School

Steps

1. Choose a school near you (state, denominational or with a particular teaching approach; there are also international and European schools: each school sets its own conditions and fees). Ask the municipality about any allocation rules (priority for siblings, school catchment area).
2. Register your child directly with the school, from age 3. Each school has its own procedure.
3. If the school is full, your child goes on a waiting list; you can also register them at another school that has space.
4. Familiarisation days: from age 3 years and 10 months, the child can spend up to 5 days at school before starting (not in all schools).
5. If they do not speak Dutch, ask the municipality or the school whether there is a class or school for newcomers (nieuwkomersonderwijs; in secondary school, ISK): the organisation depends on the municipality.
6. After-school care: care before and after school (BSO) and lunchtime supervision (TSO) are paid directly to the provider; you can ask the Belastingdienst for a childcare allowance (kinderopvangtoeslag).

Documents

• The child's BSN (birth certificate, passport or identity card).
• If changing school: proof of deregistration from the previous school.

Costs and timelines

• Primary school: no tuition fees.
• Parental contribution: voluntary, for additional activities (Saint Nicholas, Easter, swimming, trips); its amount is approved by the school's participation council.
• BSO and TSO: paid, partial help possible via the kinderopvangtoeslag (kinderopvangtoeslag ceiling in 2026: €9.98 per hour for BSO, €11.23 for the crèche, €8.49 for home-based care; up to 96% for the first child depending on income; Rijksoverheid).
• School holidays: summer dates are staggered between three regions to spread traffic; the government sets the summer holidays and gives indicative dates for spring and autumn. For 2026-2027: Christmas from 19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 and the May holiday from 24 April to 2 May 2027 everywhere; summer from 10 July to 22 August 2027 (North), from 17 July to 29 August 2027 (Centre), from 24 July to 5 September 2027 (South). Each school may deviate slightly.
• Foreign diplomas: the evaluation of a diploma is requested from the IDW (Informatiecentrum DiplomaWaardering); among the conditions, the programme must have lasted at least 1,000 hours (one school year). An application costs €148.83 including VAT; current timeline: about 6 weeks of document checking, then about 8 weeks of evaluation, longer if documents are missing (IDW).

Common pitfalls

• Leaving it too late. In large cities, the schools requested have waiting lists: register your child from age 3, and even contact schools before you arrive.
• Believing that the parental contribution is compulsory. It is always voluntary: if you do not pay it, the school has no right to refuse your child's participation in additional activities, for example a school trip (Rijksoverheid).
• Absences outside holidays. School attendance is monitored by the municipality; a 5-year-old can be exempted from 5 hours per week on request, but going on holiday outside the calendar requires permission (a 5-year-old can have 5 fewer hours of school per week, 10 at most, on request to the head teacher; an absence to go on holiday is only possible if your work prevents you from going during the school holidays: once a year, 10 school days at most, never during the first 2 weeks after the summer holidays, on written request to the head teacher at least 8 weeks beforehand, with a statement from your employer; Government.nl).
• Qualification obligation until age 18: after age 16, a young person without a basic diploma must continue training (kwalificatieplicht: until the basic diploma, i.e. havo, vwo or mbo level 2, or until age 18; Rijksoverheid).

What changes by country of origin

• All nationalities: same access to state school with a BSN.
• Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba): own school system, not described here.