Minister Wiersma: ‘For Parents You Are Sometimes A Lifeline.’.

Minister Wiersma: ‘For Parents You Are Sometimes A Lifeline.’.

The Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Dennis Wiersma visited Ouders & Onderwijs in Utrecht on Monday afternoon. We spoke to him at length about the position of parents at school and our role. Finally, he also spoke to some parents on the phone.

‘Parents have many questions and sometimes ideas or frustrations. And that can sometimes be quite a search. I speak from experience, because I am a parent myself. And then it is very nice that you can call out at a place that is really there for you. Where there are people who listen to you and also help you to take the next step. That really shows the importance of Ouders & Onderwijs,’ said Dennis Wiersma.

On the Line

He also spoke to parents who called the advice point with a question. ‘I heard two parents who were very emotional. They had built up something real. It was not that they just had a question and called. Parents sometimes really see Ouders & Onderwijs as a lifeline. As a last place to get advice.’

The Position of Parents

The minister stresses that the role of parents is important. ‘It is an important touchstone to learn about education. How things stand at school, but also what education must offer. It is a signal about how education can improve and also what education needs.’

Parent involvement must, according to Wiersma, be well organized by the school. ‘It must come back in many different ways. The way participation is organized, but also the way parents are informed about careers, for example. And also when there is work to be done at school. It is not only involvement in the sense that parents listen, but also take part themselves.’

Coalition Agreement

Will the role of parents in education be high on the agenda in The Hague? The coalition agreement states that the position and participation of parents must be strengthened. How will he approach that? ‘I just started, you know? I have sixty tasks from the coalition agreement, and this is one of them. I find it very important to talk to organizations, as I am here with you today. I want to hear from people who know how we can best do this. That is the best guarantee for success. There are big plans in which I find the voice of the parent very important. For example, the master plan for basic skills.’

We asked parents the past days to send questions for the minister. We give all signals and questions from parents to the minister.