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Half of Dutch children exercise far too little. This is evident from the figures in the second Physical Activity Report Card. The Dutch 2018 Physical Activity Report Card for children and young people was recently presented during the Beweeg het Door knowledge event at the Amsterdome.
On Monday, 20 May, State Secretary Paul Blokhuis of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport presented the first certificate for ‘Specialist in Active and Healthy Schools’. “It is important that primary schools have a specialist who helps children live healthily and makes the environment in which they grow up healthy,” says Rinda den Besten, chair of the PO Council.
The community sports coach has become an indispensable part of the municipality’s range of sports and physical activity offerings. Almost everyone is positive about the efforts and results of the community sports coach, even though it is sometimes difficult to demonstrate these results concretely.
Adding sugar to tomato soup to counteract the sour taste is no longer allowed in Ghent’s municipal nurseries and schools, following pressure from parents. This was reported by the Belgian newspaper De Standaard.
How young people deal with sexuality and the choices they make is strongly influenced by the social environment in which they live and the norms that apply to girls and boys. The emphasis placed by society on individual responsibility means that the influence of social norms and power differences becomes invisible. As a result, problems such as an unplanned pregnancy or sexual violence often lead to self-blame and feelings of guilt. This is shown by the doctoral research of Marianne Cense, affiliated with Rutgers, the knowledge centre for sexuality, based on 174 in-depth interviews with (migrant) young people. She obtained her PhD on 15 May 2019 at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
How can you, as a professional, gradually guide and encourage others to become more active? To this end, Kenniscentrum Sport, in collaboration with Panton, developed the Movement Circle.
There is still considerable uncertainty about the provision of physical activity opportunities in childcare and the extent to which these activities are aimed at developing movement skills. The absence of clear guidelines on the desired physical activity provision in the childcare quality requirements means that this is often not included in childcare policies and that childcare professionals do not address it structurally.
The Netherlands Sports Council, the Education Council and the Council for Public Health and Society recommend that pupils in primary, secondary and secondary vocational education engage in moderate-intensity physical activity twice a day. Sport and physical activity could be used more effectively to serve education itself.
What opportunities does the forest offer children? This is the theme of the eleventh IVN Conference on Children & Nature, which will take place on 22 November at Zonheuvel Estate in Doorn. The conference is intended for teachers, childcare professionals, lecturers, managers, school principals, policy officers, nature guides/educational officers, researchers and designers.
More and more schools are using mindfulness to combat stress among students. Would you like to know what mindfulness does for the brain and what it could therefore mean for your students? Then watch the webinar ‘Mindfulness and its effect on your brain’ on 21 May.
Sufficient and varied playful movement is important for the development of young children. We do not yet know exactly how much: the current Dutch movement guidelines do not provide advice for children under the age of four. There are countries that do have movement guidelines for this youngest target group. In this article by Femke van Brussel-Visser of the Knowledge Centre for Sport, you can read what these guidelines recommend regarding sitting, screen time, physical activity and sleep, and how you can encourage these.
Many school leaders at schools that implement The Daily Mile indicate that the classroom is calmer after running The Daily Mile, which makes it easier to learn (81%). This is evident from research by the Mulier Institute commissioned by Jongeren Op Gezond Gewicht (JOGG). The Daily Mile is an initiative involving physical activity in which children exercise around the school for fifteen minutes every day.
A research and development process should encourage non-use of drugs and postpone or prevent the moment of first use. In doing so, the Trimbos Institute is responding to the Ministry of Health’s wish to develop an innovative approach to prevent young people from starting to use drugs.
Sometimes behavior in physical activity situations is difficult to understand. This can be unpleasant for the participant themselves, but it can also disrupt the physical activities. What is the best way to approach a particular situation? A guidance document has been developed to support leaders of sports and physical activity sessions.
From 14 to 16 June, the sixth edition of Ditch Days will take place. During these days, IVN nature guides organise various activities suitable for young and old. Together, they look at which animals live in and around the ditch, which plants grow there and what the water quality of the ditch is. To bring the Ditch Days experience to schools as well, IVN has developed a special Ditch Research lesson package for grades 6 through 8 of primary education.
Girls usually get their periods when they are between 12 and 14 years old, but it can also happen earlier. Some girls are caught off guard by their first period. It is therefore a good idea to start paying attention to this in primary education. This is what the website www.seksuelevorming.nl writes. The site recommends teaching about menstruation from Year 5 onwards.
Parents mainly let their children use media when they are doing household chores, taking a long car journey or sitting in a public space such as the doctor’s waiting room. This is evident from research among the National Parent Panel conducted by Stichting Opvoeden.nl in collaboration with the Netwerk Mediawijsheid. 717 parents took part.
Prisma (V)SO in Alphen aan den Rijn has won the Lentekriebels Award 2019. This was presented for the second time by Rutgers to mark the end of the Week of Lentekriebels.
The province of Gelderland wants as many children in Gelderland as possible to be able to play in a green schoolyard. That is why the province has set up a platform, www.groenvoorgelderland.nl, which schools can use for crowdfunding campaigns.
In the schoolyards of primary schools throughout the Netherlands, around 1,000 new water taps will be installed over the next two years. State Secretary Paul Blokhuis (VWS) announced this on Friday, 12 April. With this, he is implementing an agreement from the National Prevention Agreement.
His Majesty King Willem-Alexander opened the King's Games at De Arke Primary School in Lemmer on Friday morning, 12 April. The seventh edition of the King's Games is focused on drinking water. In this context, the King and a number of children unveiled a water tap for the Frisian school. The unveiling marked the start of the sporting part of the King's Games throughout the Netherlands.
SO de Piramide from The Hague is the first school to be named the ‘Most Sporty S(B)O School in the Netherlands’. Of all the entries from across the country, three schools in this category were nominated for the final of the competition at Sportcampus Zuiderpark in The Hague. The jury ultimately selected Piramide as the winner. The school won a two-day water sports trip to Robinson Crusoë Island worth €2500,-.
On 13 May, Kenniscentrum Sport is organizing the free knowledge event ‘Pass It On Through Movement’ at the Amsterdome in Amsterdam. This day is specifically for professionals in healthcare, social services and sport who, in the course of their daily work, are involved in encouraging physical activity or would like to do more to promote it.
Experiencing nature and free outdoor play in a green environment are important for the development and well-being of all children. That is why the fifth edition of Green Childcare Day will take place on 21 May. The day is intended for daycare centres, playgroups, out-of-school care locations and childminder care.
Childhood overweight is a problem. But how do you reach all children and parents when addressing it? This includes children of parents with a lower level of education and parents with a migration background. Pharos has developed a useful e-learning course for this purpose.
This year, on 10 April, the municipality of The Hague will act as host, together with the sports programmes of The Hague University of Applied Sciences and ROC Mondriaan, for the seventh election of ‘Most Sporty Primary School in the Netherlands 2019’ and the first election of the ‘Most Sporty Special Primary School in the Netherlands’. As a sporting city, the municipality of The Hague is very enthusiastic about contributing to this wonderful event together with the sports programmes.
Are you just as enthusiastic about a lesson outdoors as children are? Then you can have students come up with their own ideas for an outdoor lesson using the brand-new teaching guide ‘Design an outdoor lesson’.
Primary schools in Zuid-Holland can receive a financial contribution from 15 March if they design their playgrounds as ‘green-blue’ spaces: removing paving stones and adding nature and water. The Province of Zuid-Holland and the Prins Bernhard Culture Fund Zuid-Holland have jointly established the ‘Green-Blue School Playgrounds’ thematic fund, which is making a total of €620,000 available over the next three years.
The sometimes rebellious and defiant behavior of young people is an exact part of growing into adulthood. You can read about how this works in the booklet ‘Brain in Development: on the development of the adolescent brain and behavior’. This booklet was produced by the Foundation for Biowissenschaften en Maatschappij. The PDF can be downloaded free of charge.
New research shows: children want to have outdoor lessons once a week. The 400 children interviewed gave outdoor lessons an average rating of 8.8. During an outdoor lesson, they experience more enjoyment and get more fresh air and exercise.