Together we grow stronger. On this news page we share the latest updates, inspiring ideas and innovative solutions to make your journey even better. From new courses to real-life examples: discover everything you need here.
Do you have a great story or a golden tip yourself? Let us know!
From 4 to 10 October, the Netherlands Youth Institute is organising Parenting Week. This year’s theme for the Week is: Tell me... The Week focuses on meeting and exchanging knowledge — with, for and by parents, co-educators and professionals.
The holidays mean no school and more time together. During this period, some parents worry about their children’s screen time. Whether you are going on holiday or staying at home, it can sometimes be challenging. That is why the Netherlands Youth Institute offers some tips.
Outdoor play is fun and healthy. However, various studies continue to show that children do not play outdoors enough. How can we work together to change this? To find out, the Knowledge Centre for Sport & Exercise will conduct research among professionals.
What is the effect of making schools greener and increasing biodiversity on children’s health, well-being and cognitive performance? This is what the Dutch Maastricht University and the Belgian Hasselt University (Centre for Environmental Sciences and BIOMED) will jointly investigate in a pilot project over the coming period.
On Wednesday, September 15, 2021, Plastic Soup Foundation is organizing the World Cleanup Day schools edition. During this largest global cleanup campaign, more than 20 million people in 180 countries clean up the planet. Teachers and students are called upon not only to clean up but also to record everything they find.
On 1 January 2022, the implementation programme for the Icelandic prevention model will begin. This implementation programme is offered by the Trimbos Institute and the Netherlands Youth Institute. Registration is now open. New municipalities can register for the programme until Monday 4 October at 17:00 at the latest.
The way in which the National Education Programme funds for children not attending school are used must change. That is the view of Ouders & Onderwijs and the parent association Balans. The current plan is aimed at getting children not attending school back into education. It does not focus on practical support, such as enabling them to follow distance learning, as parents have indicated. Ouders & Onderwijs advocates the right to learn instead of compulsory school attendance.
A healthy lifestyle at school is important for children. But this must also take place in healthy school buildings. That is why the PO-Raad, VO-raad, Association of Netherlands Municipalities, Bouwend Nederland and Techniek Nederland are calling on a new cabinet to invest in school buildings. Good education requires good school buildings, write Anko van Hoepen (PO-Raad), Hein van Asseldonk (VO-raad), Leonard Geluk (VNG), Maxime Verhagen (Bouwend Nederland) and Doekle Terpstra (Techniek NL) in an article in Trouw.
The Dutch Healthcare Authority has issued a temporary reimbursement title for addressing lifestyle problems in children who are overweight. The application was submitted by health insurers CZ and VGZ together with MUMC+. The innovation policy rule makes a tailored lifestyle intervention possible for children with an increased health risk due to being overweight.
Young people with disabilities feel unheard and unseen during the coronavirus period. They are also too often told what is not possible or cannot be done. This is shown by research conducted by Youngworks on behalf of the Association of Healthcare Providers for People with Disabilities in the Netherlands (VGN). The researchers spoke with 30 young people with a chronic condition or disability and with five experts in various youth-related fields, such as special education, work and housing.
Health problems (later in life) may be an effect of chronic stress in childhood. This is evident from a literature review on Early Life Stress (chronic stress during development) conducted by the Netherlands Centre for Youth Health (NCJ) and Maastricht University. The findings of the literature review show us that health problems (later in life) may be an effect of chronic stress in childhood. The study contains a great deal of information that is also relevant to education professionals.
Children from poor families are already disadvantaged at an early age, reports De Volkskrant, based on research by Bastian Ravesteijn and Coen van de Kraats of the Erasmus School of Economics, drawing on data from 153,000 children.
This year, Motor Skills Week will take place from Monday 1 to 5 November 2021, with the theme ‘More and better physical activity for young people’. Preparations are in full swing, and it promises to be an inspiring week for everyone committed to helping young people aged 0 to 24 develop skills in sports and physical activity.
Would you like to use the National Education Programme to work on the wellbeing of pupils or students? Are you wondering how to give this practical shape using the NPO menu? Healthy School is happy to help you during the webinar Working on Wellbeing and the NPO – a Good Start! The webinar will take place on 7 September, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
During the summer holidays, childcare organizations make extra outings with the children. That is why it is important to take another critical look at the safe transportation of children. The Childcare Branch Organizations (BK), the Association of Social Childcare Organizations (BMK) and the Association of Parents in Childcare (BOinK) are pleased to share a number of practical tips.
Every child has their own interests and talents. One enjoys sports, another enjoys making music, and yet another enjoys cooking. Due to COVID-19 and the measures implemented, the development of these talents and the children’s wellbeing have come under pressure. Special Heroes Netherlands has an integrated programme for schools to improve students’ wellbeing and help their talents flourish.
As a Specialist in Sportive & Healthy Schools, how do you incorporate the topic of healthy eating into your school's curriculum? Children who know more about their food (its origin, production methods, composition or preparation) are more likely to have a healthy diet, according to the Alliance for Food Education. Read this article for tips and guidance on lessons about healthy eating in primary school.
On 27 September, the ninth edition of Youth Day will take place, an initiative of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the Association of Netherlands Municipalities. The content programme is developed by the Netherlands Youth Institute. This year's theme is: Mental Well-being: Give Each Other Time and Space! School is one of the four sub-themes. This year too, the event will take place digitally.
This autumn, Pharos and the Trimbos Institute are launching Learning Circles on Well-being for municipalities and education. During the learning circles, the organisations will work with participants on issues relating to Working on Well-being at School.
Schools are increasingly adopting nutrition policies aimed at healthy eating. This is not mandatory, but it is encouraged by the government. But what do schools’ policies entail, and what is the role of the participation council and parents? Ouders & Onderwijs has put it all together.
The label selective mutism—a disorder in which a child ‘cannot’ speak in some situations, while being perfectly able to do so in others—is being applied quickly these days. Be careful, writes former scientific researcher Yolande Emmelot of the Kohnstamm Institute in an article in Didactief. In multilingual children, there is fundamentally no question of a disorder.
With the guide ‘Preventive work on social-emotional development and well-being’, which was developed in co-creation with teachers from primary and secondary education, the Trimbos Institute offers teachers inspiration and practical tools to contribute preventively, within the classroom, together with their team and throughout the school, to the social-emotional development and well-being of their students, as well as to their own well-being.
The summer holidays for primary school children will start soon. Groen doet goed and IVN challenge children to go on an adventure in nature during these holidays. Playing in nature is fun and healthy. Children who play outside in a natural environment can expend their energy, have fun and unwind.
Young people – more often than adults – think that advertising for alcohol-free products will make young people more likely to choose these drinks as an alternative to drinks containing alcohol. But they also think that experience with alcohol-free drinks may lower the threshold for trying the same drinks containing alcohol, because they are already accustomed to the taste of these alcohol-free products.
The six Dutch municipalities that took part in the pilot phase of the Icelandic model are enthusiastic about the approach and will continue with the Icelandic prevention model. They recommend that other municipalities also adopt this way of working. This is evident from the final evaluation of the Icelandic prevention model.
Municipalities and schools are looking for interventions that support children and young people in recovery and finding perspective after the coronavirus period. Social and emotional well-being is an important concern, so there appears to be demand for social skills training. But how can a school or municipality know whether a training programme is effective? We are learning more and more about what works, so make use of that knowledge, says Inge Bastiaanssen of the Netherlands Youth Institute.
The Knowledge Centre for Sport & Physical Activity regularly received questions from professionals about why encouraging physical activity among children is necessary and what exactly physical activity contributes to. The Knowledge Centre therefore developed ‘Benefits and Necessity’, a toolbox containing various practical tools for professionals working in practice.
Around 5,000 daycare centers, out-of-school care centers, primary schools and public locations in the Netherlands celebrated Mud Day on Tuesday, June 29. A record 160,000 children were allowed to play in the mud to their heart’s content and have lots of fun getting dirty! Something that is sorely needed at a time when the number of children who play outside every day is plummeting, while screen use continues to increase.
How can childcare providers find the right balance for young children between protecting them from danger on the one hand and giving them the space to learn to deal with risks on the other? VeiligheidNL is committed to the latter—‘empowering children’—including through risky play. To help childcare practitioners and policy officers get started with risky play, VeiligheidNL developed the Risicoach toolkit.
Especially for all schools and stakeholders interested in the theme of healthy relationships and sexuality, Gezonde School has created an online inspiration magazine full of good examples from practice. The second edition has now been published.