With over 10,000 education professionals, spread across a hundred schools and twenty school boards, the Hollands Noorden Education Region is a unique collaboration in the Dutch educational landscape. Within this region, Lifelong Learning is a of the pillars with which we are building future-proof education together. Programme leader Claudia van de Peppel sees not only opportunities here, but also a shared responsibility: ‘The biggest challenge is to involve all colleagues in the region in the importance and added value of sustainable professional development.’
More cohesion and more scale
In many sectors, you need to continue learning to maintain your license or accreditation. In contrast, an accreditation in education remains valid indefinitely, even if you haven't undergone professional development in years. ‘Fortunately, many education professionals are convinced that it is crucial for us to continue developing, both didactically, pedagogically, administratively, and personally,’ emphasizes Claudia. ‘And we prefer to do this structurally, rather than incidentally. After all, the students will really notice the effect of it then.’
This is why Lifelong Development links existing initiatives at school and board levels with an additional, regional level. By bundling and jointly coordinating professional development offerings, more coherence and scale are achieved. A course that is cancelled at one board due to insufficient registrations can be organised regionally. Claudia: ‘This requires coordination, but on the other hand, it yields significantly more. It is the way we can work towards an annual, joint professional development agenda for the region.'.
Taking doubts seriously, offering solutions
Claudia understands that in practice there are also hesitations. 'There is a healthy critical attitude. Because of lesson cancellations, travel time and costs. I understand these initial doubts, and we will definitely do something with them. For instance, we will organise meetings between 15.00 and 18.00 and work with in-company courses, possibly in a sub-region of the extensive working area of Education Region Hollands Noorden. And we all know that by bundling demand you can buy more cost-efficiently.' Claudia sees it as a moral imperative to maximise the benefit of the available professionalisation budget - half of which will be available at regional level from this school year onwards - to the schools: 'The fact that part of the budget goes to the region sometimes feels a bit tense. That's why I want to show that regional cooperation really delivers. I aim to turn one plus one into three.'
Joint direction on content
'Our starting point is: what do education professionals need now and in the future and how do we organise that sustainably?' Together with representatives of the twenty school boards, Claudia is setting up a working group to determine the direction to be taken. Themes such as formative action, AI in education and equal opportunities are tackled regionally on the initiative of the schools themselves. Boards that do not participate directly in the working group also remain involved. Via regular updates, all contact persons from the boards are involved and informed.
LMS: one platform, own direction per school
An important step within Lifelong Development is the introduction of a regional Learning Management System (LMS). This digital platform makes it possible to share and organise training offers regionally and locally. The platform thus creates a visible learning agenda accessible to everyone in the region. The LMS is a means to make lifelong learning visible and concrete. Like buying a car, you still have to learn how to drive. That is why there is an implementation process with support and guidance. We appoint a regional content manager to help schools and boards make good use of the system.'
Towards school year 2025-2026
In the coming months, we will work towards a regional offer that will be in place by the 2025-2026 school year
available to all education professionals in the region. No later than 1 November 2025, the LMS will go live. 'That is ambitious, but achievable. It starts with sharing ideas, building trust and recognising the joint added value. As far as I am concerned, the goal is clear: to put LLO firmly on the map, so that with 10,000 colleagues from 100 schools and our 20 boards, we can really work on professional growth.'