"I studied pedagogy and education sciences and came into contact with Partou a few years ago as I was looking for organisations to collaborate with on my PhD research into the adjustment of babies to childcare. I did this at several settings of the then-Smallsteps, among others.” This research, which took four years to complete, revealed that putting a baby in childcare can be a stressful time for parents. Sanne: “That stress affects the baby, which, in turn, affects the parents. It is therefore important to give both parents and children a warm and welcoming start at the childcare. I shared this and other pieces of advice with the staff of the participating childcare organisations, including the quality department staff at Partou. And fortunately, at Partou we already do a lot to give parents and children a warm welcome, including giving them the new Baby Time magazine.”
By the time Sanne's PhD research had reached its final stages, her university mentor tipped her off about the vacancy for research & analysis specialist at Partou. “The job interview turned out to be quite enjoyable... for both sides. Shortly after, I started working at Partou.” Besides Sanne, the monitoring, science and advisory department consists of two other colleagues. They are the contacts for various ongoing studies conducted by universities and universities of applied sciences at Partou, such as monitoring child development, sleep, exercise and health. “We carefully choose the studies we are asked to participate in. Besides the fact that the results must generate added value for our organisation, we also consider the workload pressure on the settings where the studies are conducted.”
Pilot studies on interior space, play equipment and potty training
"We also conduct in-house pilot studies," says Sanne. “For example, a study is currently underway at some preschool settings that provide preschool education to determine how the layout and arrangement of the interior space of the groups can be improved and make the play equipment more varied and available to the children, as we’re well aware that this can affect their development. The settings were given the necessary tools to implement the improvements and we’re currently in the process of evaluating whether the improvement process has borne fruit and if it was also feasible. If so, we will roll it out further where possible.”
Another example of an internal pilot is the study on potty training at a younger age. Sanne: “With the ever-improving quality of nappies, children feel less inclined to use the potty for their toilet needs rather than their nappies. While several studies actually show that early potty training can ensure better health and fewer infections, and it’s obviously better for the environment. That is why we are looking into the possibility of working closely with parents to teach children to use the potty at a younger age before transitioning them to the toilet. Parents will get access to a potty training app that will guide them through the process of potty training their child over the course of ten weeks. The app provides tips and feedback from experts and tracks the child’s potty training development over these ten weeks. I’m very interested in seeing what will come out of this.”
Monitoring
In addition to child development studies, the department where Sanne works also monitors the quality of childcare at Partou. This ranges from evaluating the legally required training programme 'Babies in childcare' for all early years staff working with newborns, and an inventory study on how staff implements Partou’s revised Early Years Policy, to monitoring Municipal Health Service reports, incidents involving children and complaints from parents. Sanne on this issue: “The monitoring aspect is also an important part of our work. Where the baby training is concerned, for example, we evaluated whether it had any measurable impact on improving the knowledge of early years staff. Because even though the training is required by law, our main objective is to ensure that the staff, who put so much time and effort into this, actually learn something from it. We are happy to report that this is the case.”
In follow-up, a survey of the early years quality in baby groups will start in January 2024. Sanne: “Very interesting, also given the changes to be implemented under the Innovation and Quality of Childcare Act (Wet IKK), to gain insight into quality improvements at these groups.”
Graduation at Partou
Sanne and her colleagues also mentor students conducting graduation research projects at Partou. This involves research on a variety of topics, such as multilingualism in childcare, the importance of more physical activity and its long-term positive effects, risky play with toddlers in childcare and how important parents think a green out-of-school club is. Sanne: “Each and every one of these research topics is interesting and we actively publicise them within the organisation. By showing what research is taking place, both in partnership with universities and universities of applied sciences and by Partou itself, we want to make the work of our department more visible and concrete, so that our colleagues see the added value for (the quality of) our childcare.”
The Monitoring, Science & Advisory Department will soon be welcoming a fourth colleague, who, in collaboration with Utrecht University, will conduct a four-year research project at the out-of-school club to evaluate talent and interest development and how children can have more fun during the process. Obviously, interesting interim results will be published, both within the organisation and to the general public.
Sanne: “I think the amount of effort and commitment Partou invests in research on childcare is just remarkable. That there is a department that devotes itself full time to this and looks for a scientific basis for what we do and don't do. There are few other childcare organisations that approach this so professionally, even though it is very important. This enables us to gain knowledge and experience, which our colleagues in the field, the early years staff, can use to continually improve the quality of the daily care and support they provide to children and give them a solid foundation they can build upon from birth through adolescence.”
A commitment to care
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