It was pouring with rain, the traffic jams were endless, but at IKC De Twijn we were welcomed with coffee, tea and a delicious ‘Alblasserdammertje’. The moment you enter De Twijn, it is immediately clear that this is not an ordinary school building. Some children are clambering in the ropes and nets above our heads, the running track starts at the school entrance, and next to the stairs/bleachers, a climbing wall also leads to the upper floor. Spread throughout the building are the so-called ‘Monkeyboxes’, containing all kinds of climbing and scrambling equipment. There is a subscription with Nijha, meaning that the equipment in the boxes is changed every year. This ensures that it never becomes boring. There are basketball hoops, small climbing walls, obstacle courses, relaxation areas, and children cheerfully clamber past the window of director Martijn Beekhof.

How did it come about?

After the primary schools De Boeg and De Loopplank were merged into Integraal Kind Centrum De Twijn, the municipal council of Alblasserdam decided in 2018 to construct a new building on the site of the old school. The IKC accommodates 16 education groups, 2 group rooms for daycare and 3 group rooms for after-school care. All of this is for children aged 0–13. The team wanted the children to be able to move more in the new building. Learning through movement was already a priority in the organisation in which everyone worked.

The first question the team had to ask itself was: Do you mind if children run in the corridor? When the answer turned out to be ‘no’, architect Ronald de Rooij of Infit was asked to think along and design a movement-focused school.

That was easier said than done, given all the rules that had to be complied with and the limited budget. By focusing on solutions, countless obstacles were overcome. For example, the movement areas were included in the construction specifications, so no additional budget had to be found to purchase the movement equipment. It also proved useful to call the movement equipment activities or movement prompts. This allowed them to circumvent all kinds of restrictive rules. Ideas often had to be adjusted. For example, in the library they created a wall with seats for reading. These seats could be reached via a rope or rope ladder hanging beside the wall. Too close to the wall, concluded an inspector. They had to be removed. A small climbing wall is now being made, so that the children can clamber up that way.

The movement prompts encourage different types of movement. One child may use a rope to climb, while another uses it to swing. Children are free to decide what they want to do. More gains could still be made by, for example, incorporating routes with varying levels of difficulty into the climbing walls. That has not yet been done.

A school day

The key principles of De Twijn’s pedagogical policy:

  • Every child is central! Children can develop at their own pace and in their own way.
  • Growing together.
  • Providing emotional security.
  • Encouraging personal competencies.
  • Self-confidence.
  • Independence.
  • Motor, creative, cognitive and language development.
  • Encouraging social competencies and forming relationships with other children.
  • Offering rules, standards and values.
  • Learning through play.
  • Outdoor play and movement (learning through movement), bad weather does not exist, only the wrong coat!

The children arrive in the morning and may run a lap, climb upstairs or start a movement-based learning lesson that has been prepared by a teacher. Some children would rather sit quietly in the classroom and chat.

Some teachers were afraid that it would become chaotic, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is quite orderly. Naturally, there are rules. For example, children who want to run must first walk a lap to check that no toddlers are playing on the track, and no more than five children may be in the climbing circuit in the nets at the same time.

During lessons, pupils may decide for themselves when they want to run or climb for a while. In this way, they learn to make decisions independently. If they feel like running or simply want to clear their heads, they can do so. Afterwards, they simply return to their work. They are away for no more than 10 minutes. If the play gets out of hand, the teacher discusses it with the pupil. The teachers regularly walk around and also address one another’s pupils. As a result, there is almost always supervision. Going in and out of the classroom quickly becomes a habit, and pupils who find the commotion difficult can put on headphones. Nevertheless, the teachers notice that fewer and fewer children are using headphones. They get used to it. The classrooms are fairly soundproof, so the noise from playing in the corridor does not enter the classroom. Of course, playing cannot be completely silent. All the children wear indoor shoes, so they do not slip and can easily climb the climbing wall and ropes.

Children who do not dare to do something are helped, so that gradually they learn to do it.

The teachers notice that the pupils are mainly calmer and experience less stress, for example before tests. They also like to continue playing after school.

Would you like to take a look around yourself? Watch the videos below