'Closure of Hoenderloo College has major consequences'
The closure of the Hoenderloo College has unnecessarily damaged the young people and the employees. Moreover, it has major social consequences. Unions brought this up during the evaluation with the Pluryn board.
Image: Angeliek de Jonge
Last December, healthcare provider Pluryn announced that due to millions of losses, both the schools and boarding schools in Hoenderloo and Deelen had to close their doors. For more than two hundred children with very complex problems, another place had to be found immediately. Moreover, there was no social plan for the staff of the Hoenderloo Group. This led to actionsorganized by the unions, after which Pluryn promised more time. The institution has now closed its gates permanently.
Super carnations
“It's so sad how everything turned out. Seventeen rounds of negotiations were needed for a decent social plan and a closure plan was on the table ”, says AObdirector Philippe Abbing. “Trust has been deeply damaged among employees. Of the 82, 27 stayed with Pluryn. Eleven employees are at home, the rest have accepted another job elsewhere. These are all super kids, who know how to encourage these young people to learn. It is a shame that many employees have not only said goodbye to Pluryn, but also to working with this target group. As a result, a lot of knowledge and experience is lost. ”
It is a great shame that many employees have not only said goodbye to Pluryn, but also to working with this target group
According to FNV, the figures are also dramatic in healthcare: of the 358 employees, more than half have resigned, often without waiting for a settlement. The question is how things are going with Pluryn. Abbing: “One educational institution has already become independent and Pluryn is considering what to do with the other VSO schools, possibly also becoming independent. That is not possible without our involvement. ”
Very drastic
Pluryn is convinced that closing the Hoenderloo Group is in the interest of good care for young people and the continuity of the whole of Pluryn, according to a news item on the website. Chairman of the Board Karel Verweij: 'We understand very well that the closure is very drastic. But Pluryn accepts his responsibility and does not let a child fall between the two.
De promise Keeping the schools open until all the pupils had found a new place, Pluryn appears to have failed to deliver. At the beginning of December, Education Minister Arie Slob answered parliamentary questions from Lisa Westerveld (GroenLinks) and Peter Kwint (SP) in response to a article in the Stentor. In September, 49 children were at home waiting for a suitable place for education and it was not until October 16 that the last young person had one. 'These children are again the victims of maladministration, but also of a government that is looking away. A conclusion that makes you mad ', Westerveld writes in a tweet.
A wonderful facility has been dismantled, a vulnerable group of young people has been insulted and the employees have become demotivated. And that, while the closure should not have been necessary
AObdirector Philippe Abbing: “It is all so poignant. A wonderful facility has been dismantled, a vulnerable group of young people have been insulted and the employees have become demotivated. And that, while the closure should not have been necessary. A choice was made on the basis of financial figures, while the board could also have raised this with the government. Care for these young people is a social problem. The closure of a large residential institution has major consequences, because other institutions have to take care of these young people and they are already having a hard time. ”
To collapse
The decentralization that was set in motion in 2015, whereby municipalities divide the money, has a particularly negative effect on large institutions that offer intensive care to the most vulnerable target group. They often have to deal with different municipalities and therefore different procurement rules.
This market forces, in which institutions compete with each other in rates, has major consequences. According to recently research of Jeugdzorg Nederland, one third of the institutions are losing and 'the foundation of youth care is about to collapse'. Besides Pluryn, other large youth institutions such as Juzt in Brabant have already collapsed. Because complex aid does not generate much money, other providers are not happy.
“That is deeply sad,” says Abbing. “Students can no longer go to school nearby and are scattered all over the Netherlands. It is about a target group that has already experienced so much before coming to this place. A new move will have effects for years to come." Abbing does not have the solution either. "But politicians will have to consider a new system."
Also read: 'Emotions run high with Hoenderloo staff'
