New Aloysius Academy live

At the end of 2019, the revamped Aloysius Academy went live: the inspiration platform where employees find everything they need for their professional development. This platform was designed and set up together with SkillsTown. Training coordinator Patricia van Oosten tells more about it. "With the new Aloysius Academy, we offer our employees a complete package. Our training offer is permanently up to date and with the push of a button you can register for an e-learning module or classroom training session," says Patricia.

Online and offline offerings

The academy offers a wide range of online offerings from provider SkillsTown. Think interactive e-learning modules of several hours, shorter webinars or "essentials. These are short microcourses in which you learn the essentials about a particular topic within a few minutes. In this way, employees find a rich offering: from working with Excel to working with the Reporting Code for Domestic Violence and Child Abuse and from developing didactic skills to courses to promote sustainable employability.

The academy also offers many professionalization opportunities "offline. From complete pabo courses or masters to trainings on co-determination, parent involvement and other specific topics. Workshops, trainings and multi-year courses: those who want to develop in line with their work are well facilitated.

"Our training offerings are constantly up to date, and at the touch of a button you can register for an e-learning module or classroom training session."

"Full-timers have over eighty hours per year for their professionalization," Patricia outlines, "and for beginning teachers another forty hours is added." Teams have their own training budget, and if that is not sufficient, then an additional training request is possible. The new teacher shortage fund or the course enhancement fund may also offer opportunities for this.

Marjan van den Ouden, director HRM & communication, says: "Our renewed Aloysius Academy can perfectly support professionals and schools in the implementation of their course and future plans. They can already find a very extensive offer there. We are also going to learn more and more together in our organization. So anyone who wants to share his or her knowledge or experiences can certainly do so through the academy and thus inspire colleagues. As an inspiration platform, the Aloysius Academy stands now, but we make sure that it certainly remains a dynamic environment. We remain well attuned to the wishes and questions of employees and teams."

Academy further development

"We will supplement the academy offerings with our own specific Aloysius offerings in the near future," Patricia explains. "We work demand-oriented, so if staff or teams have professionalization needs, we are happy to engage with them to explore options.

"The plan in the future is also to set out development lines for certain functions and roles within Aloysius. For example, those who want to develop as teaching assistants into teachers or those who want to move toward management will then find concrete professionalization suggestions."

WE-learning facilitates team learning

The academy already facilitates team learning, under the motto "we learning. With this, the academy supports, among other things, Aloysius' professional learning communities, one of the spearheads in the new course Strong education for a meaningful future. "For example, teams or knowledge circles can post videos, book tips or presentations here so that they create their own learning environment."

Sustainable employability: vital through your career

To ensure that employees can continue to work vitally and competently, they can apply for the sustainable employability scheme: extra hours to do something that promotes their sustainable employability.

At a time when the workload in education is high, we are all working longer hours and changes in the work are occurring ever more quickly, that time can be welcome. For example for study leave, coaching, internships, intervision, extra training, a look at another school, extra time to organize a study day, do administration or prepare lessons.

"So those who want to share their knowledge or experiences can certainly do so through the academy and thus inspire colleagues."

So in principle it can be anything that contributes to staying healthy at work, in line with one's own development and that of the school. During performance reviews, employees discuss with their supervisor what they have done in their sustainable employability hours.

Beginning teachers have more sustained employability hours. After all, they do not yet have the experience and routine that more experienced colleagues do and can therefore take extra time, for example, for lesson preparation, coaching or preparing parent interviews.

Older employees also have more hours. The high workload in education demands more of you the older you get. So to keep that workload in check, older employees can use more hours for sustainable employability and may also use them - with a contribution of their own - for leave.

This article appeared in the Aloysius Foundation's 2019-2020 Annual Magazine in January 2020. Design and layout: Budelinc. Formula and Editing: Anne Marie Veldkamp Journalism & Communication. Photographer: Jeroen Jazet.