IBSA’s nursery Nido Primi Passi: excellence in receptivity and great attention towards new parents

Among the three foundations of the Group, IBSA Foundation for children manages Nido Primi Passi, a nursery opened in 2009 which hosts up to 30 children, from 3 months to 4 years of age. It’s a fine example of IBSA’s closeness to its collaborators and to the community, in a word: to People. Another good news: starting from September 2023, the nursery will further expand its services and its relevance in the Ticino area. In addition to welcoming the children of the company’s employees, the nursery – which is located in Pambio Noranco (Canton Ticino, Switzerland), just near IBSA’s Headquarters – is also open to the local community.

THE NURSERY NIDO PRIMI PASSI AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ACTIVE PEDAGOGY

The Nursery adheres to the active pedagogy approach, which aims to follow children during the development of their self-confidence, so that they can grow and evolve by fully expressing their personality. “We take care of our children by respecting their peculiarities, through a specific approach based on active pedagogy”, reported Patrizia Terzaghi, Director of the nursery Nido Primi Passi. “We believe that every child is competent, active and eager to learn, and we follow their personal path by supporting learning through the pleasure of discovering themselves and their own abilities”.

The task of the nursery’s educators is to create an environment rich in offerings, where children can express their curiosity while feeling at ease and respecting everyone’s times and needs. The nursery’s building itself was designed with great attention to the environments: welcoming and safe spaces, furnishings suitable for the little ones, soft colours and spacious and bright premises.

NIDO CAPRIOLA CERTIFICATION

The staff of the nursery Nido Primi Passi includes 12 highly qualified professionals, constantly engaged in an on-going training pathway. As part of a project proposed by the Cantonal Doctor’s Office – carried out with the support of Promozione Salute Svizzera (“Health Promotion Switzerland”) and in agreement with the Office for the support for institutions and activities for families and young people – since 2019 the nursery has held the Nido Capriola certification, since it follows a “balanced diet and exercise program”. Capriola is an adaptation of the project Purzelbaum, coordinated by Radix Switzerland and disseminated for over 10 years in 21 Swiss cantons.

THE RECOGNITION OF EXCELLENCE

The Nido Primi Passi nursery takes an active part in cantonal activities, and participated in the Tipì project Promozione di una cultura condivisa dell’infanzia (“Promotion of a shared culture of childhood”), promoted by Canton Ticino and sponsored by UNESCO and SUPSI (Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland). This project aimed to create a shared culture of early childhood, promoting an effective collaboration between families and professionals. Furthermore, the methods and activities of several childcare facilities in Ticino were studied, in order to identify best practice on which to base the guidelines for an optimal management of nurseries. The good practices of the nursery Nido Primi Passi are included in a manual that specifies the reference quality standard for all Ticino facilities operating in this sector.

AN INTERESTING NEWS FROM SEPTEMBER 2023

In addition, Nido Primi Passi – in cooperation with the OTTOACCAZETA nursery of the "8Hz Family Coworking" organisation – is promoter of the project Ponte Harmos (“Harmos bridge”) for the continuity and support for children switching from nursery to kindergarten. According to the provisions of the Harmos federal agreement, the project concerns all the children who – having been born between August and December – are too young for kindergarten, but too old for nursery.

“We have worked in synergy with several organisations and institutions involved, and we are pleased to announce that we will be soon proposing the Ponte Harmos project”, explained Antonio Melli, Vice President of the IBSA Group. “In this way, we will give all parents – be them IBSA employees or any other parent – an even stronger signal, as well as a real and concrete help to promote a better balance between parenting and professional commitments”.