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The impact of a threat on a school can be significant. As a school, prepare for this: how likely is it that this could also happen at your school? Do you have sufficient insight into what is going on among the students? Stichting School & Veiligheid helps schools gain insight into this. In an article, they provide several tips and practical guidance. Tips for when things go wrong, but also tips for prevention.
Zeeland primary schools can still submit an application for the Voucher Scheme for the Green Revolution Zeeland Schoolyards up to and including Sunday 24 March. This voucher is made possible by IVN Nature Education and the province of Zeeland.
The twelfth edition of the King's Games will take place on 26 April. During the King's Games, the focus is on enjoying being active and having a healthy breakfast together. In collaboration with the King's Games, there are once again fun breakfast lessons to accompany the King's Games! This year's theme of the King's Games is DISCOVER! What could be more fun than discovering for yourself what a healthy breakfast is? There is a lesson available for every class. You can teach the breakfast lessons before, during or after the King's Games.
In 2023, fewer schools in special primary education (SBO) offered school swimming than in 2019. This percentage fell from 38 to 29 percent. It also declined in special education (SO), but less sharply. This is shown by research conducted by Eef Hollander and Marthe Westerbroek of the Mulier Institute among Dutch schools in special and special primary education.
The Netherlands Nutrition Centre would like to learn more about how nutrition policies, eating breaks, treats and, where applicable, school meals are organised at your school. Are you a principal, coordinator or member of the participation council at a primary school, and would you like to talk (online) with staff from the Netherlands Nutrition Centre? How can the Netherlands Nutrition Centre help you encourage healthy eating habits?
From 4 through 8 March, the nineteenth edition of Spring Fever Week took place. Rutgers looks back on a turbulent but successful nineteenth edition of Spring Fever Week. According to children, it is one of the most enjoyable school weeks of the year. Parents are also pleased with relationship and sexuality education: no less than 88% of parents believe it should be compulsory at school. This is shown by the 2023 Sexual Health Monitor.
In 2023, IVN and Jantje Beton had already delighted 10 schools by awarding them €5,000 to make their schoolyards greener and more playful. The high level of interest in the additional support – 160 schools applied for a chance to receive it – meant that a selection had to be made by drawing lots. Thanks to new, additional support from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport at the beginning of 2024, IVN and Jantje Beton can now award another 50 schools €5,000.
Margarethaschool from Arnhem and CBS De Waterhof from Delft were nominated on 13 December 2023 for the title of Most Sporting Primary School in the Netherlands. On Tuesday, 9 April 2024, the award ceremony for the ‘Most Sporting Primary School in the Netherlands’ will take place at CALO Windesheim in Zwolle. The opening of the final day will consist of a real battle between the two schools.
Schools are legally required to pay attention to sex education, including sexual and gender diversity. In doing so, schools support children’s healthy and safe sexual development. But how can you, as an education professional, make sex education a topic of discussion? The Netherlands Youth Institute lists a number of points. The first part focuses on primary school.
Regular physical activity should naturally be part of every child’s day. That is why the Physical Activity in and around the School research group at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences compiled a Choice Guide for physical activity breaks.
Good preparation is half the battle. That’s why VVN is calling on children in groups 7 and 8 (as well as parents and teachers) to start practising for the National VVN Traffic Exam. The VVN theoretical Traffic Exam will take place on 25, 26 and 28 March. After that, many children will get on their bikes for the VVN practical Traffic Exam. With these 5 tips, children will go into the exam with confidence.
On Tuesday 9 April, IVN Nature Education is organising National Outdoor Classroom Day. On this day, schools swap their classrooms for the fresh air outdoors. Sign up and discover with your class where our food comes from during the Great Potato Lesson! Or get started with one of the 70 other outdoor lessons. If you register your class before 19 March, you will have a chance this year to win 1 of 12 Potato Packages or even a fully catered outdoor lesson with forest ranger Tim from KRO-NCRV.
This week, 120 chefs across the country are teaching a cooking lesson in Year 6, 7 or 8. In total, more than 3,000 upper-primary pupils from primary schools, special education (SO) and secondary special education (VSO) schools are taking part. One of the participating schools was SO De Keerkring in Zoetermeer. At De Keerkring, chefs Robin Collard and Joske Meijer from Ethica Restaurant gave a cooking lesson.
Children who have access to more green spaces in the vicinity of their home and school experience fewer anxiety symptoms. This is shown by a long-term study in the Spanish province of Barcelona, published in the scientific journal Journal of Environmental Psychology.
On Friday, April 26, the Koningsspelen will take place, a sporty day for many primary school pupils. This year's theme is ‘Discover’. Many teachers have little time to put together an extensive programme for it. More and more schools are therefore choosing to work with local sports clubs. Sometimes only for the upper grades, meaning that a programme still has to be put together for the lower grades. Parents or other volunteers are increasingly taking over this organisation. For this group and anyone who needs inspiration when organising the Koningsspelen, there is the free KoningsspelenPakket from former physical education teacher Geke Versprille.
From 4 to 8 March, Rutgers, in collaboration with the regional public health services, is organising Spring Fever Week 2024. This year's theme is ‘Resilient Online’. A wide range of materials is now available for schools.
On Thursday, 6 June, a partner meeting on Taste Lessons and EU School Fruit will take place in Building 104 of Wageningen University & Research from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.
The three brothers Martijn, Jochem and Friso Nelis test sandwiches all over the country and report on them via their TikTok and Instagram account, Broodjestester. The three are now looking for the tastiest sandwich from the Healthy School Canteen.
The Municipality of Utrecht and SportUtrecht are launching an exercise program at schools to encourage children to be more physically active. The program offers various games and sports activities during the school day. Although the program is aimed at all children, special attention is being paid to schools with children who do not get enough physical activity. The municipality is starting with seven primary schools where additional support is needed to help children move more and more effectively.
Coming home tired, with headaches and overstimulated after a day of teaching in an 'echo chamber'. For years, physical education teachers have complained about poor acoustics in gym halls. Research by Fontys University of Applied Sciences now shows that the sound in many gym halls is indeed too loud during physical education classes. It even exceeds the legally safe noise limit of 80 dB.
Would you like to start a school garden, but are you not quite sure how? Then the School Gardens Alliance has good news. You can win practical or financial support by taking part in the Golden Carrot Seed competition! The competition will take place during School Garden Week (8–12 April).
From 4 March through 15 April 2024, schools in primary, specialised and secondary education, as well as secondary vocational education institutions, can apply for various incentive schemes from Healthy School.
Young people rate their sex lives an average of seven out of ten and are positive about their sexual experiences. Eight in ten young people greatly enjoy sex, and nine in ten young people feel comfortable during sex with their most recent sexual partner. An increasing number of young people also have a positive attitude toward the visibility of homosexuality. This is shown by the study Sex under 25 conducted by Rutgers and Soa Aids Nederland.
The Week of Motor Skills took place from 6 to 9 November 2023. From 7 to 9 November, there were several webinars of interest to education professionals. They can all now be watched again. Part 3 features the webinar from 9 November. The theme that day was ‘equal opportunities’.
Drinking alcohol and smoking are associated with a number of mental health problems among young people. This was discovered by the Trimbos Institute. It examined figures from the latest HBSC report on young people aged 12 to 16. The findings are also important for education professionals.
Twelve percent of young people have hearing loss. From primary school onwards, children often listen to music for long periods, play games with headphones on, and watch films, series and TikToks with the volume turned all the way up. How harmful is that, really? Gezonde School spoke with Lisanne de Regt, a health psychologist specialising in hearing damage prevention at VeiligheidNL.
From 8 to 12 April, the third edition of School Garden Week will take place. An initiative of the School Garden Alliance and Jong Leren Eten. This year’s motto is: ‘Hieper de Pieper, dig a little deeper!’. On Tuesday 9 April, there will be a special edition of National Outdoor Learning Day, with the potato taking centre stage.
In the 2022–’23 school year, more than 2,000 reports were received by the Confidentiality Inspectors of the Dutch Inspectorate of Education concerning harmful behavior by students and staff. That is more than in the previous school year. A report gives the Confidentiality Inspectorate the opportunity to support the school and help create a safer climate. What can help your school make things safer? Stichting School & Veiligheid has listed it all.
Exercise Week took place from 6 to 9 November 2023. From 7 to 9 November, there were several webinars of interest to education professionals. They can all now be watched again. Part 2 features the two webinars from 8 November. The theme that day was ‘living environment’.
School gardening is becoming increasingly popular—not only in the Netherlands, but all over the world. There is now even a World Cup for school gardening! And you can take part! Does your school have a vegetable garden with children aged 3–18? Then you can register for free until the end of January.