OUR APPROACH TO TEACHING De Bakelaa
TEACHING AND EDUCATION
We have not chosen one particular educational system. We are an ordinary primary school where children are taught all the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to prepare them for secondary education and to develop into independent, broad-minded individuals. Arithmetic, language skills, reading and writing are of crucial importance in our school. But we also pay much attention to social and creative development; learning to deal with values and standards; learning to deal with one’s emotions; peace education, etc.
TEACHING ENVIRONMENT
It is important for children to feel at home at school. Each child must be able to feel safe in a group and with teachers. A good atmosphere at school is very important, as it provides the basis for the children’s learning progress. The learning environment is crucial, too. We endeavour to create a quiet, warm learning environment where everything has its own regular place.
CARE OF THE CHILDREN
Parents and teachers may be concerned about a child’s development. It is our task to take such concerns seriously and respond to them to the best of our abilities.
We feel it is important to involve parents in a school’s activities. This is important for the development of your child. After all, you entrust part of your child’s upbringing to the school. The situation at home should be in line with the situation at school, as this will benefit your child.
Even so, sometimes things may go wrong or be unclear to the parents and/or the child. If this happens it is important to get in touch with the teacher at once. Only by doing so can effective action be undertaken to solve the problem.
Educational and didactic problems may arise, involving lack of confidence; hating school; fights with other children; bullying; being afraid; victimisation; stress before an exam; seats assigned in class; lack of independence when doing tasks, etc. And, of course, difficulties may occur with the development of various skills and progress in learning, including development of vocabulary; language skills; arithmetic; reading; motor skills; doing homework, etc.
MONITORING PUPILS
All pupils at our school are carefully monitored with regard to their progress and development. We keep detailed files on each child, containing information from the time when the child enters group 1 until he or she moves on to secondary education.
We carry out frequent assessments to get an objective picture of each child. These assessments are based on the monitoring system designed by the Department of Education and enable us to monitor a child’s development over a prolonged period of time. In this way we can detect any learning gaps or unsatisfactory results at an early stage.
If a child has learning problems teachers can call on the in-school counsellor who is specialised in helping problem pupils. The counsellor will propose an action plan following discussion with the teacher. The plan is suitable to be implemented in the classroom. It will effectively improve the amount of time spent in learning without going outside the scope of our teaching procedures.
Teachers also observe each child during the school-year and write down their observations and conclusions in an observation report to be discussed with parents three times a year.
If a teacher becomes aware of a problem the child’s parents are contacted at the earliest opportunity.
When parents become aware of a problem the best thing they can do is to make an appointment with the teacher. Usually the teacher will know how the problem can best be dealt with. A solution can often be found by briefly discussing the problem or by additional supervision in the classroom. Group discussions are another way of dealing responsibly with a social or emotional problem and influencing behaviour.
PROCEDURE IN CASE OF LEARNING AND/OR BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMSThe counsellors support the teachers in implementing the action plan. Together they plan an intermediate assessment in order to carefully monitor the child’s learning process.
Even so, the special care given to a pupil may turn out to be insufficient. The additional guidance and assistance is not effective enough – the problems are simply too big. At that point we will suggest to the child’s parents that it may be a good idea to send their child to a special school. If both the parents and the school agree a procedure will be initiated to place the child in a special school.
Tips from the students
Tops from the students
We have not chosen one particular educational system. We are an ordinary primary school where children are taught all the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to prepare them for secondary education and to develop into independent, broad-minded individuals. Arithmetic, language skills, reading and writing are of crucial importance in our school. But we also pay much attention to social and creative development; learning to deal with values and standards; learning to deal with one’s emotions; peace education, etc.
TEACHING ENVIRONMENT
It is important for children to feel at home at school. Each child must be able to feel safe in a group and with teachers. A good atmosphere at school is very important, as it provides the basis for the children’s learning progress. The learning environment is crucial, too. We endeavour to create a quiet, warm learning environment where everything has its own regular place.
CARE OF THE CHILDREN
Parents and teachers may be concerned about a child’s development. It is our task to take such concerns seriously and respond to them to the best of our abilities.
We feel it is important to involve parents in a school’s activities. This is important for the development of your child. After all, you entrust part of your child’s upbringing to the school. The situation at home should be in line with the situation at school, as this will benefit your child.
Even so, sometimes things may go wrong or be unclear to the parents and/or the child. If this happens it is important to get in touch with the teacher at once. Only by doing so can effective action be undertaken to solve the problem.
Educational and didactic problems may arise, involving lack of confidence; hating school; fights with other children; bullying; being afraid; victimisation; stress before an exam; seats assigned in class; lack of independence when doing tasks, etc. And, of course, difficulties may occur with the development of various skills and progress in learning, including development of vocabulary; language skills; arithmetic; reading; motor skills; doing homework, etc.
MONITORING PUPILS
All pupils at our school are carefully monitored with regard to their progress and development. We keep detailed files on each child, containing information from the time when the child enters group 1 until he or she moves on to secondary education.
We carry out frequent assessments to get an objective picture of each child. These assessments are based on the monitoring system designed by the Department of Education and enable us to monitor a child’s development over a prolonged period of time. In this way we can detect any learning gaps or unsatisfactory results at an early stage.
If a child has learning problems teachers can call on the in-school counsellor who is specialised in helping problem pupils. The counsellor will propose an action plan following discussion with the teacher. The plan is suitable to be implemented in the classroom. It will effectively improve the amount of time spent in learning without going outside the scope of our teaching procedures.
Teachers also observe each child during the school-year and write down their observations and conclusions in an observation report to be discussed with parents three times a year.
If a teacher becomes aware of a problem the child’s parents are contacted at the earliest opportunity.
When parents become aware of a problem the best thing they can do is to make an appointment with the teacher. Usually the teacher will know how the problem can best be dealt with. A solution can often be found by briefly discussing the problem or by additional supervision in the classroom. Group discussions are another way of dealing responsibly with a social or emotional problem and influencing behaviour.
PROCEDURE IN CASE OF LEARNING AND/OR BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMSThe counsellors support the teachers in implementing the action plan. Together they plan an intermediate assessment in order to carefully monitor the child’s learning process.
Even so, the special care given to a pupil may turn out to be insufficient. The additional guidance and assistance is not effective enough – the problems are simply too big. At that point we will suggest to the child’s parents that it may be a good idea to send their child to a special school. If both the parents and the school agree a procedure will be initiated to place the child in a special school.
Tips from the students
- Mindmap: sometimes it is to much
- Mind: it can be more difficult, it can be more, it can be more fun
- Mind: more computer programming, more working together
- Difficulties in several subjects: more calculating tools
Tops from the students
- Mind: Working in the mindmap
- Mind: Some thing are easy for me and the teacher will give me something more difficult.
- Mind: it is fun and interesting
- Mind: it is fun, it is cosy, it is nice that the teacher will help us, it is just wonderfull.
- Dyslexia: extra lesson special need, special computerprogram that can reed, special daisyplayer that can read books
- Dyslexia: see above and our sheets are in A3 version
- Difficulties in several subjects: headphone on the tablet (reading), 100-field for math, manifold card for math, special map for orthography, sitting next to the teacher, extra instruction, special daisyplayer that can read books, a buddy who can help