'Our school is still missing a quarter of the children'
About 25 percent of the students of the SBO school Sint Maarten in Utrecht did not attend school this week. Children with an Islamic background in particular are kept at home out of fear, the team notes.
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Earlier today, Hans Spekman, director of the Youth Education Fund, warned Volkskrant for (even) greater arrears with those who stay at home. The fund is told from its contacts at schools that children from 'poor families' often did not go to school this first week. The Dutch Association for Pediatrics called this afternoon via the ONGOING parents to simply send their children to school.
Turkish and Moroccan media are more panicky about corona
For the school for special primary education (SBO) Sint Maarten in the Utrecht district of Overvecht, it is indeed a big job to get the children into the classroom at all, says Fleur Westerhoff. She works for two days as a teacher and three days as an internal counselor at Sint Maarten. About 85 percent of their students are educated in Islam. “Parents are very fearful in these cultures,” says Westerhoff. “They often follow the Turkish and Moroccan media. There people are much more panicked about corona than we are in the Netherlands. "
Understanding
Fortunately, according to the teacher, the school has two Moroccan teaching assistants and a Turkish concierge. They help with telephone conversations with parents. Director Michelle Hess also calls, although she admits that she is 'mentally tired' from the busy weeks. “I know I have to understand the concerns of parents, but sometimes I don't manage to be nuanced. Yesterday I overheard myself saying to a parent: And when do you plan to bring your child back to school? If there is a vaccine? That may never happen. ”
Now the backlogs are really starting to arise
The situation is frustrating, says Hess. “Now the backlogs are really starting to arise. With distance learning, we had it right: 100 percent coverage. Yesterday I missed another XNUMX students. We cannot organize distance education for them, because the teachers are now giving physical lessons again. ” Hess knows that quite a few of her students spent seven weeks indoors. "A situation that you would rather not see continue."
Fines
Hess thinks that the national government has said too easily: If you are worried, you can also keep your child at home. Colleague Westerhoff: "As long as Rutte says: You will not be hit by a school attendance officer and there are no fines, we cannot do much more than call."
Tjeerd de Jong, director of the Katholieke Scholen Utrecht (KSU) foundation, which includes SBO school Sint Maarten, understands the concerns. He confirms the impression that schools with many children with a non-Western background miss out on larger groups. Although he sees KSU-wide - the foundation has 25 schools - that more students are coming every day. “It's only the first week. We should not come up with crude new policies right now. It involves human beliefs and beliefs. We want to influence them by conducting a good dialogue with the parents.”
Sometimes parents indicated that their children are not guinea pigs
Vulnerable
In Rotterdam, primary school de Vierambacht - also a school with a diverse population - will give it another week. There, 22 of the 440 students are 'corona-related' at home, says deputy director Joke Stoltenhoff. “Usually because a family member has corona or is very vulnerable.” She knows from her high school manager that Rotterdam also has schools that have not yet seen a quarter of their students. And that that is 'related to the population'. Stoltenhoff: “I estimate that ten children are kept at home out of fear. The parents self-reported. Sometimes they indicated that their children do not want to be guinea pigs.”
Schools are not obliged to provide distance learning to children of anxious parents. The Vierambacht does. “It is a small group and we work with a continuous schedule, which helps. The teachers are allowed to know for themselves if they have a device places in the classroom where the child can watch, or that they contact after two hours. It should not lead to more work pressure for the team. ”
Overloaded
Spekman of the Youth Education Fund says in de Volkskrant that he would like to see more support for schools that are missing large groups of children. "Schools become overburdened if they have to approach all parents about this," he says in the newspaper. 'Municipalities could give these schools more support and more specific information would also help.' In Utrecht, the Center for Youth and Family (CJG) is helping out, says director De Jong. "We have already made an agreement that if we cannot convince the parents, they can be called by doctors from the CJG."
Read more about the first experiences of the teaching staff here.
