Vision, ambition and objective

When you start developing school policy on poverty, it is important to think about your vision, ambition and objective. Therefore, consider the following tips:

  • Consider how taking account of children growing up in poverty fits within the school's general vision.
  • Determine the school's vision on dealing with families living in poverty.
  • Examine your school's population: approximately how many children in your neighbourhood or municipality live in poverty? You could use the Kansenkaart, for example.
  • Determine what you, as a school, aim to achieve when it comes to children living in poverty. For example, ensuring that they can participate fully at school and actively broaden their horizons by organising activities and outings.

Process and organisation

For the process and organisation surrounding anti-poverty policy at school, the NJi offers the following suggestions:

  • Think in advance about how you will address this together with your team and how you will involve parents and pupils in developing the plan, for example by involving the participation council.
  • Determine which parties you will work with and for which objectives.
  • Think about how you will move from planning to implementation: what else do you need to implement the plan and how will you arrange this?
  • Make it clear who has which role in implementation: what does the principal do, what does the internal support coordinator do and what do the teachers do?
  • Embed the subject in your quality cycle.

Topics in your policy plan

Once your vision, ambition and organisation are clear, it is important to address the following topics in your policy plan:

The pedagogical climate

Map out which protective factors are present at school. To do this, ask the following questions:

  • Is the pedagogical climate sufficiently inclusive and safe, including for children living in poverty?
  • How is the cooperation and connection with parents? How do you connect the home and school environments?
  • How is the cooperation and connection with partners in the neighbourhood?

Dealing with activities

Children living in poverty often cannot participate in activities and celebrations at school. Therefore, include the following in the policy plan:

  • The purpose of the various activities, celebrations and treats based on your vision and ambition.
  • How you take children growing up in poverty into account when choosing how to organise the various activities.
  • How you deal with activities that cost money, such as excursions, the Christmas dinner and birthday treats.
  • That you clearly communicate that the voluntary parental contribution is genuinely voluntary.
  • That you take hidden costs associated with various activities into account, such as homework assignments that may also cost money because something needs to be printed or purchased, or because the pupil is allowed to come to school in pyjamas.
  • What you do to broaden the horizons of children living in poverty, for example through free excursions that allow them to leave their own neighbourhood.

Financial solutions at school

Also record in the policy plan what you do about additional school costs:

  • How do you arrange laptops and school materials for children whose parents cannot afford them?
  • Which funds do you work with and what can you apply for through them? Consider municipal subsidies, for example, as well as the Jeugdeducatiefonds and Stichting Leergeld.
  • How do you deal with children who come to school without food? Do you hand out something? And how do you discuss this with their parents? Find out which organisations can help in this area.
  • What other things can you arrange for pupils and their parents? Consider a free cupboard at school or making menstrual products available free of charge.

Identifying poverty and making it open to discussion

One of the school's tasks is to identify poverty and make it open to discussion. Record how you do this, for example:

  • Hold introductory meetings with all parents and ask all parents whether they have financial concerns.
  • Continue communicating about possible financial concerns, for example as a recurring theme in newsletters, conversations with parents and parent evenings.
  • Train your team to recognise signs of poverty.
  • Determine how you deal with signs of poverty.
  • Agree on who will speak with parents when you identify poverty: what do the teachers do and what do other team members or partners in the neighbourhood do?
  • Record how you build a relationship of trust with all parents.

Read more about identifying poverty and making it open to discussion.

Cooperation with other parties

  • Record whom you refer people to for which questions. Also include in your social map the organisations where parents with financial concerns and questions can turn.
  • Agree on who will refer parents. What does the school do and when do you refer them to support services? A school cannot solve poverty, but it can work with other parties so that parents do not have to face it alone.