Help, my child is staying back! What to do?.

Help, my child is staying back! What to do?.

The end of the school year is near. Like other years, we get many questions at the advice point about promotion and retention. Will your son or daughter move up or not? Or will he or she switch to another school? And what if you disagree with the school's decision? What are the options?

What are the rules?

Did you know that schools set their own rules for promotion and retention? These are not set nationwide or by law. With the final report in hand, the teacher and teaching team decide what is best for your child. It is an important decision, so they are set in promotion standards in secondary schools. There are special report meetings where all teachers vote about a student who is at risk. When in doubt, the following questions are asked: How does your child feel in class and with classmates? Does he or she have an independent and motivated attitude? How about concentration? Has the personal or home situation affected learning?

What options are there?

Besides moving up or staying back, there are other possibilities:

• Your child can also be conditionally promoted. This means he or she gets the chance to prove themselves until the autumn or Christmas break of the next school year. If it does not go well, the student still goes back to the previous year.
• Your child first gets a chance to catch up on delays and improve grades during a so-called spring or summer school. Your child can work on catching up for one or more subjects under guidance during extra days or parts of days. After successful participation, your child will move up.
• The secondary school can, for example, advise switching to another type of school. For example, from vmbo to havo or the other way around.

What if you disagree with the decision?

Repeating the school year is not necessarily bad. Sometimes it is the best choice for your child. But if you disagree with the school’s decision, you can take the following steps:

Step 1: First, contact the mentor or department head so the school can explain the decision. In the same conversation, you can raise your objections.

Step 2: Does the school stick to the decision? Parents can submit a review request to the secondary school. This is a request to revise the promotion decision. As a parent, you provide arguments that were not yet known to the school but are important for the decision. During the review meeting, a few days after the promotion meeting, the school makes a new decision about promotion or retention.

Step 3: Finally, you can contact the school governing body and state that you disagree with the decision. 

Questions

Do you have other questions? Then look at our theme page. It also includes frequently asked questions. Hopefully your answer is there. Otherwise, you can always contact our Advice point. We are ready to help you. Email us at vraag@oudersenonderwijs.nl or call us at 088-6050101. We are available on working days between 09.30-12.30 and 13.00-16.00.