Admission requirements and choice of ECEC setting

There are various forms of childcare from which parents are free to choose: in a centre-based or home-based setting, subsidised or non-subsidised.

In the French Community of Belgium, parents register their future child before birth.  The organising authority cannot accept a request for childcare before the third month of pregnancy.

Priority rules are set by the legislation in force and by the circulars distributed by the Birth and Childhood Office (Office de la Naissance et de l’Enfance (ONE)) of the French Community to centre-based childcare settings depending on whether they are entitled to basic subsidies.

Children in centre-based childcare settings are divided into age-homogeneous groups or mixed-age groups (0–3 years), as determined by the setting.

Many children are very young, aged 3–4 months, and receive childcare from the end of their mother’s maternity leave until the age when parents decide to enrol them in a pre-primary school, 2.5 years of age at the earliest.

Childcare for all remains a basic principle that is applied across the various departments of ONE. A lot of work is done by ONE to create an inclusion and accessibility policy that aims at covering all families.

Group size and child/staff ratios

In centre-based childcare settings, the child is placed in a group cared for by one or more childcare workers, depending on the number of children. The minimum standard is one carer for every seven children present at the same time.

Within the framework of childcare provided by a childminder, a maximum of five children are allowed to be present at the same time if the childminder is working alone. For affiliated childminders working in a pair, the capacity is eight full-time-equivalent children, and a maximum of 10 children may be present simultaneously.

The requirements for initial training were updated by the decree of 2 May 2019 (and its modifications of 2022 and 2023) establishing the authorisation and subsidy regime for crèches, centre-based settings and independent childminders.

In order to clarify these developments, a summary document provides an overview of the recognised training courses by type of care setting for professions in early childhood care.

Annual, weekly and daily organisation

Childcare services and crèches are available from Monday to Friday for a minimum of 220 days per year. Daily time organisation depends on the type of subsidy that centre-based settings receive :

- The subsidized crèche must offer childcare for at least 10 hours per day, to be scheduled between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, for a minimum of 220 days per year ;
- The non subsidized crèche must offer childcare for at least 11.5 hours per day, to be scheduled between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, for a minimum of 220 days per year, or at least 11 hours per day, to be scheduled between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, for a minimum of 230 days per year ;
-    Childcare facilities must offer childcare for at least 176 days per year, 4 days per week and 10 hours per day ;
-    Independent childcare providers must offer childcare for at least 10 hours per day, at least 4 days per week and 176 days per year.