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Children and young people are experiencing increasing pressure from homework and school

Children and young people are experiencing increasing pressure from homework and school

Children and young people are experiencing increasing pressure from homework and school. According to Anita Kraak of the Netherlands Youth Institute, this performance pressure is a symptom of today’s society. “The balance has been lost. We need to let go of the idea that everything can be controlled and accept that the future is also uncertain.” Performance pressure was also the topic of the ninth episode of the NJi podcast De Jeugdkantine.

Petition for healthy and green schoolyards presented to the House of Representatives

Petition for healthy and green schoolyards presented to the House of Representatives

All children in the Netherlands should be able to play and learn in a green and healthy schoolyard. To achieve this, IVN Nature Education director Jan Dijstelbloem presented the petition ‘All schoolyards healthy and green by 2030’ to the Education, Culture and Science (OCW) committee in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, 16 January. With the petition, which has been signed 15,677 times and is also supported by more than twenty civil society organisations, IVN is calling on the national government to take charge of the nationwide approach to schoolyards. TV nature presenter Tim Hogenbosch (KRO-NCRV) and three pupils from the Zuidwalschool in The Hague were also present at the presentation.

Free vegetable garden seeds for lower primary school

Free vegetable garden seeds for lower primary school

This school year, you can once again request free vegetable garden seeds, because discovering and experiencing a vegetable garden for yourself is effective, fun and educational! Are you a teacher of Year 1, 2, 3 or 4? From Thursday, 11 January 2024, you can request a free vegetable garden package containing ten types of seeds. Order now and get started with the Vegetable Garden Taste Mission! The packages will be delivered to the school at the beginning of March.

Toolkit for School Playgrounds: Tips to Encourage Children to Move More

Toolkit for School Playgrounds: Tips to Encourage Children to Move More

Sufficient, varied and intensive physical activity has a positive effect on children's physical and mental development. But how do you ensure that your school playground meets this need? With the Toolkit for School Playgrounds from the Knowledge Centre for Sport & Physical Activity, you gain insight into the extent to which your school's playground challenges children to be physically active and receive concrete tips to help children move sufficiently, in varied ways and intensively. The toolkit is intended for professionals in primary education.

‘In the Heart of Winter’ should get children outside even in the rain and cold

‘In the Heart of Winter’ should get children outside even in the rain and cold

Playing outside in winter should become second nature. While children have been playing outside less and less over the past few decades, the lack of fresh air and exercise is especially severe during the winter months. To turn the tide, IVN Nature Education and childcare organisation Humankind are organising the ‘In the Heart of Winter’ campaign for the third time this year. From Monday 8 January, more than 3,100 childcare locations and around 100,000 children across the country will take part.

Charge Your Brainzzz recognized as a Healthy School activity

Charge Your Brainzzz recognized as a Healthy School activity

Charge Your Brainzzz has recently been recognized as the first Healthy School activity for the theme of Sleep. New Healthy School activities are recognized regularly. You can use Healthy School activities to work on a healthy lifestyle at school. All Healthy School activities are of good quality and easy to implement in practice. They have been assessed on these criteria by an independent committee. There are Healthy School activities for primary education, specialized education, secondary education, and vocational education. In addition to Charge Your Brainzzz, The Lab of Life, Food Challenge, and Move a-Head 1 + 1 = 3 were also recognized as Healthy School activities.

‘Resilient Online’ theme of the 2024 Week of Spring Fever

‘Resilient Online’ theme of the 2024 Week of Spring Fever

The theme of the 2024 Week of Spring Fever is ‘Resilient Online.’ This is about making children resilient online. In the upper grades, it also covers the influence of social media and how to protect children from unintentionally encountering pornographic nude images. Normally, the national project week takes place in the third week of March, at the start of spring. Due to Ramadan, the national Week of Spring Fever will take place from 4 to 8 March in 2024. The Week of Spring Fever is organised by Rutgers in collaboration with the regional GGD public health services.

Margarethaschool (Arnhem) and CBS De Waterhof (Delft) nominated for the Most Sporty Primary School in the Netherlands 2024

Margarethaschool (Arnhem) and CBS De Waterhof (Delft) nominated for the Most Sporty Primary School in the Netherlands 2024

Margarethaschool (Arnhem) and CBS De Waterhof (Delft) have been nominated for the Most Sporty Primary School in the Netherlands 2024. The winner will be announced on 9 April 2024. This is the twelfth time that KVLO (Royal Dutch Association for Physical Education) and the Knowledge Centre for Sport & Physical Activity have organised this competition, this time in close cooperation with CALO Windesheim.

4vuurwerkveilig school campaign launched

4vuurwerkveilig school campaign launched

The end of the year is approaching once again. This also means setting off fireworks, which is part of our New Year's Eve tradition. During the New Year's celebrations, fireworks cause many serious injuries in a short period of time. To raise children's awareness of the dangers of fireworks and encourage safe behavior, VeiligheidNL has offered the free 4vuurwerkveilig educational package since 2015. The educational package for years 7–8 of primary school has been updated this year and is now available to request free of charge.

Make school lunches healthy and educational

Make school lunches healthy and educational

Now that a significant number of schools in the Netherlands have the opportunity, through the government (schoolmaaltijden.nl), to organize a breakfast or lunch for their pupils, there is a clear opportunity to make real progress in the area of a healthy lifestyle as well. The school lunch can be offered to children in a healthy way while also providing an educational exchange. Onderwijsgezond is a foundation that provides healthy school lunches at schools by cooking them together with upper-grade pupils.

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