We at Innoord, are the school board serving 17 public primary schools (including one school for special primary education) in Amsterdam Noord. The foundation is responsible for educating more than 4000 children and has 400 employees.
In the past, public education in Amsterdam Noord was managed by the district. Primary education became independent in 2008 and since the beginning of 2011, a foundation for public education with a supervisory board was established. Initially named Soon, the foundation now runs under the guise of Innoord. It’s a far better reflection of the education and dynamics across the northern part of the city.
Innoord is part of the Federation of Public Primary Education Amsterdam. Amsterdam West Within the Ring (AWBR), Together between Amstel and IJ (STAIJ), Sirius Foundation, Public Education Foundation on the Amstel and Western Garden Cities Foundation (STWT), Viertaal and Orion are also members of this partnership.
Staff
All employees can be reached by telephone, 020-8201410 or email at info@innoord.nl.
Expertise center
The Innoord Expertise Center supports Innoord’s 17 regular primary schools. Here we provide extra support for individual students, teachers or the team. The schools can request individual or group arrangements, which can be found on the website.
It’s from our Expertise Center that we deploy remedial educationalists, psychologists or specialist teachers. We have a clear protocol which must be followed, ensuring we allocate the correct support. We also offer consultation services and training courses, (fear of failure, executive functions, rocks and water). Plus, run workshops for teachers. A great deal of knowledge is exchanged between the schools and the center. Larger projects such as Doelab, Leerlab, Taallab and the Impulse Class are offered at Foundation level.
WHAT IS THE EXPERTISE CENTER?
The Innord Expertise Center, is a knowledge and advice center that offers extra support to students from our 17 regular primary schools.
WHAT DOES THE CENTER DO?
Every primary school within the Foundation is able to offer the students basic support, as prescribed by the Appropriate Education Act. The activities at the Innoord Expertise Center are in line with this act and supplementary to the basic support, providing additional backup. In most cases this usually applies to individual pupils, but can involve supplying information, advice and consultation to teachers, observing classes and training groups of pupils. We also conduct psychological exams regularly. At present, more than 20 remedial educationalists / psychologists and teachers work at the Expertise Center.
WHAT CAN THE EXPERTISE CENTER DO FOR YOUR CHILD?
Every student must receive an education that suits his or her abilities and talents. Preferably at a local primary school. There are times when this support cannot be given, which is when the Innoord Expertise Center comes into play. The school must consult with the parents, and if they are in agreement, a request can be submitted for additional support, which we call an ‘arrangement’. This being a plan for education and help. Parents cannot register their child themselves, the school must facilitate the procedure, with the parents consent. There is no additional charge for this service.
WHAT WE OFFER
Our Expertise Center employs specialized staff including remedial educationalists, psychologists or specialist teachers. We follow a clear protocol and support is deployed within a few weeks.
We offer assistance to children with serious problems regarding reading and arithmetic, general learning difficulties or developmental delay.
Those who struggle and require support in social-emotional development, work attitude and / or behavior can also be registered.
Psychological research is possible. We help pupils by coaching them in certain fields – for example, fear of failure, resilience etc . In addition, teachers can request a consultation and we provide workshops. We are constantly exchanging and sharing knowledge between the schools and the center.
Projects such as Leerlab (for advanced pupils), the Impulse Class ( for pupils and their parents, struggling with behavioral and / or work attitude problems) and the training courses are also offered at foundation level.
Head Start (Voorsprong)
Investing together, giving every pupil a head start.
Investment in a head start for our pupils means investment in our employees. With our in house academy, De Voorsprong, we have created a space where we can learn from each other.
In the 2019-2020 school year, we began with Head Start. Through this inhouse initiative, all Innoord employees can attend various training courses, workshops and inspirational moments. Participation is always free and the meetings either take place in the staff room, at one of the schools or at a partner’s within the area. The meetings can be divided into development, support, inspiration and innovation.
Innovation Funds
Employees can apply for innovation funds via the Innovate button. The innovation fund is intended to strengthen the innovative power of individuals, groups and schools. Employees can use the budget from the innovation fund to set up something that will benefit many students, such as an OtwerpLAB.
Strategic booklet
Innoord creates a new strategic booklet every four years. In 2019, we launched our 2019-2023, Breaking walls, making meters.
In the preliminary phase, we took a random sample of our future readers’ wishes. Readability featured heavily. We needed something concrete, clear, recognizable and appealing to external parties as well as to teachers and parents. Something inspirational and imaginative, rather than a theoretical document. There was also a desire for a “bottom-up” approach instead of “top-down”.
Which is why this piece deviates strongly from a traditional paper. This “booklet”
showcases the relevant spearheads and policy themes in a playful way, told via Charlie, an Innord pupil and his classmates and teachers. All characters in the story are fictional and any similarities are therefore based on coincidence (with the exception of the director!). The backdrop – our beautiful Amsterdam Noord -is shown in the past, present day and in the future.
The story is set in 2023, but the preface is written from a distant future, as if we are looking ‘back to the future’. It illustrates that a new vision can turn things upside down. While you may not immediately recognize the piece as a strategic paper, its intent is just as serious. Important points receive extra explanation via “anchors”, signalling Innoord’s direction for the future. It’s a visualization. You can create the future school with new-style teachers, labs, active parents in the classroom and so on.
It’s important to recognise that this piece is not an operational plan, with detailed phasing and a uniformed roll out. However, each Innoord school follows a structured school plan, with clarity as to what should be tackled and at what rate. Because this memorandum describes how we want to push boundaries and break through (age) walls, we think it’s beneficial to inform our students about the process. Therefore, we have published a student version aimed at groups 6 to 8, De Kroon der Wijsheden.
Annual report
View our annual reports for the past three years here.
Supervisory Board
Internal supervision of Innoord’s board is exercised by the Supervisory Board. The Board supervises the management method and fulfills three different roles. Firstly, supervising the strategy, the quality of education and the financial position of the foundation and its schools and the associated risks. Secondly, the Board acts as the director’s employer and in that role conducts performance and assessment interviews.. And thirdly, the Board acts as a sounding board.
Internal supervision of Innoord’s board is exercised by the Supervisory Board. The Board supervises the management method and fulfills three different roles. Firstly, supervising the strategy, the quality of education and the financial position of the foundation and its schools and the associated risks. Secondly, the Board acts as the director’s employer and in that role conducts performance and assessment interviews.. And thirdly, the Board acts as a sounding board.
The Board and the director meets five times a year, plus regularly visits the schools within the foundation and consults twice a year with the GMR. To support decision-making, the Board has set up three committees, concerning finance and operational management, governance and administrative affairs and education and quality.
As described in the articles of the foundation, the members of the Supervisory Board fulfill their duties independently of the foundation.
Regulations
Supervisory Board
These Supervisory Board regulations are supplemented by the statutes of the Amsterdam North Public Education Foundation. These regulations lay down further details of the composition, tasks and powers and the division of tasks and working method of the Supervisory Board.
Board regulations
These Administrative Regulations are a supplementary to the articles of association within the Amsterdam North Public Education Foundation. These regulations lay down the further details of the composition, tasks and powers and the division of tasks and working method of the Board.
Management statute
This management charter describes the relationship between the director and the boards of the schools of the Amsterdam North Public Education Foundation (trade name Innoord).
Code of good governance in primary education
Good education requires good governance. The Good Governance Code in Primary Education, based on principles established in 2010, provides school boards with guidelines for achieving good governance. Within this document, the members of the PO Council have established what they mean by good governance
Innoord Whistleblower Policy
Regulations for dealing with suspected malpractice (Whistleblowers’ procedure)
The regulation regarding dealing with a suspicion of malpractice within Innoord provides a clear description of the procedure that must be followed upon suspicion of malpractice (based on reasonable grounds).
The regulation expresses the principle that a suspicion of malpractice must, in principle, first be exposed internally. The organization must (in principle) be given the opportunity to resolve matters themselves. In certain cases, however, the scheme offers the option to make an external report. In cases where it cannot reasonably be expected that the internal procedure will be followed, a (direct) report can be made to an independent external third party.
The regulation provides clarity about due care requirements and offers the person concerned protection against disadvantage. The regulation thus expresses that the (internal) reporting of an abuse is seen as a contribution to improving the functioning of the organization and that the report will be seriously investigated.
The present regulation is not intended for personal complaints from data subjects and must be distinguished from the Complaints Regulation. More information about the complaints procedure can be found here. For regulations dealing with a suspicion of abuse, can be found under the download button
In the event that you wish to report a suspicion of abuse or if you would like more information about the procedure, please contact the integrity counselor Mrs. Bianca Vlaar at ABC education advisers. She can be reached via bvlaar@hetabc.nl or via 06-31631673.
