Dutch primary schools expect a significant increase in the number of children of expats in the coming years. While companies are rapidly taking on foreign tech experts and IT professionals, schools have to prepare for pupils who speak little or no Dutch, Trouw reports.
This issue is especially prevalent at primary schools in the Amsterdam region, Eindhoven and The Hague, according to the newspaper.
Primary schools in large cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague and the municipalities around them are increasingly using Pieten with soot marks on their faces in the Sinterklaas celebration, rather than the traditional blackface Zwarte Piet, according to a survey of over 580 schools by DUO Education Research & Advice, NU.nl reports.
Primary school Het Kompas in Hoorn came up with an emergency plan to counter the growing teacher shortage. The school sent a letter to parents last week, asking them to fill in when teachers are sick so that kids do not have to be sent home, NH Nieuws reports.
This plan was made in preparation for the autumn period and flu season. Earlier this year the school had to send two classes home because no substitute teacher could be found. "We hold our hearts when someone gets sick", Jaap Muurling, director of Het Kompas, said to NH.
Queen Maxima expressed her and the King's support for the families of the four children killed in a collision between a train and an electric cargo bike in Oss on Thursday morning. "We have no words for this", she said to journalists during her visit to Drachten.
A 6-year-old girl from Kampen passed away on Sunday after she was seriously injured in an accident with a lawnmower last week, mayor Bort Koelewijn confirmed. According to the mayor, the girl's family were called to the hospital on Sunday. He received news of her passing on Monday, RTL Nieuws reports.
"Our hearts are full of sadness", Koelewijn said. "It is a huge blow for the family and those directly involved, but also for all the doctors who fought to the end."
Almost 90 percent of schools in the Netherlands experience problems with traffic in their immediate vicinity. Over the past three years, over 10 thousand traffic accidents were reported in the vicinity of schools, according to research by RTL Nieuws in collaboration with the University of Groningen.
The massive primary school teacher shortage in the Netherlands seems to be mainly limited to the big cities in the west of the country, according to figures from benefits agency UWV that newspaper Trouw requested. There are enough, or even more than enough, teachers in the north, east, and south of the Netherlands, the newspaper writes.
As you get farther away from the big cities, it becomes easier and easier to fill vacancies. Outside the Randstad there are still more teachers than there are jobs available, and some teachers even struggle to find work.
Around 7,900 children in Amsterdam do not yet know who their teacher will be next year, according to BBO, an administrative group of 35 primary schools in the city. Amsterdam primary schools currently still have 315 vacancies, Het Parool reports.
The primary school teacher shortage in Amsterdam is expected to increase to 500 open vacancies by 2023, which means that 15 thousand pupils won't have a teacher.
All Dutch primary- and secondary schools are obliged to give good "citizenship" lessons focused on the "basic values of the democratic constitutional state" in a new legislative proposal by Minister Arie Slob for Primary and Secondary Education, NOS reports.
More children in primary schools in the Netherlands are being bullied than parents and teachers know of. One in three bullied kids never tell their teachers, parents or friends about it, according to study 'What works against bullying' by five universities and the Trimbos Institute, RTL Nieuws reports.
About 30 percent of Dutch kids are sometimes bullied. One in 14 children are even bullied multiple times a week. A third of these bullied kids have never told anyone about it, according to the study.
After a good breakfast, King Willem-Alexander kicked off the King's Games with 500 children at Brede School De Fliert in Twello on Friday. This is the sixth edition of the King's Games - a sports day focused on getting kids in the Netherlands enthusiastic about playing sports and staying active.
This year's theme is "Inside Out". It's focused on stimulating kids to play outside more. Over 1.2 million children from over 6 thousand primary schools in the Netherlands, the Caribbean and Dutch schools abroad are participating this year.
Most primary schools in Limburg and Noord-Brabant are closed on Friday as teachers in these provinces strike for higher salaries and lower workloads.
Parents who feel that their children received a too low advice on which level to continue secondary school, are increasingly having their children take an intelligence test to pressure primary schools into giving their children a higher advice, RTL Nieuws reports.
Around 18 thousand primary school teachers in the Netherlands are still unjustly in the lowest salary bracket, despite agreements made with school boards and trade unions to fix this problem in 2008, the Telegraaf reports based on figures from education institute DUO.
The issue of underpaid teachers was already raised in 2008, when agreements were made to help more teachers rise to a higher pay bracket. In that year it was agreed that by 2014 at least 40 percent would be in a higher pay bracket.
Over the past two years, three quarters of primary school teachers in the Netherlands faced intimidation from parents who wanted a higher school advice for their kids, according to a survey among 2 thousand teachers by union CNV Education and EenVandaag. Advice that a child should continue in vocational education is particularly badly received by parents, RTL Nieuws reports.
Around 95 percent of teachers at Geldrop primary schools De Regenboog, Beneden Beekloop, and De Gazenbloem are not at work on Monday, the teachers announced in a press release. They called in sick on Sunday night due to a long-ongoing conflict within foundation 't Nut, which covers these three primary schools. Parents of pupils of De Gazenbloem were told not to bring their kids to school on Monday, Omroep Brabant and NOS report.
The Dutch government will give primary schools and schools for special education more money next year to reduce teachers' workload. The Ministry of Education will divide 236 million euros among the 7 thousand schools next year. And that amount will increase in the coming years, RTL Nieuws reports based on figures from the Ministry.
The majority of primary schools in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe are closed today as around 6 thousand teachers go on strike for higher salaries and lower workloads. This is the first of a relay strike, starting today in the North. On March 14th primary school teachers in Flevoland, Utrecht, and Noord-Holland will strike, combined with a demonstration in Amsterdam, NOS reports.
The strikes are supported by the PO-Front, a joint action group consisting of trade unions, school leaders and managers.
Primary schools in the Dutch countryside achieve better results on their final tests than those in the city areas, according to RTL Nieuws' annual school study. The 890 primary schools in the Netherlands' most urban areas scored an average of 6.93. The 1,511 primary schools in the least urban areas scored an average of 7.05.
Teachers at primary schools across the Netherlands will be striking again on Tuesday, December 12th, primary school action group PO in actie announced. The strike will last all day, and parents will have to arrange other care for their children, NOS reports.
The teachers at four out of five primary schools in the Netherlands do not talk about the color of Zwarte Piet and do not ask themselves whether appearance of the controversial character may be hurtful to some children, according a study by DUO Onderwijsonderzoek & Advies, ANP reports.
A primary school in the Utrecht district of Zuilen called the police after a group of activists protesting for the preservation of Zwarte Piet in his traditional blackface appearance, stormed into the school on Thursday, ANP reports.
Around 10 protesters dressed up as Zwarte Piet charged into the primary school De Cirkel's schoolyard and classrooms and started handing out perpernoten and stickers shortly before the end of the school day.
With 90 percent on primary school teachers in the Netherlands striking today, many parents are left wondering what to do with their kids. Thanks to activities arranged by museums, theaters, sport schools and organizations across the country, there is a multitude of options.
Teacher union AOb thinks that all 6,500 primary schools across the Netherlands will not open today as primary school teachers strike for a higher salary and lower workload. The strike continues, despite reports published on Wednesday night that the new government set an extra 500 million euros aside for primary education. Around 90 percent of primary school teachers are participating in the strike, NOS reports.
"We hardly hear of any schools that will not close. And if we don't get enough money soon, we may close for two days", an AOb spokesperson said to news wire ANP.
