EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Community Schools

Community Schools - Groningen, the Netherlands

Introduction

The goal of Groningen Community Schools is to use an integrated approach to tackle educational disadvantage in children and to provide care before and after school hours.

Problem

The goal of Groningen Community Schools is to use an integrated approach to tackle educational disadvantage in children and to provide care before and after school hours. A Community School is a combination of at least one primary school and various other associated organizations in a district.

How can children with learning difficulties be helped by an integrated approach?

Description

he objective of the Community Schools is to tackle educational disadvantage. The means successfully used by the Community Schools are an integrated youth policy, parent participation and an extended school day. Partners include health care organizations, playgroups, childcare, community centres and the music school. The Community Schools create new opportunities, partly by lowering the threshold to the various partner organizations for both parents and children.

Parents can make use of the open consulting hours at the Social and Legal Services department for instance. Children can take part in open sessions at sports clubs and the arts' centre. The aim is to have a Community School in every district. The increase in the number of pupils shows that the initiative is taking off. Half of the primary school pupils in Groningen now attend one of the ten Community Schools in Groningen.

Approach

A community school is a package of at least one primary school and various other institutions in a district.
One of the aims is to bring about better ways of combining care and work.
Each community school reflects the district in which it stands. That is why no two are the same.
The partners are playgroups, childcare centres, social and cultural work (e.g. community centres), libraries, adult education, sports clubs, the music school, and civil society organizations.
Community schools are for all children from 0 to 15.
Parents must as far as possible be involved in the community school.
The strength of the community school concept lies in the combination of these starting-points with the unique input from the district which each school serves.

Results

The Community Schools are already making great progress, as is also concluded by educationalist Joke Kruiter in her thesis entitled 'Groningen community schools. Influence on child behaviour problems and education at home'. Kruiter studied pupils at the four oldest Groningen Community Schools. Her study showed that the children have fewer behavioural problems after attending these schools for two years.

Since the start of the community schools project in 1996 Groningen has amassed considerable experience with the scheme; there are now nine functioning Venster schools in the city. The city authorities now face the task of turning the Venster schools project into permanent policy while both retaining the good things from the pioneer phase and having due regard to efficient and result-oriented operating practices.

Contact info

City of Groningen, Education Department
René Schaap (project secretary), tel. +31 50 3676007

Project start date

25/10/2004

Links

Groningen Community Schools

Project Plan (PDF, Dut, 370 KB)

Groningen Community Schools (PDF, Eng, 910 KB)

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Working patterns

Keywords

Flexible working