The Daycare Act in Part
Under the Act on Daycare, After-School and Club Facilities for Young People and Children, the Daycare Act, all day-care facilities must work with the children’s environment (BM) in connection with the pedagogical curricula. Different rules apply to after-school facilities.
Here you can read what the Daycare Act says about the children’s environment (BM).
Day-care facilities for children below school age
Chapter 2
Objectives, Pedagogical Curriculum, Language Assessment, Assessment of the Children’s Environment, etc.
Objectives for Day-Care Facilities
§ 7. Children in day-care facilities must have a physical, psychological and aesthetic children’s environment that promotes their well-being, health, development and learning.
Paragraph 2. Day-care facilities must, in collaboration with the parents, take care of the children and support the individual child’s all-round development and self-esteem, as well as contribute to a good and secure upbringing.
Paragraph 3. Day-care facilities must promote children’s learning and development of competencies through experiences, play and pedagogically designed activities giving children the opportunity for contemplation, exploration and experience.
Paragraph 4. Day-care facilities must facilitate the children’s participation, responsibility and understanding of democratic principles. To achieve this, day-care facilities must promote children’s independence and ability to engage responsibly in communities as well as their solidarity with and integration into the Danish society.
Paragraph 5. Day-care facilities must, in collaboration with the parents, ensure a good transition to the school by developing and supporting basic competencies and the desire to learn. Day-care facilities must, in collaboration with the schools, create a coherent transition to the school and after-school activities.
Pedagogical curriculum
§ 8. All day-care facilities must prepare a written pedagogical curriculum for children aged 0-2 years and for children aged 3 years and until school age. The pedagogical curriculum must allow room for play, learning and development of children in day-care facilities. The composition of the group of children must be taken into consideration when preparing the pedagogical curriculum.
Paragraph 2. The pedagogical curriculum must describe the day-care facility’s targets for the children’s learning within the following themes:
- All-round individual development.
- Social competencies.
- Linguistic development.
- Body and movement.
- Nature and natural phenomena.
- Cultural expressions and values.
Paragraph 3. The pedagogical curriculum must describe relevant pedagogical methods and activities to be undertaken to achieve the targets, as well as how the curriculum is evaluated.
Paragraph 4. The pedagogical curriculum must specify which relevant pedagogical methods, activities and possible targets that are established and implemented for children with special needs.
Paragraph 5. Furthermore, the pedagogical curriculum must specify how working for a good children’s environment, see § 7, paragraph 1, becomes an integral part of the pedagogical work. The children’s environment must be evaluated from the children’s perspective, and the children’s perceptions of the children’s environment must be included with consideration for the children’s age and maturity.
Paragraph. 6. The pedagogical curriculum for the day care is prepared for all day-care facilities or districts affiliated to the municipal day care.
§ 9. The day-care manager is responsible for preparing and publishing the pedagogical curriculum, including revising it if significant changes in the day-care programme or the evaluation according to paragraph 2 prompts such action. Similarly, if the municipal council’s deliberations according to § 10, paragraph 2 prompts such action.
Paragraph 2. The day-care manager is responsible for ensuring that the pedagogical curriculum is evaluated at least every second year. In this context, the manager is responsible for documenting whether the chosen pedagogical methods and activities, see § 8, paragraph 3 and 4, as well as the children’s environment, see § 8, paragraph 5, will lead to the achievement of the established targets within the themes stated in § 8, paragraph 2. The manager must specify how the day care will follow up on the results.
Paragraph. 3. The day-care manager must involve the parent board in the preparation and evaluation of as well as the follow-up on the pedagogical curriculum.
§ 10. The municipal council must approve the pedagogical curriculum.
Paragraph 2. The municipal council must at least every second year discuss the evaluations of the pedagogical curricula, see § 9, paragraph. 2. Based on the discussion, the municipal council must decide if the evaluations are cause for further action by the municipal council.
Central Evaluation and Counselling Function
§ 18. The Central Evaluation and Counselling Function for day-care facilities associated with the Danish Evaluation Institute, see Act on the Danish Evaluation Institute, must be in charge of the systematic collection, analysis and communication of knowledge and evaluations pertaining to day care.
§ 18 a. Day-care facilities can seek advice on the children’s environment at the Danish Centre of Educational Environment, see Act on the Educational Environment of Pupils and Students.
Paragraph 2. Day-care facilities and municipalities can seek inspiration and guidance on evaluation and quality improvement at the Central Evaluation and Counselling Function.
Paragraph 3. The Central Evaluation and Counselling Function can gather information from municipalities and day-care facilities that is deemed important for the purpose of the Evaluation and Counselling Function.
Chapter 23
Coming Into Force, Transitional Provisions, etc.
§ 103. The Act comes into force on August 1, 2007.
§ 110. Act No. 485 of June 7, 2006 on children’s environment in day-care facilities is repealed.
§ 111. The Act does not apply to the Faroe Islands or Greenland.