MR Start English

MR Start is the basic course for working as a member of the MR (Medezeggenschapsraad in Dutch, PC – participation council in English) in primary and secondary education!

If you are new to the Participation Council (PC) in primary or secondary education, or if you want to assess your basic knowledge again, then the MR Start course is the course for you. It is important for PC members to have a solid understanding of their roles, responsibilities, and rights. Every school must have a PC, where staff members, parents, and (in secondary education) students come together to make important decisions about school policies. PC members represent the stakeholders and actively contribute with critical and constructive thinking to the Competent Authority (CA).

During MR Start, you will gain insight into the formal and informal position of the Participation Council (what it entails). We will discuss the various rights and responsibilities of the PC, as well as examine the documents that the PC should be familiar with and the position of the MRPCwithin the school organization. With the knowledge you acquire during this course, you will have a solid foundation for understanding the legal aspects of PC work.

In the first part of the course, we focus on the role and position of the PC within the school organization. How can the PC both exercise control over the administration and represent the constituency while also initiating its own actions? And how do the PC, the GPC (General Participation Council), the administrator, and the school management relate to each other? Additionally, in this part, we discuss how PC members are elected in accordance with the Law on Participation in Education (WMS) and explore the general responsibilities of the PC.

In the second part, we delve deeper into the WMS and the rights that the PC possesses: the right to receive information, to initiate actions, to engage in consultations, to provide advice, and to give consent on certain proposals. What are the specific implications of each right, and what procedures are established for them? The objective of this part is for the PC to become acquainted with some of its own rights and to know where these rights are outlined in the law.

In the third and final part, we will delve into several important documents that every PC member should be familiar with. The WMS includes national agreements regarding the organization of participation, but there are also matters determined at the foundation or school level. For example, there is a participation charter at the foundation level that addresses the organization of participation within the foundation. Additionally, each (G)MR/school has its own participation regulations with agreements, including the number of PC members, how the PC communicates with the stakeholders, and timeframes.

After this course:

• you will be familiar with the role and position of the PC in the school;
• you will be acquainted with the key powers of the PC;
• you will know which documents and facilities are of importance.

Download the course folder MR Start English

• Practical information

  Number of participants

  The number of participants per group is limited to maximum 15 participants to make sure that there are enough possibilities for asking questions and having discussions.
  Would you like to organise this course for your PC/organisation with more participants? Contact us for the possibilities.

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  Target group

  The course is suitable for anybody who would like to learn about participation in the field of education. As well as for members of the (G)PC, school directors, school boards, secretaries of the PC and all other people that are involved with participation on schools.

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  Duration

  The course takes up 2,5 hours, including a short break. From the participants it is expected that they make a preparatory exercise beforehand and there is reading material for after the course.

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  Location

  It is possible to organise this course for your (G)PC physical as well as online. Press the blue button ‘Aanvragen’ on the bottom of the page. We also offer this course as open enrollment, for which you can register on one of the planned moments at the bottom of the page.

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  Materials

  The participanten receive physical as well as digital materials.

  Physically the participants will receive:

  • Werkmap medezeggenschapsraad, containing among other documents a format for a work plan, examples of agendas and meeting minutes, a list with abbreviations and the current text of the Wet medezeggenschap op scholen (WMS).

  Digitally the participants will receive:

  • Hand-out of the PowerPoint (to print and have with you during the course for making notes)
  • Text article 10-19 WMS (to keep at hand digitally during the course)
  • Take home exercises (two, for after the course)
  • Preparatory exercise (to fill in beforehand)

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• Pricing

  For your organization

  To organise this course for your organisation, click on the blue button ‘Aanvragen’ below.

  • Members: €932,50 | Maximum of 10 participants. In case of more participants an extra fee of €42,50 per person will be charged.
  • Non-members: €1.097,50 | Maximum of 10 participants. In case of more participants an extra fee of €50,- per person will be charged.

  Above mentioned amounts are exluding travel costs (dependent on the travel time and distance) and customisation costs (€149,50), so the course leader can have a preparation meeting with the applicant and read important documents in advance.

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  Individual enrollment

  You are able to enroll for one of our dates below.

  • Members: €182,75 per person
  • Non-members: €215,- per person

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  Costs for this course will be compensated

  All reasonably necessary costs for the work as a MR member, including training costs, are at the expense of the school board (article 28 paragraph 2 WMS). The costs of this course are therefore compensated by the school leader of the school board. Asking for permission is not required. However, do inform the school leadership in advance about the costs and the purpose. This also applies to the VOO-membership. Become a member of the VOO as a (G)MR / (General) Participation Council and receive 15% discount on this and all our other courses, on guidance and make use of the VOO Helpdesk.

• Reviews

  Here you will find all the evaluations of all our courses whose participants have completed the evaluation forms.

  This way you can see per course and on an annual basis how the courses have been assessed on numerous aspects. Such as the marks for course leaders, the extent to which the learning objects have been achieved and the extent to which the participants are satisfied with the content of the course. There is also a page with more extensive reactions from participants.

  The dashboard is updated in real-time, based on the evaluations that our course participants complete immediately after the course has ended.