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!
On Wednesday, 18 March 2026, municipal elections will be held in the Netherlands. These elections are an important moment to cultivate fertile political ground within municipal politics, so that school gardening can continue to grow and flourish in your municipality over the next four years.
Would you like to reflect on the theme of food waste with your class during Waste-Free Week (8 to 14 September)? Starting in September, take part in the renewed Waste-Free Quiz for a chance to win a fun prize: one of the Blik op je Eten sets.
Parents are just as tolerant of risky play as they were in 2018. This is shown by research conducted by VeiligheidNL. Tolerance has therefore not declined, despite societal developments that make risky play more difficult for children.
It can be difficult for teachers to work with assertive parents who have overly high expectations of their child. Parents always want the best for their child, but they may – unintentionally – put pressure on the child. Or overlook what the child is actually capable of and wants. This can have adverse effects on the child’s well-being. How do you, as a teacher, deal with this? The Netherlands Youth Institute offers tips.
Would you like to get the school year off to a good start? A healthy lunch helps children get all the nutrients they need to learn and play. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre has posters for primary schools to display at school.
On Monday, 18 August, the official kick-off of Veilig Verkeer Nederland’s national campaign ‘Our schools are back in session’ will take place at Nutsbasisschool Dirk van Veen in Breda. In recent years, this school has become a shining example of how to work together to create a safe school environment. Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN) is organising this launch together with the municipality of Breda and the school. With Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Robert Tieman by their side, the children will launch the festive campaign.
Thousands of children make the transition from primary school to the first year of secondary school after the summer holidays. This means not only a new class, but often a larger school as well. In addition, the children have different subjects, more homework and many different teachers. Parents & Education has therefore put together some practical tips for starting secondary school to help ensure that the transition to secondary school goes smoothly.
Blik Op Je Eten is a fun, fast and accessible food education program for primary education. Blik Op Je Eten was developed in collaboration with teachers and pupils. It is also a collaboration between Smaaklessen (Wageningen University & Research) and Kokkerelli (Kids university for Food & Health). Both Smaaklessen and Kokkerelli are recognized interventions by the RIVM.
Hooray, it’s your child’s birthday! Of course, that calls for a celebration. At many primary schools, the birthday child is allowed to bring treats for the class, but more and more schools are choosing to do things differently. What do parents actually think about this? Ouders & Onderwijs asked the members of the National Parent Panel.
A safe school environment is important. That is why it is sometimes necessary to check students’ lockers, coats, bags or vehicles for prohibited items. Examples include weapons, drugs or fireworks. Such checks are permitted, but there are strict rules. Stichting School & Veiligheid outlines what is and is not allowed and provides practical tips.
After the summer holidays, the Golden Weeks begin. During this period, you lay the foundation for a safe atmosphere, trust and cooperation in the classroom — essential for a successful school year. This year, IVN is once again turning those Golden Weeks green! Will you join us? IVN is lending you a helping hand with a special teaching package, so you can go outside together with your new class.
From 7 to 14 November, Media Literacy Week will take place. The aim is to be more mindful of how you use your screens, so that things remain manageable, your screen use is balanced, you stay in control and it does not dominate your entire life. The Media Literacy website already contains all kinds of useful information.
Young people generally seem to be little motivated to quit vaping. Providers of smoking and vaping cessation support are also still searching for the right form of guidance for this target group. This is evident from the ‘Quitting vaping’ exploration by the Trimbos Institute. For the exploration, research staff members Judith Delemarre-Edens and Petra Hopman interviewed several smoking cessation coaches.
In the 2024–2025 school year, the Youth Education Fund supported 924 primary schools, reached a child more than 1,145,017 times, reimbursed more than 2,982 school trips, and covered the cost of a bed or desk for more than 417 children.
More and more primary schools are meeting the standard of 90 minutes of physical education per week, thanks to a grant scheme that enabled them to engage a process facilitator. This is evident from recent research by ResearchNed, the Mulier Institute and KBA Nijmegen, which compared schools that received a grant with schools that did not.
With a festive opening, OBS De Driekleur Dalton in ’s-Gravenzande officially put its completely renovated, green-blue schoolyard into use on Wednesday, 16 July. In recent weeks, no fewer than 4,400 paving stones made way for trees, plants and playful natural elements. The schoolyard is now a green oasis where children can move, explore and relax.
At a time when children are increasingly exposed to harmful online content at younger ages, such as nude images, peer pressure and misinformation about sexuality, Rutgers is calling on the government to take action. Although it is good that politicians recognize the dangers of social media and are drawing up guidelines, such as the advice to give children a smartphone only from the eighth grade onward and to ban social media until the age of 15, a ban in itself is not a solution.
Het Lichtpunt Primary School in Rhoon takes a different approach to education than most schools. Pupils never sit still for longer than half an hour. This is followed by a movement break, such as running, climbing, games or a ‘daily mile’ walk. According to principal Rob Heidenreich, this is not a ‘break’, but an essential part of the learning process.
For more than ten years, the School & Safety Foundation has been advising schools on social safety. By now, School & Safety has collected a great deal of information, created guidelines, designed games, and more—all tools for bringing social safety up for discussion and giving it the attention it deserves. School & Safety would like to share this knowledge at three free regional meetings: 2 October (Zwolle), 9 October (Amersfoort), and 30 October (Eindhoven).
The ‘Cooking in the Classroom’ event took place from 16–18 June in all twelve provinces, with 145 lessons and approximately 3,450 pupils. At least six Frisian primary schools briefly ceased to be classrooms and became bustling kitchens! Wearing aprons and chef’s hats, the children learned from a real chef how to make a delicious, healthy dish. The pupils chopped, stirred, tasted – and discovered that cooking is not only educational, but also incredibly fun.
From 10 to 14 November 2025, the 23rd edition of the National School Breakfast will take place. With its vision of “A healthy breakfast, every day and for every child,” the National School Breakfast highlights the importance of a healthy start to the day.
Teachers who are starting to garden at school are looking for lessons, experiences and examples. The Alliance School Gardens is looking for the (school garden) teachers who have these lessons, experiences and examples and are willing to share them. The Alliance School Gardens is collecting the best examples and compiling them in the booklet ‘The Garden Is the School’.
The Online Sexuality Guide has been updated. The guide offers education professionals in primary and secondary education practical tools for dealing with incidents of online sexual boundary-crossing behaviour. It also provides an overview of preventive resources and includes guidance on teacher professional development, policy development and parental involvement.
For many schools or municipalities, the summer holidays are a concern. What do you do when the school is closed for six weeks? Who will look after your plants? Alliantie Schooltuinen offers five tips.
Catholic primary school De Regenboog in Zoetermeer, located in the Meerzicht disadvantaged neighbourhood, provides its 300 pupils with a healthy breakfast, hot lunch, school fruit and sports activities on a structural basis. According to teacher and bridge liaison Claudia Emmel, this yields significant benefits: children flourish, are calmer in class and show greater engagement.
The short answer: no. The influence of digital technologies on well-being is complex. By this, we do not mean that it is incomprehensible, but that the impact is not always the same for everyone. In the position paper ‘The digital prism illuminated’, the Centre of Expertise for Digitalisation and Well-being explains what we already know about this and provides concrete advice for, among others, digital media users, parents, educational institutions, governments and industry.
Thanks to additional funding from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), 42 new schools and 98 experienced schools will still receive the award under the incentive scheme. This will enable them to work with additional support next school year on healthy living, learning and development for their pupils and students. At the end of May, 800 schools had already received an award under the incentive scheme.
Chaja Deen and Anja Verwoerdt co-wrote the book ‘The School at the Heart of Society. How do you build a strong pedagogical foundation together?’ They talk about it on Tjipcast, the podcast hosted by education researcher, teacher and writer Tjip de Jong.
Would you like to have your students work on themes such as health, sustainability and entrepreneurship in a fun and practical way? Are you looking for a project that will energise both your students and you? Take part in the School Canteen Challenge!
OBS de Parel (Assen), OBS het Atelier (Diemen) and KBS St. Jan de Doper (Utrecht) are the winners of the From Gray to Green school campaign, an initiative by Praxis and Jantje Beton. After the summer holidays, the three primary schools will get a green schoolyard.