Primary school will switch to a four-day school week, more schools may follow
Group 5 of public primary school De Spiegel in Zaandam, part of the Zaan Primair school foundation, will switch to a four-day school week after the autumn break. More classes from three other primary schools of the foundation may follow, president Niko Persoon van Zaan Primair reports today.
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“We are militant and are opting for current staff with this measure,” says Persoon. His school foundation (22 primary schools) cannot find enough teachers for all schools. The President of the Executive Board explains that the schools have already taken many measures to allow the lessons to continue: merge classes, send groups home for a day, internal counselors (ibs) in front of the class. “These are tricky measures and the staff at the schools always take care of this. It creates an even higher workload. ”
Mid September Person announced together with the president of the Agora school umbrella that their schools would opt for a four-day school week if the teacher shortage became more acute. Now the time has come. "All group 5 parents at obs de Spiegel received a letter," says Persoon. “The students receive one less day of lessons for seven weeks. It starts after the autumn holidays and runs until the Christmas holidays. ”
We are combative and opt for the current staff with this measure
At primary school, a vacancy has been open for a teacher group 5 for some time. If the school group has not found a teacher before Christmas, another class of the school will switch to the four-day school week.
More schools
At the moment, three other schools in Zaan Primair are also looking at whether classes are temporarily switching to a four-day teaching week. Person: “I hold my heart for a flu wave, because that is not the case yet. Tomorrow or Wednesday we will know more about the three other schools, there are still talks today. ”
It is an emergency measure, Persoon emphasizes. “At the moment there is unrest among parents who have received the letter. We find that annoying. But want to protect our personnel by putting a line in the sand here. We received positive responses from teachers. ”
Response of the minister
With a letter to the House of Representatives Education Minister Arie Slob (ChristenUnie) previously responded to the announcement of the Zaanse school boards. Slob writes in his letter that primary schools are legally not allowed to introduce a four-day school week. There is room in the law to switch to a four-day school week no more than seven times a year. 'Now that the teacher shortage is becoming more acute, there may be a great temptation to take emergency measures that may be at the expense of the quality of education. That is what nobody wants, 'said the minister. Slob announces a guide with solutions and 'handles' for the boards.
Person says his school board is keeping its back straight. “I am curious about the guide and whether it contains something that we have not already tried. If it says that ibs have to teach, we can also discuss whether the ib work is not important. ”
