Salford teachers' visit to Netherlands schools (spring 2011)

During the spring half-term of 2011, a group of Salford teachers visited the Nijmegen area of the Netherlands to examine approaches to teaching and learning as part of the Teachers International Professional Development Programme. It became clear that issues of teaching, learning, assessment, behaviour etc all needed to be understood within the totality of the Dutch education system. Once this framework was understood it became possible to make observations and draw comparisons which could be of use in the UK. In particular the group focused on:

The Dutch system of school organisation which is largely independent of local authorities
Approaches to leadership and change management, which provided evidence of a more relaxed and colaborative approach than in the UK
Diversity in curriculum provision, where a high quality 'vocational' curriculum is available from 12 years of age
Internal organisation of schools, including ‘schools within schools'
The relationship between school design and pedagogy, particularly in the use of 'flexible space', to promote independent learning.

Whilst understanding the cultural and systemic differences was not always easy, spending time understanding such a different educational system provoked many questions about the UK system and offered some possible approaches which could be applied within UK schools. A copy of the final report of the visit exploring the above issues is available below.