City of Amsterdam

Matchmaking platform to address shortages in primary education

Challenge

The teacher shortage is a big and growing problem. The result: a high workload and many vacant positions in education. At the same time, there are also many external education providers. It is difficult for primary schools to find a way through this: the supply is rich, but a common place where supply and demand converge is lacking. How can we support primary schools in this?

External providers post their educational program on Andersom. Schools can access this overview, allowing them to find suitable options to address class cancellations and teacher shortages.

Solution

We developed Andersom: a connector of supply and demand. It is a matching platform where primary schools can find educational offers from external providers. Moreover, the platform offers inspiration: how do other schools deal with the teacher shortage, what are tips & tricks, and how do you organise this as a school: dealing with teaching time differently?

I want to reduce my teachers' workload. And we want to offer our pupils something we don't have in-house

Hanife Sak, headmaster of Elout primary school

The platform is personal, accessible and well-organised. Searching is quick and easy: you indicate which class you are looking for, for how long and in which domain. This gives you a clear overview of the possibilities at a glance, with just a few clicks. It's your platform: for example, create 'favourites lists' with your team and share them with your coordinator. Andersom started in Amsterdam in 2022 and will also be launched in Almere and The Hague from May 2023.

Impact

The platform easily connects schools with external providers. Moreover, it gives schools tools to organise teaching time differently. In this way, the platform contributes to reducing work pressure, temporarily filling vacancies and enriching the curriculum.

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