On the 21st April the Prime Minister announced that Dutch primary schools will partially reopen from May 11th, after the meivakantie. Parents have mixed responses.
Coronavirus Shuts Down Schools
Dutch schools closed on the 16th of March because parents en masse kept their children home. The Dutch government had little choice but to follow the informal voting pattern of parents, and close schools.
Since then parents have been doing their best to help their kids with school work at home, directed online by teachers.
I can’t speak for all parents, and I know I certainly don’t, but here it went okay. I noticed the last week before the vacation began that the younger two boys’ motivation was beginning to lag.
Press Conference 21 April
True to the expectations, PM Rutte confirmed that primary schools would be reopening in May. Partially. Schools are free to fill in how that will work.
Secondary schools will follow suit from 1 June, depending on the impact that reopening primary schools has on the spread of the coronavirus. Secondary schools will have to adhere to 1.5m social distancing. Implying that primary school does not.
At the same time, the PM announced that outdoor sports clubs would also reopen their doors for children from the 29th April. Children under 12 do not have to adhere to the 1.5m distance rule, but children above the age of 12 do. Which is an interesting idea when it comes to most team sports – even during training. Teams will play no matches – a kick about and training only.
How Will Dutch Schools Reopen?
As schools can ascertain themselves how they reopen, there is no one answer to how the reopening will look from 11 May. I can tell you how our school plans to reopen its doors to pupils.
The school directors are implementing practical measures based on safety and hygiene. This means that school is introducing measures that primarily reduce contact moments between children and teachers and children.
Here’s the theory.
School Times & Classes
Children will attend school every day, with the exception of a Wednesday, which is one week on and one week off. Siblings attend school during the same dagdeel.
Children will be in school for a period of two and a half hours.
Classes will be split in half. Half attend school in the morning, and the other half in the afternoon. This rota will switch around every week.
Hygiene & Social Distancing
Parents must not enter the school. Wherever possible, children should come to and from school on their own. For bringing and picking up the younger children, parents must adhere to the 1.5m rule.
Personnel will thoroughly clean everything in the hour between one group finishing and another starting.
There will be hand gel stations outside the classrooms and at the entrances to the school. Teachers will encourage regular hand washing.
Wherever possible, hallways and public areas will be one way traffic, and tape will clearly outline the direction for the children.
Outside play times will be kept at a minimum, thus reducing contact moments.
Eating in school will be kept to a minimum.
Children will not celebrate their birthdays in school.
Should children fall and need first aid or a plaster etc, the teachers will wear protective gloves.
Lessons
Teachers will concentrate on core subjects: maths, Dutch, spelling and reading.
Teachers will also dedicate time for children to talk about their experiences during the past two months schooling at home.
No external teaching staff will be allowed in school: German, gym and music lessons are given by externals in our school.
The Classrooms
Teachers will set tables apart from each other in order to distance children from each other.
There will be a plexiglass shield around the instruction table, essentially around the teacher’s table. Teachers will keep 1.5m away from children. The teachers will not circulate around the class unless absolutely necessary. Children will come to the instruction table should they need help.
National Rules Apply
It almost goes without saying, but all other rules already in place apply to schools reopening. If you are sick you don’t go to school. If anyone in the family has COVID-19, do not go to school.
What Do Parents Think of the Plan for Dutch Schools to Reopen?
The majority of parents and teachers welcome the reopening of Dutch primary schools. But there is certainly an air of caution.
Some parents have outed their opinion that it is not safe for school to reopen and they will be keeping their children home. For now, school inspectors will not fine those parents who refuse to send their children to school because of safety concerns. However, it also seems that parents do not have a free pass to simply keep their children home without any consequences.
Children, parents and teachers who fall within the coronavirus risk groups may stay away from schools.
Secondary Schools
When I see the range of measures that our primary school is introducing I am left wondering how on earth secondary schools will be able to reopen with social distancing in mind.
Is it Safe for Dutch Schools to Reopen?
The big question on everyone’s lips is, of course, whether reopening Dutch schools is safe at this point.
Read: Should the Government Reopen Dutch Schools?
Jaap van Dissel, director of the Centrum Infectieziektebestrijding of the RIVM, has stated time and time again that children play only a small role in spreading the coronavirus and are at little risk of becoming seriously ill should they become infected with COVID-19.
The German equivalent of the RIVM has a different opinion and has therefore advised that only the exam classes return to school at the present time.
In Denmark, children returned to school a few weeks ago. Reports state that the reopening of schools has led to an increase in the transmission rate (R rate) of the coronavirus from 0.6 to 0.9. However, so long as the R rate remains under 1 there is no cause for panic.
Is is safe for Dutch schools to reopen? Only time will answer that. The argument is that we have to start somewhere with loosening the lock down measures that have been taken.
And those parents who feel like their children are being used as proefkonijnen? I can’t see how anyone could say that feeling is not a justified one at the moment. No one actually has the answers yet.
Hats off to Teachers
What I do know is that the teachers involved with providing children with online education the past seven or eight weeks have done an amazing job.
The measures that schools are introducing to allow children to get back to school will require something new of our teachers. Instead of teaching, they will now be occupied primarily with the issues of safety, hygiene and social distancing. And almost as an afterthought with teaching our children the basics of maths and Dutch language.
There is already a huge shortage of Dutch teachers in the education system. This coronavirus crisis has tested teachers to the limits. And they have, in my eyes, passed the crisis test with flying colours.
I hope the Dutch government pays more attention to the value of the teaching profession in a post pandemic society.
Over to You
Will your child return to school on 11 May? Do you feel it is safe for schools to reopen at this stage? Has the coronavirus already hit your family? What concerns do you have moving forward? Let me know in the comments.
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