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The National Education Programme (NPO) stipulates that schools map out the consequences of coronavirus for their students’ education. To involve parents in this process, Ouders & Onderwijs, together with other organisations, has developed a conversation guide.
Did you know that 42.7% of all young people do not get enough sleep? And when they do sleep, the quality of that sleep is often poor. This can come at the expense of healthy brain development and learning performance. Worrying, going to bed late because of homework, and media use are the main causes. That is why Healthy School is launching a new topic: Sleep.
In recent decades, many training programs have been developed to strengthen children’s social-emotional skills. These often consist of various components, such as exercises to understand others and education about behavior. However, not all components of social-emotional skills training appear to work equally well, and the dosage with which they are used is crucial to program effectiveness. This is the conclusion reached by Brechtje de Mooij in her dissertation, on which she was awarded her doctorate at the University of Amsterdam on Thursday, April 22.
With the reopening of out-of-school care (bso) on 19 April, the new version of the decision tree for children from 0 years old through group 8 can be put into use. The rules have not changed. However, a number of points have been clarified.
Teaching children health skills is essential for their development. Healthy children participate well at school, feel happy and have room for social connection. But what actually is health? And how can we teach children what they themselves can do to feel better and stay healthy? The Positive Health Child Tool helps teachers, healthcare providers and parents/carers talk to children about their health.
The tenth edition of Mud Day will take place on 29 June 2021. During Mud Day, children discover what mud is, how they can play with it and what connecting with the earth means to them.
At primary schools with a policy featuring five fixed fruit and vegetable days, children eat twice as much fruit and vegetables during the morning break as at schools where there are no rules. This is shown by research conducted by Wageningen University & Research at nine primary schools in the central Netherlands. The results have been published in the scientific journal Appetite.
Fresh air, exercise and a natural environment are good for children's physical and mental health. That is why Jantje Beton and IVN Nature Education are calling on all teachers to go outside during National Outdoor Learning Day on 13 April 2021. Will you join us?
What are the possible effects of energizers—short activities lasting 10 to 30 minutes, indoors or outdoors, that encourage physical activity—at primary school? Femke van Brussel of the Knowledge Centre for Sport & Physical Activity wrote a report on these movement breaks, providing an initial exploration of the scientific literature.
Since the introduction of the new Youth Act and the Appropriate Education Act, regions have been looking for ways to connect education and youth care. This connection does not happen automatically. Insight into the figures and the effects of policy is essential for achieving a good connection. The Education–Youth Support Connection Monitor (AOJ) gives regions insight into how their young people are doing and how cooperation between organisations is progressing. This enables them to see where improvements are possible.
JOGG and the Royal Dutch Walking Federation (KWBN) have joined forces to get more children moving. To this end, JOGG and KWBN are bringing together their initiatives The Daily Mile and the Avond4daagse – Home Edition.
Tilly de Jong of Glos Educatief and Francis Lanen of Slaapoefentherapie.nl developed a training workshop for primary and secondary school teachers about the link between sleep, behaviour and academic performance. The training covers the physiology of sleep, stress factors at school and at home, behaviour resulting from poor sleep and how this can affect academic performance. Finally, participants are given practical tools to get started.
Gamen in de Maatschappij is the name of a new teaching package that combines the basics of gaming and esports with learning about a healthy lifestyle. Now that gaming has become an integral part of society, it is time to teach children how to maintain a good balance between gaming and their other activities. The teaching package focuses on responsible and healthy gaming and developing 21st-century skills. Gamen in de Maatschappij is intended for primary education (years 6, 7, 8 and out-of-school care). It is also a fun solution for extended school days, sports and games days, theme days or weeks.
Approximately 1.5 million young people live in the Netherlands. Since the arrival of the coronavirus, these young people have been asked to make major sacrifices, even though they face a limited health risk. Working and studying from home, having little contact with others—what does that actually do to young people? In 2020, the Erasmus SYNC lab extensively studied the impact of the coronavirus crisis on young people. Young people were actively involved in this research to come up with solutions that would help them during the coronavirus crisis.
The Healthy School online conference will take place on 31 March. During the conference, Muriel Weltens, Healthy School advisor at GGD Haaglanden, and Miriam Zwinkels-Broch, owner of Beweeginspiratie, will lead a workshop on Active Learning. They will explain how they supported schools in Westland in integrating active learning into their lessons, and participants will also receive tips on how to organise an active lesson on basic skills practice.
How is the quality of childcare supervised? What does the GGD inspect and when? What is the role of the municipality? And, above all: at which points in the supervision and enforcement process can the parent committee play an important role? These questions will be addressed during the free online theme evenings on Supervision and Enforcement, organised by the Association of Parents in Childcare (BOinK) on 15 April and 26 May.
Research conducted by the Emma Children’s Hospital of Amsterdam UMC in October 2020 shows that many children are struggling with anxiety, stress and depression as a result of the coronavirus. We now know that approximately 50% of our happiness is determined at birth, 10% by our environment and as much as 40% by training our brains. In other words: happiness can be trained. This is how the idea for The Happy Game came about: a family board game that teaches children, their parents/carers and teachers how to train their brains in a positive and enjoyable way to be happy—or happier. The Happy Game was launched on 20 March, the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness.
On Wednesday, April 14, Stichting School & Veiligheid is organizing the national education conference Met Alle Respect! During this annual conference, various topics related to social safety in primary, secondary and vocational education will be discussed. These include workshops on bullying, sexually transgressive behavior and working with parents. This (online) edition focuses on uncomfortable situations that you encounter as a teacher in daily practice. The theme is therefore: At Ease with Discomfort.
Thanks to the Alert4you approach, childcare practitioners are better able to identify developmental problems in children at an early stage. This is shown by research conducted by the Kohnstamm Institute on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment and ZonMw.
Every week on Social Talk, well-known artists are interviewed about subjects that people do not readily talk about. Social Talk is made with young people and for young people. In the eleventh episode, Dani van Velthoven from The Voice was a guest. He talked about homosexuality. During this talk show, Dani gave tips to young people who are struggling with doubts about their sexuality.
The Healthy School NEXT online conference will take place on 31 March. The programme includes a plenary session with three central themes and a wide range of workshops. The host is Maarten Bouwhuis.
From 15 to 19 March, it is the Week of the Spring Fever, a national project week for special and primary education. Participating schools teach lessons for a week about resilience, relationships and sexuality. The project week helps to incorporate these themes structurally into the school plan.
By the end of 2020, almost all educational institutions had created a smoke-free premises. From primary education through secondary vocational education, between 95% and 98% had made their premises smoke-free. Higher education had 93% smoke-free premises or campuses. This is shown by research conducted by the Mulier Institute on behalf of the Trimbos Institute in autumn 2020.
Childcare is important for all children up to and including the age of 12. This is what the sector organisations in childcare, the PO Council, LKCA, NOC*NSF and Sociaal Werk Nederland write in a letter to the House of Representatives.
The name of the Healthy Canteen Guidelines has changed to Guideline for School Food Environments. The content remains unchanged.
Would you like to get started with a healthy lifestyle at your school and would you appreciate an extra boost? For example, focusing on the well-being of pupils and students, so that they feel good during the coronavirus pandemic? To encourage schools in primary education, special education, secondary education and secondary vocational education to work on a healthy lifestyle, three incentive schemes are opening: Healthy School Support Programme 2021–2022, Healthy Relationships & Sexuality Incentive Scheme and Water Taps Grant. Until 19 April, schools (or school locations) can express their interest in one or more schemes.
Every week, Social Talk features conversations with well-known artists about subjects people do not readily talk about. Social Talk is made with young people and for young people. Edson da Graça was the guest in the ninth episode. He talked about debt.
Since the first edition of the King's Games in 2013, Linda Thuijs and Geke Versprille have developed a free downloadable King's Games Package for primary schools every year. Last year, the package was converted into a ‘stay-at-home version’ within a few days. It is still uncertain what the King's Games will look like this year on 23 April. What is certain, however, is that there will always be a King's Games Package.
The UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education invites people working in education and the health sector to participate in international research on the safe reopening of schools. The aim is to collect experiences and opinions from people working in education and the health sector worldwide about how schools in their country were safely reopened and/or kept open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 26 March to 2 April 2021, the Media Ukkie Days will take place. During this themed week, an initiative of Netwerk Mediawijsheid, attention is drawn to media literacy in the upbringing of children aged 0 to 6. During this campaign, parents and caregivers of young children receive tips on how to get started with media use within the family. Childcare organisations can also focus on media education during this week.