Some children need extra help at school. Every child that needs support should be in the region receive education that suits him or her. This is called appropriate education. Schools must ensure that a child receives help at school. Of get help in an appropriate other place. This is regulated by duty of care.
Within the Samenwerkingsverband Primair Onderwijs Amsterdam Diemen (SWV), we work with a kind of step-by-step plan to achieve appropriate support for the children who need it. The basis of this step-by-step plan is a method called action-oriented working.
Treatment-oriented working is an established way for schools to organise appropriate education. It starts with looking closely at what a child needs to learn and develop.
The method helps schools to provide the right support to children, engage the right people for it and monitor closely how it goes and what it achieves.
The method has five levels of support. These are often depicted with a pyramid. The higher the level, the more support and consultation is needed.
It starts with looking carefully at what a pupil needs to develop to the best of his or her ability. The schools work in an action-oriented way to provide good support. That means they work with a clear plan to achieve goals. They focus on what the pupil can do. Each school describes in the school support profile what support it can offer and how it organises this. You can find more about this in the school's school guide.
The school looks at what basic support is needed to provide the pupil with tailor-made education. This allows the pupil to participate in his/her own class. The school discusses the offer with the parents.
When more is needed, the teacher organises extra guidance in the classroom. This is always done in consultation with the school's internal supervisor.
Together with parents, the school draws up a development perspective plan (OPP) and makes a plan for the use of extra support. School also involves an expert from the school board. Parents have the right to consent to this extra support. Once parents and school agree on the deployment of extra support, this starts.
It is possible that the extra support does not help enough and that school and/or parents are thinking of a form of specialised education. Then the school can involve an expert from the SWV in the Support Team (OT).
In the OT, they look at what the pupil needs (educational and support needs) and in which environment this can best be met. All those involved in the OT help to clarify the picture. Everyone's vision is taken into account.
The OT may show that specialised education can best meet the pupil's needs (educational and support requirements). An admission statement (TLV) is required for a place in specialised education.
What is duty of care?
Every child should receive an education that suits him or her. En get extra help if needed. The school board must ensure this. This is called duty of care. To do this, the school must first carefully examine what kind of help your child needs and whether the school can provide this extra help itself. Sometimes the school needs help from the partnership for this.
What is a partnership?
Schools for regular education, special primary education and special education work together in a particular area to provide appropriate education. This is called a collaborative partnership (SWV). A partnership ensures that every child who needs it gets extra help or can attend a special school. The schools in the partnership agree together on how to arrange this.
Want to know more about appropriate education? Check out the central government brochure or watch their explainer video.
Want to know what agreements have been made about appropriate education in Amsterdam and Diemen? Take a look at our support plan.
SWV PO Amsterdam Diemen will not be accessible from Wednesday 16 July 2025 to Friday 15 August 2025. You can call us again on Monday 18 August from 9:00. Have a nice holiday!