Workpackage 06

Development of school-based family involved intervention programme applicable on a European scale

Leader:
Bert Koletzko

Leader Institution:
Ludwig Maximilians Universitaet Muenchen

In this WP, a multi-component school-based family-involved intervention will be produced. The experience gained by the three partners (LMU, IFP, AOK-Verlag) who have developed, implemented and evaluated the TigerKids project in Germany as well as some of the TigerKids material will be used as a basis for the ToyBox intervention material. However all this material will be extensively revised and upgraded to incorporate the input and findings from WPs 2-5, aiming to facilitate in the best possible way local, cultural and sociodemographic needs within a European scale approach (WPs 2-3). Furthermore the intervention will be enriched with behavioural models, educational strategies and ‘how to implement’ procedures based on the best practices identified by the literature reviews, the local policy and contextual framework regarding pre-primary education in the participating countries (WPs 4-5). As soon as the English version has been completed, it will be sent to the participating countries to be translated, culturally adapted and tested for suitability and acceptability. During this process, pre-primary teachers and representatives from national Educational Councils (or other equivalent Entities) will be engaged to ensure acceptability of the ToyBox material and intervention programme and increase their support throughout the implementation period (WP7).
The ToyBox material will consist of a) Teacher’s General Guide, b) Classroom Activities Guide and c) Parental Activities Guide. All printed material as well as a wooden train for the structural exploration of food, food models, board games, a hand-puppet, physical activity equipment, etc. will be included in a box, specifically designed for the project (ToyBox).

Objectives:

6.1 Development of an intervention programme and relevant material for young children to be applied at the school setting in different European countries.

6.2 Development, production and adaptation of the material in the different languages.

6.3 Provision to the research centres, implementing the intervention in WP7, of the developed material, all necessary training and guidance on how to transfer this knowledge and expertise in the local schools and teachers.