Work pressure money mainly for support staff and extra teachers
The money from the workload agreement mainly goes to teaching assistants and extra teachers. About two thirds of primary schools now know how they are going to use the money. At ten percent of the schools, the board interferes with the distribution of the money, while that is not the agreement.
Image: Angeliek de Jonge
That appears from a survey of the General Association of School Leaders (AVS) among 650 school leaders. 'A worryingly high number', is what the AVS calls the ten percent of the schools where the school board is involved. The association calls on school leaders to report if they are given too little freedom in spending the money. The agreement states that it is up to the team - that is to say: the school principal and the teachers - to act. The team determines which measures are necessary to combat the workload.
End of last year closed the AOb Together with other educational organizations and Minister of Education Slob, finalized the workload agreement. All primary schools together will receive an additional 237 million euros in the coming school year to combat the high workload. This amount will amount to 430 million euros in the 2021/2022 school year. For an average school of 225 students, this means an extra 35 thousand euros and that amount will increase to 65 thousand euros in 2021/2022.
A large majority of school leaders, 80 percent, think it is a good agreement. This is evident from the AVS survey. Those who are dissatisfied think the budget is too low. The money mainly goes to teaching assistants and extra (subject) teachers. Schools also use the money for extra hours of student care, janitors and administrative staff. Other solutions mentioned by respondents to relieve the workload are appointing an event manager or help with breaks.
In the May issue of the Education Magazine, teachers Lisa Vonk, Klaas-Henk de Jager and Bronia Moos told about their school's plans with the workload money.
Lisa Vonk is a teacher at the Bijenkorf in Assendelft; a Jenaplan school with about 270 students.
'Just physically out of the classroom'
“We were already sitting around the table a week after the Amsterdam relay strike. Who experiences what work pressure? Often mentioned are: the size of the classes, the peak load for holiday periods and the faltering ICT. We also appeared to be quite in agreement about what can help, namely getting out of class physically. A little air, so that you can support a group of children extra, update the administration a bit, and so on. That is why the plan is now to extend the hours of the gym teacher, for a second gym or outdoor play lesson a week. And an event manager. That sounds pretty fancy, yes, haha. But we mean, for example, a class assistant who will organize the celebrations, excursions and performances an x number of hours a week. Indispensable events for the school, but at the same time the tasks that really add to your work. And where no one has an overview. Unfortunately, making classes smaller will not work with this amount. And we also do not solve the teacher shortage. A colleague just called: 'I will be sick tomorrow'. We already know that we have no one to replace her. That is why we should certainly continue to campaign so that more people want to go into education. ”
Klaas-Henk de Jager is a teacher at the IJsbreker in Amsterdam; a Dalton school with about 390 students.
'A good care student provides space'
“Tom gets more hours. In a nutshell, that is what we will probably do with the workload money. Tom is a care student: he is doing a scientific study in care or education - in his case psychology - and has a side job at our school. He comes for three hours twice a week. He then starts calculating with a group of plus children, or he gives a student who needs it some extra instruction. Tom is really above the material and even reads about Dalton education in his own time. If he's in my class for an hour, I can do more with the middle group, for example. It is easiest to lose it. In any case, I often think at the end of the day: I would have liked to give that student a little more attention, or I would have taken more time for a specific explanation. That is a gnawing, unsatisfying feeling. What do we want with our children? That is the key question for me during the strikes. Do we want a fiver or a six, or are we going for really good education? The responsibility for good education has been placed with the teachers, but then we must also be given the resources for it. As far as I am concerned, we will continue until Prinsjesdag. ”
Bronia Moos is a teacher and internal counselor at the Nijepoort primary school in Groenekan; a small school with about 150 students.
'It is still compromising'
“In a small school you have to do all the work with a small group of people. So you always run out of hands. After the inventory we quickly agreed on one thing: the money can go to extra hands in the classroom. In our case, extra support in one of the combination groups is obvious. Probably - the decision has not been completed yet - a teacher will be expanded for one day a week in this combination group. She can then teach one of the two groups separately on that day and provide assistance to children who need extra practice time. Or invest time in children who want extra depth. We use the money that remains for half a day of remedial teaching. For example, to give weak readers extra attention. But it continues to compromise, this amount will be used up in no time. It is still a question of whether-or and not of and-and, it is not enough for that. ”
