Small towns and villages also suffer from teacher shortages

In previous school years, the teacher shortage mainly occurred in the larger cities, says Cornee Hoogerwerf of the General Education Association: “But the problem is no longer exclusively in the Randstad. We are really past that phase. It is very simple: there is a lot of outflow and little influx,” says Hoogerwerf.

As a result, the teacher shortage has become a headache for almost all primary schools in the province. With great difficulty the schools manage to get timetables, but ‘the fat is really gone from the bones’, says Alwin Hietbrink, director of Sarkon with 19 schools spread throughout the Noordkop. They have 3 vacancies in total.

Hire people blind

His umbrella is not the only one with vacancies. Kopwerk-Schooltij is looking for 7 more teachers. “Ten years ago we had a surplus of teachers,” said John Deckers. “Now that has completely changed and we are hiring people almost blindly.” According to him, it is especially difficult to find staff in the small cores. “The public transport connections are bad and the schools small.”

Moreover, the labor market for teachers is so favorable that, according to Piet Hein Porcelijn, HR manager at Ronduit with locations in Noordkop, Alkmaar and West Friesland, it is much easier than before to choose a career step. According to him, the number of job terminations has been much higher since May of this year than in previous years. There are currently 8 vacancies at Ronduit. “These are teachers who have become principals elsewhere or who want to teach at the senior level.”

It means that schools sometimes have to take rigorous measures. At Jong Learning with 22 schools in the Haarlem area, they point out the shortage of substitutes. “We cannot therefore guarantee that no groups will be sent home in the event of illness or failure”, says communication officer Elke Otten.

In order to avoid these rigorous measures, schools are looking for creative solutions to fill the timetables anyway. For example, they put teaching assistants in front of the class, they call in external organizations and self-employed people, or they call on retired teachers and trainees. Young Learning will soon be running a pilot in which the four-day lesson week will be supplemented with gym, dance, art and culture one day a week.

Deployment of high school students

Other schools are looking for more structural solutions. For example, in Den Helder Meerwerf, Sarkon, the Cooperation Schools Foundation and the childcare center are joining forces by looking at a way in which, for example, a class assistant can not only teach at school, but can also be deployed as a worker in after-school care after school.

Alberdingk Thijm Schools in ‘t Gooi, which also have secondary schools within the umbrella organisation, focus on secondary school students: “If we see talent or if students show an interest in teacher training, we offer them an internship or the opportunity to participate without obligation. to walk”, says driver Bart van den Haak.

However, according to the schools in North Holland, a definitive solution still seems a long way off. But let one thing be clear, emphasizes Rool Hoogendoorn of Talent Primair in ‘t Gooi: “The development of students always comes first. We as schools try to ensure that.”