Teacher Profession 

Flanders is implementing various measures to address the teacher shortage, focusing on retaining teachers and attracting new ones by improving the profession’s social status and working conditions. Discussions with education providers and trade unions aim to identify effective strategies for recruiting and retaining skilled teachers and school leaders. Efforts are also being made to improve working conditions for the master's programme in primary education.

Newly qualified teachers will spend 80% of their working time teaching in their first year and 20% on induction support. The teacher training programme (ILO) will be revised to ensure that teachers have strong subject knowledge, which is essential for improving the quality of Flemish education. This will be a central focus of the current legislative period. The curriculum of teacher training programmes will be strengthened and updated, and sustainable collaborations between teacher training institutions and primary and secondary schools will be promoted. Additionally, specific quality controls tailored to teacher training programmes will be introduced.

Further measures will build on initiatives from the previous legislative period. From 2025 onwards, career changers will be able to have up to 15 years of prior work experience recognised. The teacher bonus, which allows individuals to combine teaching with teacher training, will also be maintained. These measures aim to make the profession more attractive and reduce the teacher shortage.

Minimum Objectives 

Flanders is further developing ambitious and knowledge-rich minimum objectives in primary education, with a focus on Dutch and mathematics, as well as STEM, personal development, and social skills. 

Dutch language education starts in early childhood education, where minimum objectives for vocabulary and listening skills are defined, while aspirational objectives exist for speaking skills and emerging reading and writing skills. In primary education, the minimum objectives for Dutch must be met not only at the population level but also at an individual level. It is established that at least half of the teaching time in primary education must be allocated to mathematics and Dutch. For pupils who do not meet the minimum objectives for Dutch by the end of primary education but still show progress, Flanders plans to introduce a requirement to follow three additional Dutch lessons per week in secondary education. 

Master Plan Dutch 

In the 2024-2029 Policy Note, the Flemish Government places a strong emphasis on Dutch language proficiency, as it is the language of instruction in Flanders. The policy will be implemented through professional development initiatives for early years and primary school teachers, by expanding the availability of scientifically supported teaching materials, and by facilitating the introduction of a new knowledge-rich curriculum.

Significant support mechanisms will be introduced for pupils who require a stronger foundation in Dutch, for example, those with a different mother tongue. All pupils are entitled to a solid language foundation to ensure their continued educational progress. Collaboration with parents and carers is an integral part of this approach.

This means that the initial focus on the Reading Action Plan (launched in 2022) will continue but will also become part of a broader Master Plan Dutch, which will focus on and integrate the four language competencies. The previous Language Action Plan (2019-2024) will inform the Master Plan Dutch (2024-2029) through prior research (e.g. on professional development initiatives for primary school teachers), a range of evidence-based didactic support materials, and by indirectly supporting the implementation of a new knowledge-rich curriculum.