Yesterday, the conference Samen Opleiden en Innoveren of Education Region Hollands Noorden was held in the beautiful Cultuurkoepel Heiloo. Programme leader Orienting & Starting, Roos Hibma, welcomed the 134 attendees and announced keynote speaker Marco Snoek.
Attractiveness of education
In his keynote The attractiveness of working in education: connecting people and paradigms Marco Snoek took those present through an urgent and topical question: how do we together strengthen the attractiveness of education as a profession? He emphasised the importance of connection, dialogue and the importance of a common language -between people, roles and perspectives- and showed how training, professionalisation, research, innovation, HR and leadership can strengthen each other in creating a strong and learning region.
Workshop round 1: deepening and exchange
In the first round of workshops, participants actively engaged with a variety of themes. Marco Snoek deepened his keynote into an interactive session in which participants explored how key actors within schools, boards and the region can better find and strengthen each other. This focused on awareness of the structures and patterns that influence and guide cooperation. Bruno Oldeboom worked with personas of (future) teachers. By discussing recognisable profiles, participants were given concrete tools to tailor guidance more specifically and effectively to different types of teachers. Ilona van Heijst asked a stimulating question: Side hustlers, do we want them? Using research, she made visible what it actually requires from schools and teams to not only place lateral entrants, but also make them succeed sustainably. Jasmijn Vosbergen discussed student welfare and the importance of sense of belonging. What does it take from schools to make starting and studying colleagues feel seen and supported?
Denise Teeuwen wins Research Award 2025 with research on inclusive and safe classroom
Mid-afternoon, programme leader Learning & Development Claudia van de Peppel announced the presentation of the Research Prize 2025. The five participants explored themes ranging from multilingualism and the development of a professional learning culture, to skills labs, the critical use of Google Translate and the search for an inclusive and safe classroom. The jury -consisting of Bas Broester, Michelle McDonnell, Cathy Baars and Ton Kalmberg- chose Denise Teeuwen of Johannes Bosco as the winner of the 2025 prize. Denise developed a conversation game that helps create greater understanding and safety in the classroom, with a special focus on the LGBTQ+ community.
Denise briefly explained her research: ‘I want to stop thinking in boxes, but at the same time the topic of LGBTQ+ is sometimes quite difficult. That's why I developed a conversation game that helps to better understand the community and gives teachers tools to actively promote inclusivity.’
Workshop round 2: from insight to action
The second round of workshops focused on concrete steps towards the future.
Michelle McDonnell and Ben Vriesema presented their Call to Action towards school year 2026/2027. They explained the education region's Innovation Grant 26/27. Bruno Oldeboom took participants through FRIS classroom management, in which students learn to look integrally at classroom situations from the perspective of Physical, Relationship, Content and Structure. In a connecting workshop, Ilona van Heijst translated her earlier presentation on lateral entrants into practical applications within schools. In the roundtable discussion on long-term students, led by Roos Hibma, professionals exchanged experiences on guidance, challenges and best practices. The outcome will form valuable input for a regional case study on reducing unwanted study delays.
Reflection and farewell
Education regional secretary and director of SVOK Willem Baumfalk closed the afternoon with a personal story about his grandson Willem and his steps in education. Now as a pupil, but later -when the education genes do their work- as a professional. This was followed by a farewell to Hans van der Linden, who is retiring after a forty-year career. Agnita Mur and Linda van Eerden thanked him on behalf of ROWF and Education Region Hollands Noorden.
At 5 p.m., the conference continued informally over drinks, where there was plenty of afterthought and new connections were made. And that is exactly in the spirit of our education region: training together, innovating together and building attractive education together.