“These children are part of a risk group, partly because they have not learned from an early age to exercise and live healthily. For example, they may not learn this at home, a low income may make a healthy diet difficult, or there may be too little space for physical activity in the home or neighbourhood. The aim of KEIGAAF is to create an environment in and around the school where pupils are encouraged to exercise, eat more healthily and take part in various activities,” Vos explains.
These activities are devised for each school by a special working group comprising teachers, community sports coaches, social workers, staff members and parents. Vos: “The idea is that you have to start at the grassroots level—in the neighbourhood, with parents, children, teachers and community workers—and challenge them to come up with ideas themselves. At various locations, we therefore formed working groups that devised creative solutions centred around healthy food and exercise.”
Examples include encouraging active transport to school, offering after-school sports activities or a healthy lunch, and creating a school playground that encourages physical activity. In one of the neighbourhoods, it became clear that the school playground was far too small. “There was no space to play, there were frequent conflicts, and so we started looking at the situation together with the school and the municipality. On a small lawn nearby there was an old-fashioned, run-down playground. Together with the children, we made preliminary designs for a new playground, and the municipality made funding available for it. The school subsequently adjusted its break schedules. The project shows how behavioural change can be brought about by embedding it in the world experienced by young children. They are the owners of the space, which creates a sense of pride.”