In 2018, Vocational Education at Sea was assessed as ‘very weak’ by the Education Inspectorate, a year later the level of Lyceum aan Zee was found to be just as bad. School director Hans van Beekum was involved in both cases and in both cases the flag was raised at the Schools aan Zee locations in Den Helder just one year after the bad news. “We went back to the essence: the child had to be central.”
Hans van Beekum was school director of the Mavo aan Zee location when the seemed to be going the wrong way with Vocational Education at Sea and Lyceum at Sea, all affiliated with Scholen aan Zee, the only comprehensive school in Den Helder. At that time, ‘His’ school Mavo aan Zee was the only one of the Den Helder branches that was doing well, after which Van Beekum was asked in the spring of 2018 to replace the director of Vocational Education at Sea.
In July 2018, the announcement was made that Vocational Education at Sea was labeled ‘very weak’. had receivedand although Lyceum aan Zee seemed slightly improved that school stayed ‘weak’. It remained a concern at the school where in 2017 only 56 percent of the havists immediately succeeded†
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It is Van Beekum’s task to, first of all, bring Vocational Education at Sea up to standard. That succeeded† The school had gone from ‘very weak’ to ‘satisfactory’ within a year. A major achievement. So when Lyceum aan Zee that same month was assessed as ‘very weak’, Van Beekum was involved again. Even now the figure was sufficient after one year.
right people
Yet Van Beekum does not want to ascribe too much of a role to himself. “You have to gather the right people around you. And I was also allowed to put together the management teams. They were complementary.” They tried to go back to basics: the apprentice. “We wanted to do what was best for the student. We wanted to find out what makes a lesson a good lesson. What requirements should they meet? But we were also concerned with how we interact with each other, communicate, that we kept the environment involved.”
“On the work floor, we steered towards conversations, so you can also learn from each other. You have to empower the teacher. Our objective was ‘lesson(s) is more’ and a deal is a deal.”
“In August we organized a ‘New Year’s reception’, complete with oliebollen, to wish them a happy new school year”
Positivity was an important point here. Van Beekum: “We wanted to approach students in a positive way. At Beroepsonderwijs aan Zee we therefore welcomed the students at the door in the morning. And in August we organized a ‘New Year’s reception’ for the parents, complete with oliebollen, to give them a happy new year. school year.”
An important factor was that each school of Scholen aan Zee had a different board. “One policy was good, the other less so and that led to big differences and weakening.” That is different now: “Now we are a broad school community with one team and one thought.”
Coverage
There is good contact with the Education Inspectorate, with whom the school regularly meets. “When we had a bad name, teachers didn’t want to work with us. But − knock on the door − we have no (anymore) trouble finding teachers. They sign up spontaneously. And the students no longer go to schools in the area “We now have a healthy situation with a coverage rate of 90 percent. If children choose another school, it is a conscious choice because they want a different education than green education.”
Van Beekum’s ambitions are undiminished: “Corona actually threw a spanner in the works, because we were in such a good flow. We could have become ‘good’, or even ‘excellent’. But distance learning came and the school had to close. And we have missed the momentum to be able to talk to colleagues from other schools. But the basis is our aim to become ‘good’, then we want at least as a monopolist in Den Helder. We are working on it and all go for it. Enough is not good enough.”
Nationally, there are now five secondary schools that are rated ‘very weak’ have got of the inspection. It concerns three schools from Amsterdam, including the Cornelius Haga Lyceum that has come under fire before, and a school from Hoorn.
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