Welcome to Kind & Co Ludens

VISION

A playing child is a learning child. Our main goal is not to teach skills, but to create a safe foundation that allows children to develop through play. This means that we really look at and listen to the children (daily observations) to see what they truly need. We call this child-following. We make a conscious choice to give children a large role in determining what their day looks like. We call this child participation and see how it stimulates self-reliance. Children learn best hands-on. We value what children know and can do and we focus on creating learning opportunities.

The indoor and outdoor play areas at all of our locations are arranged so that children can play and discover freely. We protect children from large risks and teach them to deal with small risks. Risky play is important for a healthy development. We encourage the children to play in nature and get dirty. They have the space to be adventurous, to move around, and to discover. Getting dirty doesn’t always have to be literal; it’s about discovering and experiencing. We observe what catches the children’s interests and align our plans accordingly instead of focusing on how to entertain the children.

A group of children is like a mini society. In a safe surrounding, we help children develop skills and manners that will serve them for the rest of their lives. We pay attention to cooperation, autonomy and sexual development. With sexual development we mean more than just sexuality. It’s about love, relationships, friendship, voicing what you like and don’t like, and being proud of your body. We teach children that they can be themselves and to be conscious of their own and others’ feelings, boundaries and wishes.

About societal childcare

We are a societal childcare organization. That means that we have no profit motive or shareholders. What we earn goes to the children’s wellbeing and development. Every child has the right to high quality childcare. We offer childcare to as many children as possible in order to create equal opportunities and help avoid delays.

How do we create equal opportunities? Important examples:

Early education childcare.

This is preschool for children with and without an early education childcare referral. If a child is at risk for language or educational delays, (s)he gets a referral from the pediatric health clinic for 16 hours a week of early education childcare. Children with a referral are carefully supervised by a team of professionals who are specifically trained in this field. We value communication with parents and guardians and involve them in developments and the themes we are working on. Physical movement, playing outside, learning and having fun are important to us. And we pay extra attention to stimulating language and early math through play. This way we contribute to children growing up safe and healthy and developing to their full potential. We have locations in areas that don’t have many childcare groups, where children and parents really need them.

We’ve started a pilot with connection groups.

Some 4-year-olds aren’t developmentally ready to go to school. In connection groups, kids are taught at a level tailored to meet their needs, giving them extra time to catch up to their peers. This gives kids a promising and fitting start.

We have after school plus groups

We have after school plus groups especially for kids who go to regular after school care but need extra attention and structure. Plus groups have their own safe, clearly structured, cozy space where they can play quietly or re-charge. If they want to, they can also play with the children in the other after school care groups.

We are affiliated with the Peaceful Neighborhood.

This initiative works to builds connections within the neighborhood. The goal is to stimulate children (and adults) to deal with each other in a positive and caring way and to make decisions democratically. And to create a climate in the neighborhood that mirrors the values learned at home, at school, at daycare and on the street. Part of the Peaceful Neighborhood is establishing a Peaceful Children’s Council and training neighborhood mediators. The aim is to cultivate a climate of feeling responsible for each other and for the community.

Trainings

Aside from the national trainings that childcare staff are required to follow, we offer extra trainings and continuing education:

  • Meaningful interactions between staff members and children make all the difference in children’s wellbeing, involvement and their general development. We improve the pedagogical quality by making use of Video Interaction Guidance. By watching video clips, our educationalists observe interactions between staff and children. This helps us to strengthen what’s going well and supports educational coaching.
  • All Ludens employees follow a Gordon training. Clinical psychologist Dr. Thomas Gordon developed a model for communicating effectively, respectfully, and based on equality. This includes concepts such as active listening, I-messages and a conflict-resolution method where no one loses. Ludens’ educational vision is based on Gordon’s work.
  • At Kind & Co: the cluster managers all get the opportunity to follow the training to become an attention officer. An attention officer has the final responsibility in going over the reporting code for child abuse.
  • Short films, articles and online trainings are on the online Learning Plaza. Employees can find work-related trainings, as well as personal development trainings.

Our most important forms of childcare

Daycare is for 0–4-year-olds. The staff members create a positive and home-like atmosphere which helps children to feel at home in their own group. We offer challenging activities and materials that are aligned with the children’s interests and developmental phase. This stimulates them to discover the world in their own way, at their own pace.

Preschool: We offer early education childcare. This is preschool for 2.5-4-year-olds where they can play and learn. This is for children with and without an early education childcare referral. Please see the section on societal childcare.

After school care is professional childcare after school for 4–12-year-olds. The kids choose whether or not to participate in the activities that we organize in the areas of sport, games, technology, culture and music. We collaborate with artists, musicians and workshop professionals to broaden the children’s horizons and provide an array of activities for all ages!

Facts & Figures

Number of children cared for: 26,243
Number of locations: 435
Number of employees: 2,783

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