Winning schools
The winning schools are:
- CSN SO Rijksweg – Maastricht
- De Klaver Carnisse – Rotterdam
- IKC Carrousel – Zevenaar
- Jenaplanschool – Vlaardingen
- Kindcentrum de Startbaan – Soesterberg
- OBS Rubenshof – Oosterhout
- PCOB Schoter Duijn – Den Helder
- SO De Windroos – Oldenzaal
- St. Eustatius Seventh-day Adventis School – St. Eustatius
- Sterrenschool het Universum – Almere
The great interest in the financial support meant that a selection had to be made by drawing lots. All participating schools have now been informed of the results. Together with the group of ‘winners’, we will get to work to bring their wonderful ideas – from a mud kitchen to a shaded area or the construction of play hills – to life.
By awarding this funding, Jantje Beton and IVN Nature Education are giving the schools an extra boost to improve or create a green schoolyard. With thanks to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport for financing the schools’ plans and ideas.
‘Not gaming, but enjoying the outdoors’
The 160 submissions make it all the more clear that many schoolyards do not offer the challenge and space needed for children to enjoy playing in nature. This is despite the fact that school representatives are increasingly seeing children’s motor skills deteriorate. They also believe that increased screen use during free time outside school hours is reducing social interaction and the use of imagination. One of the winning schools expressed its vision briefly and powerfully as: ‘Not gaming, but enjoying the outdoors’.
Village schools also dream of a green, attractive schoolyard
The participating schools in the big cities indicate that a challenging, public schoolyard for all children – and specifically for children growing up in poverty – is extremely important. For a large group of children, there is little or no outdoor space at home, and they often lack the money for sports or other hobbies. The schoolyard is therefore the ideal place to play and exercise together.
The village schools that wanted to be considered for the funding are also in great need of an attractive schoolyard, because there are often no playgrounds or sports facilities at all. In many villages, poverty is unfortunately also frequently an obstacle to taking part in sports or hobbies, in addition to the distance to clubs. The schoolyard is therefore often the only place to play and exercise with other children.
Initiators Jantje Beton and IVN Nature Education
Jantje Beton and IVN Nature Education are working towards an approach to structurally support schools in the design and use of their schoolyards for play, exercise and learning. The large number of responses from schools demonstrates the need and urgency for this. They are working with municipalities, provinces and the national government to provide more schools with financial and practical support, enabling them to design their future schoolyards to be as green and playful as possible.