EUROCITIES Working Group Education Amsterdam, 7 – 9 ...nws.eurocities.eu/MediaShell/media/FINAL_agenda_site_visit_description... · Guiding question for site visit: • The visit

EUROCITIES WG Education Amsterdam 2018

EUROCITIES Working Group Education

Amsterdam, 7 – 9 November 2018

Theme: Equal opportunities


AGENDA

November 7th Activity Location

10:30 – 11:30 Meeting Steering Committee (closed session)

De Bazel Vijzelstraat 32 1017 HL Amsterdam

12:00 – 13:00 Arrival of participants and lunch

De Bazel Vijzelstraat 32 1017 HL Amsterdam 13:00 – 14:30 Words of welcome

Jean-Jacques Derrien, chair EUROCITIES Ron Zandvliet, manager of the department of Education, City of Amsterdam. Amsterdam: facts & figures Ralph Rusconi, research advisor and coordination for the department of Education, City of Amsterdam. Presentation Iliass El Hadioui, lecturer at Erasmus University Rotterdam, studies the relationship between street and school culture. Theme: Equality in a super diverse classroom

14:30– 15:00 Coffee Break

15:00 – 16:30 Explanation study visits, preparation of questions, interviews and Critical Friend Review (in groups)

16:30 Break

17:45 – 19:00 Guided tour through Amsterdam (stops at restaurant) Starting point: In front of De Bazel Vijzelstraat 32 1017 HL Amsterdam

19:00 Dinner (offered by the City of Amsterdam)

Restaurant: Tolhuistuin (THT) Tolhuisweg 5 1031 CL Amsterdam

November 8th Critical Friend Review (Study Visits) Location 08:20 - 08:30 Meeting of all groups:

From Vijzelstraat 68 we will travel in groups to the different locations of the study visits. Make sure you are on time at the meeting point (no later than 8:30).

Meetingpoint: In front of SPACES Vijzelstraat 68 1017 HL Amsterdam


STUDY VISITS:

09:00 – 15:00 (A) Pre-school education & primary education Theme: Early childhood education Locations (route): Parent & Child team Pre-school IJsterk Early primary school Montessori De Eilanden

Starting point: Parent & Child Team Lindengracht 204 1015 KL Amsterdam

(B) Primary education Theme: New ways of teaching Location: Alan Turing School

Starting point: Alan Turing School Poolstraat 2 1018 LR Amsterdam

(C) Secondary education Theme: Superdiversity Locations (route): Mundus College MBO College West

Starting point: Mundus College Burgemeester Hogguerstraat 2 1064 EB Amsterdam

(D) Programme Theme: Getting multi-problem schools to a higher level (focus Schools) Location: Flevoparkschool

Starting point: Flevoparkschool Soembawastraat 61 1095 VX Amsterdam

15:00 Returning at De Bazel De Bazel Vijzelstraat 32 1017 HL 15:00 – 15:45 Preparation Critical Friend Review conclusions (groups)

15:45 – 17:00 Presentation of conclusions (plenary session) 17:00 Break

19:30 Dinner (at own expense) De Prael - Oudezijds Voorburgwal 30

Restaurant: De Prael Oudezijds Voorburgwal 30 1012 GD Amsterdam

November 9th Working Group Meeting Location

09:00 – 10:30 General meeting • EU policy and projects update – Bianca Faragau • Presentation Chair / Vice Chair • Presentation Ralph Rusconi • Updates from members (3-4 bullet points per city)

De Bazel Vijzelstraat 32 1017 HL Amsterdam

10:30 - 10:45

Coffee Break

10:45 – 11:30 Business meeting: part I • Follow-up done by cities based on the learnings from

the previous meeting in Tallinn

11:30 -12:00 Marjolein Moorman, Deputy Mayor, City of Amsterdam


12:00 – 13:00 Business meeting: part II

• WG workplan for 2019: priorities & objectives • Elections of chair/vice-chair (as per vademecum) • Next meetings 2019: themes and host cities • CFR Handbook • Evaluation

13:00 End of working group meeting

13.00 – 14:00 Lunch (optional)

Questions? If you have any practical questions or problems during your stay you can contact:

Marije Ligthart / 0031 642533081


STUDY VISITS

A. Preschool and early primary education Theme: Early childhood education in Amsterdam Contact person: Annemarie Apeldoorn / 0031 6 8384 7700 Site visits at:

• Parent & Child team (OKT). Age: 0-12 • Pre-school IJsterk Westerdok. Age: 0-4 • Early primary school Montessori De Eilanden. 250 pupils. Age: 4-12.

Schedule: 09:00 – Meeting at Parent & Child team 09:15 – Walk to Pre-school IJsterk Westerdok 09:30 – Visit Pre-school IJsterk Westerdok 10:45 – Visit early primary school Montessori De Eilanden 12:00 – Lunch + evaluation 13:30 – Feedback round 14:00 – End of study visit Information: Preschool is intended to prepare children for primary school by giving them a chance for a good start. Children aged 2 and half to 4 can attend a preschool. The purpose and motto of preschools is ‘learn while playing’. Lots of time and effort is spent playing language games, reading to children, listening, drawing, singing and doing exercises (physical exercises or practicing by doing tasks).

Key aspects of early childhood education in Amsterdam:

• Aims to enable children to start primary school with sufficient language skills, which is the key for school success.

• Approximately 30% of children at the age of 2,5 – 4 years are at risk of developing truancy in Dutch language skills (they are the target group).

• Parents’ income should not determine whether or not a child can attend a preschool. • Amsterdam wants every parent to support their child in their development and education.

Target group: Each toddler in Amsterdam is entitled to 15 hours of preschool a week. Sometimes the Parent and Child Counselling Team (OKT) recommends that a toddler should attend preschool (identifying target group). The OKT assesses the development of each child. If there is a risk of under-development in Dutch language, the OKT advises that the child attends preschool. At the age of 4 children switch to primary school. Compulsory education starts at 5. Early primary education continues in the first two grades of primary school. The focus is on ‘playful learning’. All early primary schools collaborate with a preschool (for programme and themes for teacher exchange).


Policy of the municipality of Amsterdam: Early childhood education costs the city €60 million a year. This is partly funded by national government and partly by the city. State funding is done through the municipalities, giving them a large degree of freedom in deciding on the allocation of funds. In addition to state, Amsterdam invests €6 million of its own funds in preschools. In return for this investment, the city requires preschools to invest extra resources in the quality of its professionals and the learning programmes.

Purpose of the visit: We start our visit at the OKT followed by a visit to the preschool ‘IJsterk Kinderopvang’ where the objective of creating equal opportunities for children with different levels in Dutch and native languages, will be explained. Next, we will visit the (early) primary school Montessori De Eilanden. They collaborate with the IJsterk preschool.

Guiding question for site visit:

• The visit shows how Amsterdam invests in language skills and equal opportunities for children with different native languages. What could Amsterdam learn from your city’s investments or efforts in early childhood education?


B. Primary education Theme: New ways of teaching Contact person: Cesar Kuyper / 0031 6 10919708 Site visit at:

• Alan Turing School. Primary School. Age: 4-12 Schedule: 09:00 – Meeting at Alan Turing School 09:15 – Tour through school 09:45 – Interviews 10:45 – Analysis 12:00 – Lunch (outside school) 13:30 – Feedback round at school 13:45 – End of study visit The Amsterdam Schools competition: In the Dutch school system, starting your own school with a governmental subsidy is nothing new. After a tough national battle that lasted for over 100 years, the government and a group of educational organisations signed the Freedom of Education Act in 1917. But to establish a school with a completely new concept has proven difficult. Therefore, Amsterdam set up a competition for new schools. Thanks to an innovative educational concept, the Alan Turing School won the Amsterdam school competition. Inspired by Alan Turing: In 2016, the Alan Turing School’s innovative educational concept was one of the winners of the Amsterdam Schools competition. The school is named after the British mathematician and code cracker Alan Turing. Turing was a broadly educated, highly original thinker. He was also creative, sporty and a whiz at working together. The versatility of Turing is reflected in the school’s curriculum:

• Excellent reading, writing and mathematics skills • Acquaints pupils with logic, abstract thought, inquisitive approaches, science skills,

robotics, innovative thinking and creativity • Focus on health and wellbeing • Overall development and perseverance

Mission of the school: The Alan Turing School sees many opportunities to better align teaching programmes with technological and social developments. The school's mission is to educate children to become worldly-wise, critically-thinking global citizens, joining forces to change the world and make it a better place. The school supports children to achieve their full potential, broaden their horizons and open new doors. The school aims to prepare children for a future where they can follow their dreams, operating both independently and in collaboration with others.


Values of the school: The Alan Turing School values a social and open-minded attitude both towards others and the outside world. The Roman Catholic faith may serve as a basis, but the school equally respects other faiths and beliefs. The school board, teaching staff, parents and pupils value and appreciate one another. It is important that children treat each other with respect, understanding and caring towards the environment, being helpful, attentive and mindful that everyone is unique in own way.

Guiding question for site visit:

• Can the new ways of teaching of the Alan Turing School be a solution for the challenges we witness in primary-education, such as low self-esteem of pupils or low performance?


C. Secondary education Theme: Super-diversity at home & in school Contact person: Eveline Hamers / 0031 623229677 Site visits at:

• Mundus College: 1,000 students. VMBO (intermediate preparatory vocational education), Age: 12-18

• ROC Amsterdam, MBO College West (intermediate vocational education, care and well-being) 3,800 students, 400 employees, age: 16-60

Schedule: 09:00 – Meeting at Mundus College 09:15 – Tour through school 09:45 – Analysis / interviews 10:30 – Walk to ROC Amsterdam 10:45 – Tour through ROC Amsterdam 13:00 – Lunch at ROC Amsterdam 14:00 – Feedback round 14:30 – End of study visit New West neighbourhood: With over 180 nationalities, Amsterdam is scoring high marks on diversity. This diversity is clearly visible in the classroom, specifically in the neighbourhood ‘Nieuw West’ (New West). For example, 90% of the students at MBO College West have a migrant background. This diversity is also visible at the other schools in this neighbourhood. We call this ‘super-diversity’ as there no longer exists a majority group. This super-diversity creates a dynamic metropolitan culture that needs to be taken into account by the schools and teachers in their pedagogical practices. The socio-economic factors combined with the migrant background of the neighbourhood creates an image that is recognisable for many other big cities in the Netherlands but also in London, Stockholm and Paris. Increasing equality of opportunities is therefore an important goal for the Amsterdam approach to education. This goal has been a crucial factor for governmental and school policies. Social lab: The schools we will visit work together with the Social Lab Slotervaart. What does this mean? Urban sociologist Iliass El Hadioui works with these types of schools on lecturer professionalisation and the creation of a different culture at school. This programme is entitled Transformative School and focuses on the triangle ‘Street – Home – School Culture’ and has been running for 4-5 years and will continue to do so over the upcoming years. Teachers are trained to give priority to: ‘How can we make the school inclusive? And how do we make sure students can climb the ‘school ladder’ instead of the ‘street ladder’?’ Equality of opportunities,


inclusive school and countering segregation are key concepts of this programme. All types and levels of education are included. A smooth transition from one type of education to another is a core objective to prevent early school leaving and to promote climbing the ‘school ladder’.

The publication ‘How street culture enters the school’ written by Iliass El Hadioui in 2011 is the foundation of this approach. From 2018, this scientific research from the VU University has been combined with the Social Lab Slotervaart.

Guiding questions for site visit: • What impact does this programme have on students and teachers? What can we learn? • How can we focus more on the triangle home-street-school?


D. Focus Schools Theme: Extra support for primary schools in areas with an accumulation of problems Contact person: Karima Halioui 0031 610245376 Site visit:

• Flevoparkschool primary school, 300 pupils aged 4-12 Schedule: 09:00 – Meeting at Flevoparkschool 09:15 – Tour through school 09:45 – Interviews & preparation analysis 12:00 – Lunch 13:00 – Feedback 13:45 – End of study visit Focus Schools The programme ‘Focus Schools’ supports primary schools in areas with an accumulation of problems. The municipality wants to offer all children in Amsterdam, regardless of place of origin or background, prospects of successful schooling. This programme focuses on each school individually. Schools can apply for funding based on their own needs, knowledge and experience with which they can counter educational disadvantage. During the first school year (2016-2017) the first group of 12 schools started, the second year (2017-2018) welcomed 33 schools. Knowledge exchange & learning network: The exchange of knowledge is an important component of Focus Schools. Schools can learn from one another and exchange experiences. This exchange takes place on several levels. From each district several directors come together to exchange knowledge and experience and learn from each other. Next to this, several network meetings take place in the form of a ‘City School Pop-Up Museum’ to highlight several good practices from the different schools. Twice a ‘City School Academy’ has been organised to offer the schools insight and depth in several themes. The Flevoparkschool: This public school is situated in the ‘Indische buurt’ in the east of Amsterdam. The Flevoparkschool is a primary school focusing on children aged 4 to 12/13. This school focuses on several points:

• innovative ways of learning • learning from and with each other • connecting communities and focusing on cohesion • participation and emancipation of people from different backgrounds


Vision: All students should benefit from education. The school has high expectations from itself and its students. Personal development is key. The development of perseverance, independence, social skills and creativity are given special attention. The school focuses on the development of individual skills of every child. For pupils who can achieve more, ‘Plus Classes’ have been established. Excellent pupils can once a week attend the ‘Day a week school’. This offers them an extended curriculum. For the students who need more help, the school has extra teachers who offer support outside of class. Classes are small (average between 15 and 25 students). For children aged 11 and 12, a ‘vacation-language-school’ is offered. On every Friday and during holidays, language classes are offered. Parents do not need to pay for these additional classes.

Guiding questions for site visit:

• The Flevoparkschool focusses on equal opportunities. What does this mean for the children attending the school?

• What can we learn from this school? And what could Amsterdam and this school learn from your investments/efforts?


Explanation Critical Friend Review

Overall theme of the Critical Friend Review: Educational equity/ Equal opportunities Guiding Questions

• Does the institution/ programme/ project etc. promote educational equity and equal opportunities in a sustainable way?

• What could be improved to promote educational equity? • What could be improved to promote equal opportunities?

Guidance for the Critical Friends Review Aim – To …

• provide guidance to host cities/ institutions • identify common learning and analysis between participating cities • to learn with others and support actions to be taken across cities

Step 1 – Overall theme and focus of CFR

• Host city presents the topic and/ or focus of the critical friend review • Host city presents guiding questions

Step 2 - Contextual information • Host city supplies the visitors (“critical friends”) with contextual information ahead of the review, e.g. background information on strategies, concepts, education system, institutions etc. • Host city presents information at the beginning of/ during the review, e.g. by presentations and tours


Step 3 – Interviews

• Ahead of the interviews (dialogues, discussions) the visitors (“critical friends”) prepare additional questions which are based on the guiding questions and address the overall theme • At the beginning of the interviews (dialogues, discussions) the visitors (“critical friends”) introduce themselves (name, city and function) to each of the hosts (“interviewees”). • During the interviews (dialogues, discussions) the visitors (“critical friends”) take notes, preferably making use of the SWOT-analysis documents; this

will be useful later on when the groups come together to discuss the results of the interviews:

o Strengths/ any note of perceived strengths o Weaknesses/ perceived weaknesses o Opportunities/ potential opportunities o Threats/ possible or real threats

Step 4 -/ SWOT- and Plus-/ Delta-Analysis

• The visitors (“critical friends”) discuss their findings (without the hosts) based on their notes and complete one SWOT-analysis per group (and institution/ programme/ project); using Sticky notes/ Post It is quite useful as they can be re-positioned and clustered • The visitors (“critical friends”) discuss their findings (without the hosts) based on the SWOT-analysis and their expertise and experiences

• The visitors (“critical friends”) complete one Plus-/ Delta-analysis per group (and institution/ programme/ project):

o Plus/ This is intended to allow the host city and the visitors to identify what is good or going well

o Delta/ This is to identify “what could be done differently”, i.e. how can the weaknesses be turned into potential opportunities and/ or how can the strengths be utilized in order to profit from the opportunities


Step 5 - Feedback

• The visitors (“critical friends”) are able to identify challenges and offer advice or assistance (also based on their considerable expertise), give feedback and make suggestions • The feedback should be both constructively “critical” and “friendly”. • Based on the Plus-/ Delta-analysis (and maybe the SWOT-analysis) the visitors (“critical friends”) give feedback to their hosts

• Based on the Plus-/ Delta-analysis (and maybe the SWOT-analysis) the visitors (“critical friends”) share their findings with the whole group (mutual learning)


Background information Dutch Education System

Freedom of education One of the key features of the Dutch education system, the freedom of education, is safeguarded by Article 23 of the Constitution. It covers the freedom to set up schools, organise teaching systems at schools and determine the founding principles. Any citizen has the right to set up a school and provide education based on religious, ideological or educational beliefs. Under the Constitution, private and public schools are guaranteed equal public funding. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is responsible for all agricultural education, which must adhere to the same principles set out in the general education policy and as defined in the general educational legislation, as the schools funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Schools have great autonomy. Private schools can be based on a particular denomination, such as Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Anthroposophy or educational models, such as Montessori, Dalton, Freinet or Jenaplan. Public and private may also be based on combinations of denominational and educational ideas (e.g., Catholic Montessori school or Public Dalton School). ‘Freedom to organise teaching systems’ means that both public and private schools are free to determine what is taught at schools and how t his is taught, within legal boundaries. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, however, sets the quality standards to which both public and government - funded private schools must adhere. These standards prescribe the subjects to be studied, the at tainment levels or examination syllabuses and the content of national examinations, the number of teaching periods per year, which qualifications teachers must have, giving parents and pupils a say in school matters, planning and reporting obligations.

Compulsory education The obligation to attend school is laid down in the Compulsory Education Act 1969. Every child must attend school full-time from the first school day of the month following its fifth birthday. However, parents have the right to send their child to school even earlier, at the age of four (98% of all four-year-olds attend school). Under the basic qualification requirement that came into effect in September 2007, all young people up to 18 years must attend school until they attain a basic qualification. A basic qualification is a HAVO, VWO or MBO level 2 certificate.

Explanation of terms:

- VMBO: pre - vocational secondary education - MBO: upper secondary vocational education - HAVO: senior general secondary education - VWO: pre - university education - HBO: higher vocational education - WO: university



There are several forms of early childhood education Up until the age of 4, children can attend day nurseries (kinderdagverblijf) or go to a childminder under the regulated home-based childminding scheme (gastouderopvang). In addition to private day nurseries and childminders, children between the ages of 2 and 4 can attend publicly funded playgroups (peuterspeelzalen). The playgroups mostly provide half-day Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Children with a language disadvantage aged 2½ to 4 are offered support through targeted early childhood education programmes (voorschoolse educatie), which reaches around 45,000 children. These programmes are offered in both private day nurseries (kinderdagverblijf) and publicly funded playgroups (peuterspeelzalen). Care and education for children younger than 4 is a joint responsibility of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and local government authorities. Primary education Primary education is spread over eight years/classes. Most children start school at the age of 4. While schools are free to determine the teaching content and methods, their work must be based on national attainment and reference levels for literacy and numeracy. At the end of their eight years of schooling, primary school leavers receive a report describing their attainment level and potential. Since the school year 2014-2015, all schools must apply an objective primary school leavers attainment test approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to assess the educational potential of their pupils. Based on the capabilities of pupils, teachers give a recommendation on the type of secondary school that would be appropriate for the student. This recommendation is decisive for students’ transfers to different types of secondary education. Three levels of secondary education Upon leaving primary school at the age of 12 approximately, children have a choice between three major types of secondary education, mainly dependent on their potential and capacities: VMBO (pre-vocational secondary education; four years), HAVO (senior general secondary education; five years) and VWO (pre-university education; six years). VMBO comprises four programmes: a basic vocational programme (b), a middle management programme (k), a combined programme (g) and a theoretical programme (t). Students who are not expected to obtain a diploma are provided practical training programmes, in which they may obtain certificates (praktijkonderwijs, pro). These students are prepared for a variety of important skills that will enable them to participate in society All three types of secondary education start with a period of basic secondary education, during which all students study a broad range of subjects which in theory is the same for all school types. The actual programme and content, however, may vary to cater to differences in learning abilities. After completing VMBO at the age of about 16, students may enrol in upper secondary vocational education (MBO). Students who have obtained their VMBO-t diploma may also proceed to HAVO, which will give them access to universities of applied sciences (HBO). A VWO diploma grants access to all universities, including research universities.

Documents

EUROCITIES Working Group Education Amsterdam, 7 – 9 ...nws.eurocities.eu/MediaShell/media/FINAL_agenda_site_visit_description... · Guiding question for site visit: • The visit