Have a nice summer

Almost summer holidays, oh boy… we are already in the second half of this year. Time for some Op Stoom reflection. This time we are going back a long way in time because Op Stoom has been around for 30 years. We are happy with that!

Kind regards Linda and Renate
Directors Op Stoom

But first the most important thing

Fortunately, despite the staff shortage in childcare, we didn't have to close the group for a day yet and your child will experience a wonderful day full of activities and adventures with us every day.

Pay attention to your summer holidays! You can help us with this. If you don't need childcare during (a part of) the summer holidays? Don't forget to unsubscribe your child from daycare. Preferably as soon as you know the dates of your holiday. You can do this very easily via 'Konnect's OuderApp'. By doing this you help us to create a good, balanced personnel planning behind the scenes. We would like to be able to give our employees time off and it is important that we know which children will be with us and who is on holiday.

Another aspect why registering your child is important concerns the ordering of food for the groups. We have seen in previous holidays that we order too much, because we count on children who unexpectedly do not come. If we have a more accurate overview of who is coming and who is not, we will waste less food during the holiday weeks.

We started in 1994, with a good dose of entrepreneurship and individuality. We wanted to do it differently: childcare that involves loving care and inspiring children. A nice place where parents experience trust and where employees are seen and look forward to work every day.

We succeeded and we still are that way. Parents are happy to choose Op Stoom and we work with as much pleasure and courage as when we started. The Op Stoom DNA is now in all of us because choosing Op Stoom is not something you just do, it is one with heart and soul… are you looking forward to the whole trip down memory lane? Then please keep reading here (only available in Dutch).

Huge staff shortages in childcare, while plenty of people who have (recently) come to live in the Netherlands are eager to get started in the industry. The solution? Op Stoom offers these people training and language courses to meet the 3F language requirement. That is why we launched the 'Ik Stoom door…' campaign at the beginning of June.

Our own colleagues Michael (above), Jeo, Safa, Gül, David, Ketsinee and Gisela (from left) served as models for the campaign. They look so powerfull… we are proud of them! You can read their stories and more information at ikstoomdoor.nl

Never before have we received so many nice compliments from parents for a campaign. Thank you for that, we found your responses very nice and downright heart-warming. So far we have received around 60 responses and job interviews are currently taking place with a number of good candidates.

Child labor-free products in childcare

In the photo above the participants from the childcare sector. Top left Renate Quispel, director of Op Stoom.

If you enjoy working on the development of young children every day, you may not imagine that some of the products you use are still made by their peers, in different parts of the world. That is why Op Stoom, together with a number of other childcare organizations, fights for child labor-free products in childcare.   

Mango
Together with other childcare organizations we consciously purchase seasonal and local fruit. This is more complicated with tropical fruit, but you can investigate the chain. We will be working on this together with a number of other childcare organizations, trade organizations and international development organizations such as Terres des Hommes over the next three years.  

We start with the mango from Peru. Why specifically the mango? That's because we don't just have access to plantations and factories. Organizations such as Terres des Hommes do and they have already taken a step towards research into the mango chain. These insights are used for responsible purchasing throughout the childcare sector. You can read more about it in this article (in Dutch only).

Podcast

The small pedagogy of Op Stoom, episode 6: Emotional safety

Our own Bibi Telleman interviews Fien de Hoop, cluster manager at Op Stoom, in our latest podcast. They delve deeper into providing emotional security to children, which is THE basis for happy children with a good dose of self-confidence. Tune in if you want to hear useful tips and clear examples from practice.

Missed the  previous episodes? We've got you covered, you can listen to them here

Join Op Stoom 'in the wild'

The festival season is ón! Our loyal fans already know, Op Stoom + festival = hi-ha hut building and creative cooking in the mud kitchen. Do you have a carpenter, budding architect or 'mud chef' at home? Then be sure to come along with your child, have fun together and let your imagination run wild. We would love to see you and your child at the following festivals:

Park sessions in Haarlem on July 12-13-14 | Summer Park Sessions in Velsen-Zuid on September 7 and 8.

Or just run?
Does your child enjoy sports more than building or cooking? Register your child now for the Superhero Kidsrun on September 21 in Driehuis.

Children from 4 to 12 years old can dress up as a superhero and complete a course of 1.0 km or 2 km, with a number of exciting obstacles. Once they cross the finish line, they end up in a real Superhero world with real superheroes, superpowers and fun surprises. It's going to be a great voyage of discovery, in search of your own superpowerrrrrrrrrrr! That's all we'll reveal so far.