A primary school in Hoorn in Noord Holland has asked parents to help out in class if teachers are off sick for more than a day.

The Het Kompas school has written to parents to explain the unusual request, stating that the aim is to stop pupils being sent home if a teacher is absent.

The shortage of teachers means it is difficult to plug all the holes in the teaching roster, hence the appeal to parents as a last resort.

‘We are asking parents just to supervise a classroom, not to play teacher,’ head teacher Jaap Muurling told NH Nieuws. The classrooms will be equipped with special educational games so that the children will continue to learn while at play.

In Lelystad last week, one class was sent home for an entire week because there were no teachers to fill in for an absent colleague.

Last month, two school organisations in Zaanstad warned they may have to cut down to a four-day week because of a shortage of teaching staff. The organisations, Agora and Zaan Primair, say personnel numbers have been cut to such an extent that they will have no cover if teachers fall ill during the autumn flu season.