Midday supervision.

Midday care service

There is a midday care service (tso) if children can go home for lunch but can also choose to stay at school. If parents ask for it, the primary school must offer tso. The rules for midday care service are included in the law. The school must provide a safe space where children can eat and relax. The school remains responsible for supervising the children during staying over.

Staying over plan

Every school with midday care service must make a staying over plan. The plan says who watches over the children, how many staff there are compared to the number of children, and what the rules of conduct are. The parents in the school participation council must agree with this plan. Other parents must also be involved in the creation of the policy about staying over. The rules the school has for staying over are in the school guide.

The supervision

Supervision can be arranged in different ways:

• Volunteers (parents or other helpers)
• Teachers (but this is not a normal task for teachers)
• External staff, like leaders from after-school care or childcare

A combination of these staff for staying over is also allowed.

Requirements for tso staff

People who watch over children must meet some requirements:

• At least half of the staying over staff must have taken one or more of the following courses: a tso training, staying over course, pedagogical course, or a company emergency response or first aid course
• All staying over staff must submit a declaration of good conduct when they start work. This declaration must not be older than two months when the staff start.
• All staff must be insured by the school for legal liability.

Costs

If your child’s school uses a continuous schedule, then the break is part of the required school time. The school is responsible for the children all day and lunch is organized by the teaching staff. Parents can never be forced to pay for the lunch break. The school may ask for a voluntary contribution.