The “Kinder forschen! Kreis Kleve” network at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences is a local network partner of the “Kinder forschen” Foundation. The university’s network coordinator, Barbara Maué, has now congratulated a nursery in Goch on its renewed certification for its pioneering role in
The Evangelical Integrative Day Care Centre in Goch has been involved in the ‘Netzwerk Kinder forschen! Kreis Kleve’ network for more than 15 years. It has been part of the network in the Kleve district since its inception and is therefore the first day care centre in the district to have achieved its seventh consecutive certification. The certification is valid for a further two years. The nursery began very early on to ensure that educational content from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) or ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) forms an integral part of the children’s daily lives. To this end, the teaching staff take part in relevant further training courses.
At the certificate presentation, Barbara Maué, network coordinator at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, warmly congratulated the nursery on its pioneering role: “The centre’s commitment is exemplary. When the network was launched, it was one of the first in the Kleve district to immediately set out on a journey of research and STEM discovery. And it has remained committed to this, providing further training for the team and continually implementing new ideas. I am very pleased about this. Congratulations on 15 years of discovery and research inspired by children’s questions!”
The focus in achieving the certificate lies on continuous discovery and research with the children, guided by their everyday questions. Key factors here are the nursery’s framework conditions, as well as partnerships with out-of-school learning venues and a participatory approach to selecting topics for exploration and to the research itself. “This continuity in discovery and research with such a large team of eight groups across two sites is only possible if everyone really gets on board! That’s a fantastic achievement,” says Head of Nursery Esther Müller. Parents are also involved – thanks to shoeboxes containing materials to take home, which allow them to work on small research tasks with their children at home. To mark the occasion, stations were set up at the nursery for the “MINTmachTage”, a nationwide campaign by the “Stiftung Kinder forschen” (Children’s Research Foundation) promoting quality early STEM education.
