Educational policy

A safe, happy childhood is very important; it gives children the chance to optimally develop their potential and talents. While parents or the primary caregivers can ensure this happens, we also play an important role by offering a loving, social, safe, healthy and sustainable environment with a variety of developmental opportunities. Our childcare is a valuable addition to your child’s development.

Our educational policy describes how we at Hero strive to achieve this. It provides a summary of our organisation’s most important educational starting points. The policy has been written for children aged 0 to 13 years. It’s applied by all employees within our nurseries, toddler care and after-school care locations.

The 6 Pillars of our educational policy

1. Emotional safety
2. Personal competence
3. Social competence
4. Values and norms
5. Partnership with parents
6. Extensive local network

The implementation of this policy has been worked out in a separate practical educational plan for each location. This plan can be found in the Parent App and can be requested from your child’s childcare location.

Unique

Every child is unique, with their own character and needs. They embark on the adventure of becoming the best version of themselves at their own pace and in their own way. This is where we fit in: we offer all children opportunities and possibilities that contribute to optimal development.

From birth, children seek contact with their social environment. Because we offer group care we make an important contribution to the social development of each child. Within the safe environment of the group, together with peers and a dedicated educational staff, the children enjoy themselves and practice and experiment through play. This way, they learn every day skills that are needed both now and in the future. We are partners with the parents in the upbringing of their child(ren). We connect with the home situation and involve parents in the care as much as possible.

“It is our mission to support the children in their daily journey towards becoming the best version of themselves”

Green outdoor spaces at Hero

Growing up in a green environment is healthy and important for development. Nature, seasonal changes and attention to sustainability are therefore an important part of our educational policy. In 2021, we started incorporating more green into our outdoor spaces.

Creating green outdoor spaces is in line with our core values of attention, adventure, fun and learning. Children are healthier and develop better when they can play in natural and adventurous outdoor spaces. And children who come in frequent contact with nature at a young age take better care of the world around them later in life. It also increases biodiversity and reduces heat stress and problems with standing water.

Greening an outdoor space properly is not cheap, of course. The question was therefore: do we want to improve many locations a little bit, or improve a few locations completely? We opted for a middle way. We focused on fewer tiles, more greenery, more natural play features and we created some great mud kitchens!