SvPO schools in Utrecht, Hoorn and Amsterdam remain 'very weak'
After a new inspection investigation, the Schools for Personal Education (SvPO) in Amsterdam, Hoorn and Utrecht were again found to be very weak. It is also clear that the school group is switching to a new name: Schools for Personal VO, abbreviated to sPvo.
Image: Editors Education Magazine
The interim board has informed parents of this with a newsletter, which is also in the hands of the Education Magazine. The reports themselves have not yet been made public by the Education Inspectorate, they will be published on Friday 4 November.
Last week pale already that the SvPO school in Kapelle has been given the predicate 'very weak'. This is the first time for the latter, the oldest of all eight schools. The schools in Amsterdam and Hoorn already are longer, since 2021. The Utrecht SvPO school has been declared 'very weak' twice since 2019, which led to financial sanctions.
The critical judgments were reported by the Inspectorate to Education Minister Dennis Wiersma. A spokesman for the Ministry of Education does not want to prejudge the publication of the reports. He does indicate that it is expected that the new board will be given “a reasonable period of time” to put things in order. In June wrote Wiersma already told the House of Representatives that the Utrecht school in particular must show rapid improvements, but he also realized that not all problems will be solved immediately. In addition, there is another urgent task for the board: to recover the real estate of four schools, in which sixteen million in education money has been invested. stabbed.
Raww
Before the summer holidays, the Inspectorate carried out recovery surveys at the SvPO schools in Amsterdam, Hoorn and Utrecht, and a new quality survey at the school in Kapelle. 'The outcome is that four of our schools have been declared 'very weak'. That has fallen on the roof for many of us,' write Dirck van Bennekom, Yolande Ulenaers and Rogier Straathof, the executive directors of the five-member interim board that was appointed in June. They say that every effort will be made to address the shortcomings before the inspection visits again, which is expected later this school year.
The result is that four of our schools have been declared 'very weak'. That has fallen raw on the roof for many of us
"The biggest shortcomings that the inspectorate finds are at the administrative level," responds Marius Geertsema, general coordinator at the school group. "The results themselves are good. I don't want to downplay the fact that things still need to improve at the schools themselves, but I see that positively. We are working very hard to make the improvements."
Under the heading 'Learning to improve', external support and guidance has been brought in for the schools through education consultancy B&T, told supervisor Hein van Asseldonk last week. He said he regarded the critical judgment mainly as a legacy of the past.
Brand name
The interim administration took in June passed the baton from founder Misha van Denderen, who after a clue Minister Dennis Wiersma had to leave. Various steps have been taken to break with the past, whether out of necessity or not. For example, Van Denderen had the rights for the brand name SvPO secured through a private foundation, revealed the Education Magazine earlier.
"Since the transfer of the board in June, we have come across that we are not authorized to manage the website and we cannot claim the SvPO name," the interim directors report in the newsletter. 'That means we're switching to a new one website and a new name. In view of the time pressure involved, a pragmatic solution was chosen.'
Since the transfer of the board in June, we have run into the fact that we are not authorized to manage the website and we cannot claim the SvPO name
A different path is being taken on several fronts. The student tracking system and the electronic learning environment Workbook have made way for Somtoday and VO Content. In addition, each school will have a separate care and examination coordinator. These tasks were previously assigned to the school principal because extra officials would be at the expense of the small classes. The new board sees it differently: they are 'relevant portfolios that require expertise'. The aim is to give school leaders more time for the quality of education.
Tumult
Recently, parents from various schools, including those in Hoorn en Kapelle, it in regional newspapers for SvPO. The board feels strengthened as a result. 'For us, the challenge is how we can also meet all legal requirements while preserving the unique character of our schools,' the interim directors write. 'It is obvious that the administrative turmoil before the summer and the predicates 'very weak' do our image no good. On the other hand, there is no better advertisement than satisfied students and satisfied parents.'
Read also the other articles about the Schools for Personal Education on this site.
