De Jeu points out that the calculation model used by municipalities to determine the gymnasium capacity required for primary education already assumes two hours of physical education per week. However, this does not automatically mean that those two hours are also provided at all primary schools.
De Jeu expects that the amendment, which includes a three-year transition period, will have an impact in certain areas. “It depends very much on the demographic situation. It is very different in a densely populated area such as Amsterdam than in an expansive municipality in Southwest Friesland. In certain municipalities, there is certainly work to be done.”
For some municipalities, the available land and the associated price per square metre in particular may pose a problem; in other municipalities, it may be the requirement that a physical education facility must be no more than 1,500 metres from the school. Transport in bad weather can also be a challenge, although according to De Jeu this should not be exaggerated either: “According to statistics, it does not rain on the vast majority of days.”
Another bottleneck is the availability of staff who will have to provide physical education. De Jeu also sees a role here for, for example, community sports coaches and exercise teams.
The VSG would like to discuss all these challenges with the national government. He emphasises that things are already well organised in many places. “There are 7,000 primary schools in the Netherlands. The amendment that has now been adopted will by no means be a problem everywhere.”
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