Community schools: a co-operatieve vision of the future

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This month, Job van Velsen speaks in support of community schools and how these relatively new institutions provide a rich learning environment for Europe’s future adults.

Are we doing the things children are asking for and need for their future? This is the question a school team on their way to becoming a community school should ask themselves. When this question has been answered, and the answer recorded and guaranteed â€“ by leaders, managers and employees â€“ a second question follows: what is the best way to help children of this era with their specific questions and talents?

Challenging children to utilise their talents and preparing them for the fast-changing world around them. That is the objective of community schools which are arising in more and more places in the Netherlands.

We have known for a long time that a school offers more variety than just knowledge exchange between teacher and pupil. The Romans used the word ‘schola’, which stands for hobby, study and free-time activities: the typical ingredients of a community school.

Community schools are different in shape and size. Aspects such as location, the children themselves, their questions and talents, their parents and the district they live in all contribute to determining the curriculum of each school. A possible reconception is a ‘child centre’ with child care, pre-school and primary school cooperating to a greater extent. It functions as one new organisation, with one team, one vision, one parents’ association and one educational approach. Two thirds of the school leaders in the Netherlands prefer this model and expect to be managers of such a child centre in two years’ time.

I was manager of Het Meesterwerk in Almere â€“ an appealing example of a community school in the Netherlands â€“ and saw the positive effects a community school can have on children and teachers every day. At that time, we started with a number of organisations from the neighbourhood on the basis of a common vision of children and learning, with the focus on children in their environment. Teachers challenge children and support them during their learning process by inviting the world and reaching out to that world. Also, in my work as project leader of the Landelijk Steunpunt Brede Scholen (National Office Community schools) and now as a consultant in this field, I have the experience that the most successful community schools are the ones where professionals from different disciplines work together based on a clear vision of children.

Community schools make learning fun again. Much more creativity, entrepreneurship and cooperation is required, both from children and teachers. Children learn to apply their knowledge in a rich learning environment. They can use this experience to take successful further steps at school, during their career and later in life. Teachers have become even more important in the development of children, asking, What does my pupil need to make progress, how can I help himor her here and could I perhaps introduce a specialist? By cooperating with others in particular, teachers also can develop further professionally.

In fact, there is only one answer to the questions I posed at the start: by cooperating. It requires that primary education, childcare, pre-school, healthcare and welfare institutions, still working separately at the moment, join forces. It means for them to utilise their mutual expertise and enhance it based on a shared vision of the broad development of children. The combined knowledge and experience of different professionals form the basis for the school of the future. Together, they will achieve more than if they were working on their own.

Working together is a powerful force and, in my view, the essence of the community school. Working together with organisations, institutions, specialists, associations and residents results in a rich source of knowledge and experience for (learning) programmes, both during and after school time. This is true for children and sometimes for parents or local residents too. We have plenty of examples. Employees working for a major bank that help children with a language disadvantage by reading and practising speaking skills with them. A musician teaching children musical education. Childcare offering a solution for children with behaviour problems if the situation in the classroom is not working very well for them at the moment.

Cooperation in a community school contributes to more opportunities for children. This doesn’t only serve the children. In fact it is good for all of us, because the world of the future is what children make of it. In my view, the community school is the opportunity to contribute to that future.

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