Healthy childcare
Ska MiniMarathon
Ambassador Healthy Childcare
We would love to introduce them to you
From the garden on your plate
Future skills
Ska Childcare Centres is proud to call itself part of the Gezonde Kinderopvang (Health-conscious Childcare) programme. But what is Healthy Childcare and why is it important to us?
is an initiative of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW). National knowledge and research institutes work together in this initiative, under the coordination of the RIVM/ national Institute for Public Health and the Environment (department for Healthy Living) and the Voedingscentrum (Nutrition Centre). A Healthy Childcare organisation chooses to structurally promote the health and healthy lifestyle of children. If a childcare organisation uses this approach, the organisation may call itself a Gezonde Kinderopvang (Healthy Childcare Centre).
Ska the Healthy Childcare centre
Healthy childcare is a conscious choice of Ska. By healthy childcare we mean healthy food, a healthy upbringing and healthy exercise. Within the framework of our nutritional policy and party/festivity policy we provide healthy food, snacks and treats. In our vegetable gardens we grow part of the healthy food, working together with the children. We include them in what healthy food is and how the food from the garden ends up on their plates. We motivate children to taste and try out as much as possible.
Read all about our Ska Childcare Nutritional Policy here.
Discover, explore and relax
In addition to exercise and outdoor activities in our discovery gardens and sports, we also pay attention to healthy relaxation. Taking time to reflect, do yoga, chill on comfy beanbags or in chill rooms for the (almost) teenagers is also important. We support children in a healthy development. We (stimulate) teach them to do as much as possible on their own. That makes them proud. Proud and independent.
Children experience the world! It’s a beautiful day for a beautiful day. Our mission is to grow in our own way. At Ska we find it important that children grow up healthy by discovering things for themselves. “You never know what you can do, until… you try.”
Ska Childcare Centres is a proud partner of the Amersfoort Marathon. Together with Marathon Amersfoort we have a common goal to get all Amersfoorters and especially the younger ones to be active. From 2019 on, we attached our name to the marathon for children: Ska MiniMarathon. And there were 2 new distances to be ran: the 1.1 km and 2.2 km.
Moving = fun
Ska stands for growing up in a healthy way: our mission is to show that healthy food and exercise are fun. A cooperation with Marathon Amersfoort fits in well with this. We not only link our name to the MiniMarathon, but also take on a broad role. We give running clinics in preparation for the marathon, run with our after-school care children and also take their parents with us. Of course, our employees don’t stay behind either. We, as colleagues, motivate each other and challenge each other to run the 5 or 10 km. Some of them even dared to sign up for the half marathon or the whole marathon!
First Ska MiniMarathon was a big success
On Sunday the 16th of June 2019, the first edition of the Ska MiniMarathon was held. And what a success it was! Director Louise Joosten gave the start signal together with the Alderman for Sports Hans Buijtelaar. Ska was represented by 42 children, 25 parents and 40 colleagues. The well-attended Ska stand with various children’s activities, contributed to a successful first edition.
Ska has been a proud partner for the last 3 years and next year we will go for even more winners. Mark Sunday the 14th of June 2020 in your agenda!
Ska MiniMarathon
Since 2018, Healthy Childcare has been working with five ambassadors. Miranda Bron, working at Ska Childcare Centres as coordinator at childcare centre het Baken, is one of these five experienced ambassadors.
“I am Ambassador Healthy Childcare because… we as staff members Fare very important to contribute to a healthy lifestyle for children in the childcare sector. Children copy behaviour. If we set a good example, we are off to a good start!”
Working on Healthy Childcare at Ska
Through our meetings we have trained more than forty colleagues within Ska to help as a Healthy Childcare coach. Together, we devised a realistic working method within the existing daily structure. By creating internal support, the healthy lifestyle goals are nurtured even more.
Cooking with Oskar on YouTube
Every month I make the healthiest dishes together with two mini-chefs. Viewers at home and at our childcare centres can also help out, in Their Own Way. Want to participate? Subscribe to our YouTube channel!
As of the 1st of January 2019, the Pedagogical team has been completed. With the five specialists we strengthen and guarantee our pedagogical quality. The team consists of a scientifically trained pedagogue, who leads a project coordinator and three pedagogical coaches/policy staff members from universities of applied sciences.
The team helps our pedagogical staff to support children in their healthy development. They do this with the help of the latest scientific insights, with coaching and training of our staff and with projects to launch new healthy initiatives. In addition, they are standing by to advise parents on parenting issues.
Healthy food: from the garden to your plate
At Ska Childcare we find it important that children eat healthily and exercise a lot, preferably outdoors. The construction of edible gardens fits the healthy vision of Ska. And of course, home-grown vegetables and fruit also taste extra delicious! For the children it is instructive and above all fun to discover and experience it for themselves.
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Computers, robots, iPads, smartphones… they have become an integral part of our daily lives. Our children grow up with them. Every day brings something new. How beautiful is it that we can prepare our children for this? At Ska we embrace change and new developments. That’s why we pay a lot of attention to 21st century skills. It is an umbrella name for certain skills; in total there are 11 competences.
Preparing for the future
Creativity, digital skills, self-regulation and an understanding of media are some of the things that children can put to good use in the society of the future. The development of technology is accelerating and is making our society more dynamic and flexible. Ska believes it is important to move along with this and to prepare children as well as possible for their future. How does it work? What can you do with it? With the 21st century skills your child will be prepared for it. “The world is changing and so are we!
