Reception education with CEFR progression
OKAN students (Newcomer Language Learners) follow a separate track — minimum 1 year, with explicit transition-readiness criteria. EduVlaanderen follows the decretal rules exactly and gives the OKAN teacher a working tool instead of a spreadsheet.
What breaks today
Smartschool has no OKAN module. Schools track CEFR levels in Excel, transition moments in a Word document, and parent communication happens via Google Translate copy-paste by the teacher.
How EduVlaanderen fixes it
One intake flow records home language, country of origin, prior education, and literacy. Progress is recorded periodically across four skills (listening / speaking / reading / writing), CEFR-aligned (A0 → B2). A readiness engine determines if the student is ready for transition per decretal rules (≥ 12 months + minimum A2 across all 4).
OKAN teacher workflow
- 1. New student: intake form — home language required, rest optional.
- 2. Platform auto-generates first A0 checkpoint and expected transition date (1 year later).
- 3. Every 6-8 weeks: progress checkpoint with the 4 CEFR levels.
- 4. After 12 months: readiness engine marks eligibility (green) or gives reason (red).
- 5. On green: care coordinator/director can register transition to regular class.
- 6. Parent messages auto-translated to home language (LibreTranslate, EU-sovereign).
Why CEFR and not "fluent Dutch"
CEFR (European Reference Framework) is not edu-jargon — it is the framework the OKAN teacher uses in training and that connects to the parents' integration track. By tracking 4 skills separately we get a fairer picture: a student can present fluently orally (B1) while writing still sits at A2. The readiness rule "all 4 ≥ A2" prevents premature transition.