EUKN - Netherlands - Toddlers Playgroups - Utrecht, The Netherlands

Toddlers Playgroups - Utrecht, The Netherlands

Introduction

Alongside the 'ordinary' playgroup activities, the Plus playgroups in Utrecht offer extra help in the areas of language skills and social and emotional development. Play and creativity are central elements, but in a way that suits each individual.

Problem

How to stimulate toddlers who either have poor language skills and/or are slow developers so that they will thrive at primary school?

Description

Plus playgroups are designed to give children who are at a disadvantage in terms of language skills or development a better chance at school. The toddlers aged 2-4 receive extra help, care and attention. In this way SMOL (Foundation Social Development Leidsche Rijn), a trust whose object is to promote social development, hopes to ensure that such children do not enter formal primary education at a disadvantage. Plus playgroups are especially suited to children whose Dutch is still poor or who can do with some extra help learning how to play and learning how to learn. This means both Dutch children and children from ethnic minorities.

Approach

Each group consists of 14 toddlers all of whom attend two sessions a week.
The children are taught and/or supervised in small groups.
Two teachers and a volunteer parent are present at all times.
Each toddler comes for one morning and one afternoon.
The programme covers themes that appeal to children, e.g. the zoo, the supermarket or having a party.
The playgroups receive funding from the city of Utrecht.
Parents pay a parental contribution depending on income.

Results

Toddlers enjoy their play more and enlarge their vocabulary in a way that is perfectly natural to them. Thanks to close collaboration with the primary school, toddlers find it easy to adapt to school, where the same method is used. The corollary of this is that the children are expected to proceed to the partner school.

Contact info

SMOL
Willemijn van Riet, tel. +31 30 6622614

Project start date

25/10/2004

Links

SMOL (Dutch)

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Quality of life

Keywords

Social services, Skills improvement