Blog Study trip on a healthy lifestyle at school in Iceland

Day 4 Wednesday 25 September

Today we went on our second school visit. For me, that was Flataskóli in one of the suburbs of Reykjavik. A school where the Icelandic prevention model is so deeply embedded in the school's DNA that they consider it completely normal. It is also one of the few schools where children are welcome from the age of 4. Normally, at the age of 4 or 5, you go to Legeskóli (play school), where you learn the basics through play, but, for example, are not yet allowed to start reading. At this school, that is possible.

Once again, there was a great deal of attention for the children's social and emotional development. Children who feel good perform better. The same applies to teachers. Yoga classes are offered, there is a buddy system in which older children help younger children, and a counsellor is present at school every day. Children can turn to her if something is wrong and if they want to talk. There is an extremely positive approach.

This year, exercise is once again a key priority. With one swimming lesson and two gym classes per week, two breaks per day, and outdoor games during breaks on three days, the school considers it important for children to exercise for at least 60 minutes a day. Outdoor lessons are therefore encouraged. A sports complex next to the school, with a sports hall, swimming pool, football pitches, beach volleyball court, playground and small basketball courts, can be used daily for activities.

Our mouths kept falling open in amazement at the enormous amount of space in the school. At the handicrafts, art and technology classrooms and a real kitchen, each with a dedicated specialist teacher who taught only that subject. At the library with a real librarian. At the calm that prevailed, the responsibility given to the children and the wonderful massage chairs for the teachers.

After this fantastic school visit, we attended a hilarious cultural course this evening called 'How to Become Icelandic' at the special Harpa Concert and Conference Centre. You have been warned if you run into one of the participants soon. They will have a new surname ending in son or dóttir, be crude in speech, think they know everything better, speak monotonously, point you in every direction except the right one, and look as though it is always raining directly in their face—in short, very Icelandic.

Day 3 Tuesday 24 September

Full of yesterday's knowledge, today was the first day of the school visits. A day the participants always look forward to. There was a choice of five different schools with pupils aged 6–12, 6–16 and 15–19. I joined a school for children aged 6–12.

We started the morning in the swimming pool, where two classes were having swimming lessons. And although it was drizzling and the temperature did not rise above 13 degrees, they happily swam outdoors. The locals watched from the hot tubs, while we watched from the side as the school's PE teacher taught the pupils the basics of lifesaving swimming. The pupils swim once a week and have a gym class twice a week. It was also very interesting to attend the gym class for severely autistic children. They received one-to-one instruction. They attend the same school in a separate class and sometimes join the other children. Respect for the support staff, by the way. What patience and what a positive approach to these children.

That positive approach is one of the school's key priorities, alongside exercise, healthy food, helping one another and feeling good. After a healthy hot lunch, we walked to an outdoor centre nearby. Here, the pupils had lessons outdoors, although this depended greatly on the weather and the teacher. In any case, there was more than enough challenge for enjoyable lessons in nature.

After the visit, we exchanged all our experiences with the entire group. It was interesting to hear about the differences between the schools. Of course, on a trip like this, you have to consider what you want to take back to your own situation in the Netherlands: the so-called 'takeaways'. We soon had quite a few, which will be developed further later.

After a break, during which some of us took a dip in the warm water of a nearby swimming pool, we met a Dutch woman in Iceland. The former team leader of the Rotterdam Lekker Fit! programme was happy to come and tell us about her emigration to Iceland and her job in education. It was great to get a glimpse of life in Iceland this way. After a delicious dinner, we headed back to the hotel. On to tomorrow's next school visits.

Day 2 Monday 23 September

Today we were guests at the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland for a series of interesting lectures. With a view of what we had come for: Icelandic young people playing sports after school as part of the Icelandic prevention model.

After an introduction to health-promoting communities, there was a lecture on Healthy Schools in Iceland. By 2030, the aim is for all schools in Iceland to be Healthy Schools, but on a voluntary basis. What helps is that 'Health and wellbeing' is included in the curriculum.

To ensure that young people grow up healthy, a Healthy School alone is not enough. The following is a good example of how a child's entire environment is interconnected:

If you want children to travel more actively by bicycle, the child must first want to cycle. Then the parents must be willing to buy a bicycle and, in Iceland, a helmet. The school must provide secure bicycle storage so that the bicycle cannot be stolen. To cycle safely to school, the municipality must build cycle paths, and the (local) authorities must make funding available for this.

This is what they do in Iceland, in a nutshell. By measuring the state of young people annually, they can immediately see where intervention is needed. Because everyone works together, they can also act very quickly and effectively. But everything is based on measurements and the data that results from them.

We saw many excellent initiatives, but I would like to mention one in particular: Reykjavik's leisure card. All children and young people receive a card that allows them to choose activities after school. They can choose from sports, culture or music. Younger children are taken directly from school by bus to, for example, the sports club. Parents can pick them up there at the end of the day.

We also received a great deal of information that day about alcohol, tobacco and drug policy; more on that in a future blog.

Day 1 Sunday 22 September

Schiphol, 11:00 this morning. Forty-three people report to Departure Hall 1. It is clear that everyone is looking forward to it. And as we take to the skies, neatly on time but rather turbulently, the first information sheets about the study trip appear. One last look at the Icelandic education system. People are already busy getting to know one another and sharing information. We are looking forward to Iceland. Three hours later, we land in a cold, wet and windy Reykjavik. Quite different from the warm Netherlands. Thick jackets and raincoats emerge from the suitcases and we take the bus to the hotel. There, we get to know one another further.

Goof Buijs once again explains why this study trip is specifically going to Iceland. Iceland scores highly for the quality of its education, ranks high on lists relating to wellbeing and health, and uses a so-called community-based approach. Everyone is involved. That is possible because most of Iceland's 350,000 inhabitants live in Reykjavik. The approach to substance use among young people has been organised in this way and has proven highly successful. So successful that the Trimbos Institute is piloting this approach in six municipalities in the Netherlands. But more about that in the coming days.

After this, we walked to the restaurant for dinner. The weather cleared up and we caught a brief glimpse of the mountains.

Day 5 Thursday 26 September

As I type this, I am still completely impressed by today. What a day! This morning we started just outside Reykjavik in a beautiful park, where we were told about healthy communities. And while Icelandic senior citizens walked through the park, we received a presentation about the Welcom project. This is a project in which Icelandic children welcome newly arrived migrant children to Iceland. As a result, the children learn the language quickly and feel seen. After a brief review of the content we had covered this week, it was time for a short walk through the park. The magnificent view from a hill in the park was only the beginning of what was still to come.

After so much content, it was time to explore more of Iceland. The Golden Circle was on the programme: a beautiful tour through the stunning natural landscape. From Thingvellir, where two tectonic plates are pulling the land apart and Iceland's democracy originated, we continued to the geysers. Finally, it was time for Gullfoss waterfall. Thanks to the beautiful weather, Hekla was visible, and we saw magnificent mountains with glaciers in the distance. All very impressive.

During dinner in an old fishing village, there was once again plenty of discussion about how we could use the knowledge we had gained in the Netherlands. Arrangements were made to continue talking things over together back home. And that is, after all, what it is all about.