Parents satisfied with school buildings small scale and renovation focus points.

Parents satisfied with school buildings small scale and renovation focus points.

A child spends a lot of time at school and also in the school building. Therefore, it is important that the school building is in good condition, safe, and sufficiently accessible. We are curious about how parents view the housing of their child’s school. Is the school building well maintained? How about the ventilation? And is the school building sufficiently accessible? In addition to the manifest – that we support – we share the following views, based on the research. 802 parents from the Landelijk Ouderpanel completed our questionnaire. These are the results. 

Housing 

In general, parents are satisfied with the housing of the school. 44% of the parents even give the school building an 8 or higher. Because parents often find the housing good, they say they prefer renovation over new construction. Parents would like to see more greenery on and near the schoolyards.  

Layout and climate 

The current layout and size of school buildings are also well liked. It is important to keep the small scale when renovating schools. The ventilation and indoor climate are not yet good in many schools. Despite the importance of good ventilation, parents often do not know how ventilation is arranged at their child’s school (30%). 32% of parents give the ventilation at school a poor rating. Parents are also unhappy about the indoor climate. 63% of parents do not know if there is a CO2 meter in the classroom.

Inclusiveness

Currently, schools are often not physically set up for inclusive education. 42% of parents say there is a wheelchair-accessible entrance and only 27% say there is a toilet for disabled people. To make inclusive education possible, the learning environment must be ready as well. Given the average high age of school buildings, that can take a long time. Therefore, we call on politicians to map the inclusiveness of school buildings soon.  

School participation council 

The school participation council must be involved early and fully in new construction and renovation plans. Too often plans are made very late by school governing bodies and municipalities, and then the school participation council has to give Agreement and sometimes feels forced to do so because the plans are almost final. Municipalities could also contact parents more often (inside and outside the school participation council) about school housing. 

Partnership Tailored Education 

There must be more clarity about the division of responsibility between school governing bodies and municipalities. Parents must know who to contact with questions about school housing. The current shared responsibility is unclear. 

• View the full report here. 
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