New school year starts with a number of novelties: psychologists at school, teacher bonus and new registration rules | BACK TO SCHOOL

Starting teachers – lateral entrants and others – who do not yet have a pedagogical diploma, can receive a teacher bonus from 1 September. This allows them to get up to 3 hours per week leave for their teacher training, with full pay.

They will also be able to save those hours and bundle them into certain (exam) periods, when they are most needed. They can then make agreements about this within the school.

Schools can appoint staff from 1 October if there is a shortage of teaching staff. The intention is that they take over tasks from teachers, who can then focus on their core task.

The staff can then help, for example, by taking over supervision or helping with differentiation in the classroom. Special education may also involve paramedical, medical, social and remedial educational staff.

For this purpose, the school may convert up to 20 percent of its vacant teaching times or hours into points or into special education hours into hours and then use them in offices of policy and support staff.

The registration fee is still new this school year. Schools in primary education and the first year of secondary education that do not have enough space to enroll all students are required to have students register digitally in order to be able to refuse them on the basis of capacity.

The new rule applies to registrations during the 2022-2023 school year for the 2023-2024 school year. An application system is being developed, but schools are not required to use it. They can choose how they organize the registrations.

The new rules do not yet apply to special education. That will continue for another two school years with the existing rules.

Psychologists are given a more prominent place in school. From this school year, they can offer group sessions at school to prevent children and young people from developing more serious mental problems. The plans are part of the reform of Federal Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) regarding psychological care.

External psychologists – not those from the Pupil Guidance Centers – will come to schools to work preventively on the mental health of children and young people.

Pupils younger than 5 can already start primary education from this school year, if they receive a favorable advice from the class council or the CLB. Until now, children had to be at least 5 years old before they could go to primary education.

In addition, there is no longer a minimum age for obtaining a certificate of primary education. It used to be 9 years. The certificate can also be awarded during the entire school year.

CLBs should no longer be required to be involved in any decision to let students repeat a year. The class council gains that confidence, which means less planning burden for the CLBs.

The school is of course always allowed to consult with the CLB and the parents always have the right to obtain the advice of the CLB.

In French-language education, pupils no longer traditionally start the school year on September 1, but on the last Monday of August. This school year is therefore Monday 29 August. The school year no longer ends on June 30, but on the first Friday of July. The next summer holiday will therefore start on July 7, 2023.

Nothing will change in Flanders for the time being. The school year starts on September 1 and runs until the end of June.

Schools that receive additional enrollments from Ukrainian students (or other foreign-language newcomers) receive additional funding. To get an idea of ​​the number of newcomers, an extra counting day will be organized on 1 October.