National Minimum standards and Protocol for Creches

The central government has issued National Minimum standards and Protocol for Creches. The protocol has following objectives:

1. To provide care facilities for children of parents/guardians who are engaged in any work.
2. To offer a secure and safe environment to the children.
3. To ensure “women-led development”.
4. To emerge as a new service sector which provide job opportunity to women.
5. To encourage women to pursue their career and seek further employment opportunities.
6. To promote female labour force participation in the economy.
7. To envisage new educational sectors in the form of training institutions with globally recognised certification courses.

Key points to be considered prior to opening of a Creche:

1. Facility of créche mav be provided from the age group of 6 months onwards.
2. The creche may also be set up in any office space, in a residential apartment/society, school, hospitals, cooperative office or anv other place as per requirements.
3. It is ideal to have creche near the homes of children or near the place of work of the parents/guardians so that parents/guardians can be contacted in case of emergencies.
4. The provision of care services at home mav also be provided on regular/dav/hour basis.
5. It’s preferable for créches to be set upon the ground floor for ease of access and convenience. However, if it’s on other floor all necessary safety measures must be adhered to.
6. The creche timings may be demand based and mutually decided by créche administration and parents/ guardian.
7. Number of rooms may be as per the requirement depending on the number of children. However, rooms should have sufficient space with facilities for resting and study for the children with ventilation and light arrangements.
8. The windows in the créche should be positioned at an appropriate height and should be properly fences to prioritize safety of the children.
9. Creche must have a child friendly toilet with running water facilities, a urinal. Toilets/wash basins must have soaps/hand wash liquid. The needs of specially-abled children should also be kept in mind.
10. Hygiene inside and outside of créches should be maintained properly.
11. The centre must have safe drinking water facility preferably with water purifier.
12. Food provided to the children can be mutually decided by creche administrator and the parents/guardian.
13. Play materials and toys (essential ECCE Study material and play materials, sports materials, blocks etc.) should be provided to the children. Audio-visual equipment may be provided where appropriate and feasible to stimulate age-appropriate learning and cognitive development.
14. The creche should have child friendly spaces that are designed and tailored specifically to cater to the needs, safety of the children.
15. Important and Emergency contact numbers (helplines like 112, 1098, fire-services, Child Protection Officer, Nearest Police Station etc.) should be displayed on essential information boards for easy access and reference. xvi) Regular inspection for food safety and hygiene are crucial to ensure the quality of the food.
16. It is mandatory that CCTV cameras are installed for ensuring security and supervision at the creche. parents/ Guardians may preferably be provided with access to CCTV cameras, wherever possible, enabling them to monitor the creche remotely from their workplace.
17. The local police stations, the women and Child Development/social welfare Department, and the Labour Department should invariablv have the information about the location and details of the créche for safety purposes and information to be maintained by these offices.
18. Services for creche facilities to be set up based on demand. User Charges mav be collected by service provider based on services offered.
19. If anv dispute arises between service provider and the parents/guardian, the créche administrative committee will settle the matter. If anv matter comes to the notice of government and if an intervention is required, it mav be taken up as appropriate.
20. Creches should strictly follow all the rules/acts related to child protection.

It has long been demanded to standardize the procedures for management of Créches by any individual/ service agencies/ corporations/ companies/ universities/ hospitals/ care service providers/ government organizations /non-governmental organizations etc. Accordingly, this document has been prepared by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in consultation with Ministry of Labor and Employment which prescribes the national minimum standards and protocol for setting up and running of créches in India, emphasizing the institutionalization of care services to support and promote female labor force participation.