House of Representatives wants calmer lunch breaks at schools with continuous schedule.

House of Representatives wants calmer lunch breaks at schools with continuous schedule.

The second chamber wants quieter lunch breaks for children at schools that work according to a continuous schedule. A majority of the chamber voted for this plan and wants the minister to discuss this problem further.

Earlier, the second chamber spoke with the education ministers about the education budget for 2024. We already wrote this news article about it. In the debate, some motions were submitted that have now been voted on. There are some notable tasks for the minister. Among other things, the chamber wants the minister to talk about the continuous schedule.

Continuous schedule and lunch breaks 

With a continuous schedule, all children must stay at school to have lunch together. The break usually lasts half an hour, divided into 15 minutes to eat and 15 minutes to play. 

Full lunchboxes

Second chamber member Harmen Krul (CDA) already expressed his concerns in the debate about the combination of continuous schedules and lunch breaks. He said children barely have time to eat their lunch because of the continuous schedule. We also heard this from parents in an earlier study by Ouders & Onderwijs in cooperation with research platform Pointer (KRO-NCRV). In that study, two thirds of parents said they find a quarter-hour lunch break too short for their child. Their child often comes home with a still full lunchbox.

Teaching Hours

Primary schools must give a minimum number of teaching hours. Because of short school days, some schools choose to count break time as teaching hours. The teacher may read a book or the class watches an educational video. This causes children to get distracted during lunch time and teachers barely get a break. 

Majority

For these reasons, Mr Krul and Claudia van Zanten (BBB) ask the minister to come up with proposals so children can have quiet breaks and time to eat their lunch. The second chamber voted with a majority in favor of this plan.