still far from sufficient on all points. In addition, the research showed (in the groups that had previously participated in 2008) that the process quality in a certain group is not constant and can change considerably over the years.
read more
- Pedagogical trends in childcare
- Childcare; Horizontal and vertical groups
- The four-eye principle in childcare