Parents concerned about 12% lesson loss secondary education.
No less than 12% of lessons in secondary education are canceled. Parents are very worried about this. A third of parents even see a delay developing for their child as a result. This appears from a new study among parents in the Landelijk Ouderpanel, conducted by Ouders & Onderwijs together with newspaper Trouw and research agency Investico.
12% of lessons are canceled
In the study, we asked parents to look up the canceled lessons for the period between summer and autumn holidays in the school app and note them in our questionnaire. The results show that on average 12% of all lessons in secondary school are canceled. This equals about 3 hours of lessons per week.
Concerns about lesson cancellations and delays
Parents are worried about the effects of lesson cancellations. Almost half of the parents are concerned about their child’s progress at school. A third of parents say their child even fell behind at school due to the cancellations. And this is understandable, because according to 67% of parents, the canceled lesson becomes a free hour.
‘Children are allowed to go home. The other lessons are moved so that the cancellation is at the beginning or end of the school day. Sometimes, 2 hours are lost on a 4-hour day.’.
70% of parents are not actively informed
No less than 70% of parents say they are not actively informed by the school when lessons are canceled. On top of that, 14% of parents are only actively informed if the lessons are canceled for a longer period. Only one in ten parents says they always hear from the school when lessons are canceled.
Manifest ‘Every child a qualified teacher’
The most mentioned reason for lesson cancellations is illness of the teacher. Due to the teacher shortage, it is becoming harder for many schools to find a substitute when a teacher is sick. The class is then sometimes sent home. Also, more unqualified (substitute) teachers are in front of the class. Ouders & Onderwijs is worried about this. That is why we have made a manifest together with the teacher union AOb and Defence for Children. We call on the government to do more to solve the teacher shortage. With the goal that every child has a qualified teacher in front of the class by 2030.
About the research and Landelijk Ouderpanel
Parents followed the number of hours lost per subject for four weeks and noted these hours in the questionnaire. 506 parents took part in the research. The results give an indication of lesson loss in secondary schools. Do you want to join the discussion? Sign up for the Landelijk Ouderpanel.
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