If you're moving to the Netherlands with your family, it's important that everyone is registered in your new Dutch municipality. You might also have to sort out other practicalities, such as the residence permits of your family or day care or schooling for your kids.
The educational landscape of the Netherlands
The Dutch educational landscape can seem quite complicated. If our expositions above have not yet made everything clear to you, perhaps this video will help. It allows you to see at a single glance how the different forms of education are linked up with each other.
Residence and work permits
Every person moving to the Netherlands with you, will require a residence permit. What kind of residence permit depends on various factors. The Immigration & Naturalisation Service (IND) website contains all the information you'll need with regards to residence permits in different situations. It also provides information for the specific employment situation of your partner. Which permit your partner needs to be able to work in the Netherlands, again depends on multiple factors. Find more information about permits in different situations and for different sectors through this website.
Preschool in the Netherlands
First going to school can be quite a significant change of pace for children, regardless of whether they are going to school in the Netherlands or elsewhere. Even with the modern, child-oriented Dutch school system, it can be good thing to ease them into it in a playful way. Dutch preschools do just that. This is especially helpful for expat children who are starting to learn the Dutch language. Expatica gives you more information about Dutch preschool.
Structure of the Dutch school system
The higher and vocational parts of the Dutch education system mostly follow the international educational model and are therefore easy enough to understand for anyone familiar with the international model. The structure of the Dutch school system (primary and secondary school) is quite complicated, however. Below we are going to do our best to explain and keep it brief!
Primary school
Between the ages of four and twelve, children attend primary school (called 'basisschool' in Dutch, from the Dutch word for 'foundation'). Compulsory education starts on the first day of the month after the child’s fifth birthday. Most children start going to school at the age of four and it is even possible to attend school at three years and ten months of age. Primary school consists of eight groups (grades).
Most elementary schools are based on an educational philosophy like the Montessori Method, Pestalozzi Plan, Dalton Plan, Jena Plan, or Freinet. This is especially true for public primary schools but goes for some special schools as well. It’s difficult to describe all different philosophies that are in circulation at Dutch schools, especially as staff teams are constantly trying to perfect systems and sometimes combinations of methods are used. Most methods are aimed at the social and cognitive development of children and rote learning is mostly a thing of the past: while there are of course many differences between schools, it’s fair to say that the development of skills is valued above the acquiring of factual knowledge. Increasingly, you will also encounter schools that work with ‘fluid classes’. These allow for an individualised curriculum that puts a child in an advanced group for one subject and in a group with additional support for another. That way they’re challenged and supported in precisely the right areas. This includes social skills.
In group 8, most schools administer an aptitude test called the Cito Eindtoets Basisonderwijs. It is designed to recommend the type of secondary education best suited for a pupil.
Defining the Dutch primary school system in general is not an easy task and might only give you an abstract idea. That’s why we’d advise you to actually contact schools in your vicinity to arrange a visit or go to an open event so that you can get a feel for the place and speak to staff about their educational philosophy. It might also help you to get an impression through the accounts of other expat parents with children going to Dutch schools. Click on the websites below to read interesting blogs on the subject:
Secondary school
While primary school was all about the development of the general skills and behaviour of children, secondary school focuses more on the future. Children will have to take more responsibility, for instance for their homework. While at primary school, they had just a small number of teachers; now they’re confronted with a specialised teacher for each subject. When children start secondary school ('middelbare school') at age 12, they enter one of three different tracks of education. The different tracks represent different educational paths, based on the student’s academic proficiency, interests and possible professional future.
If you compare different secondary schools within the same educational track, they are far more similar than Dutch primary schools. There are significant differences between schools when it comes to the way they are run, extracurricular activities and atmosphere, but the system is more centralised. This is necessary as secondary school concludes with quite extensive, centralised national exams. The results attained influence the options children have for further education.
Rivers International School
The Arnhem – Wageningen – Nijmegen area has one International school: Rivers International School, located in a brand-new building in Arnhem. The school provides preschool, primary and secondary education. Around 45 nationalities are represented in a school population of 200 to 250 pupils. The pupils are mainly from expat families who live and work in the region.
Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences
It's located just outside the region, but definitely worth mentioning as it's within easy traveling distance: Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences in Apeldoorn. This is a private institute of higher education. The primary focus is on management in relation to disciplines in society. Personal attention to students is a major selling point of Wittenborg.
Complete list of international schools in the Netherlands.
Bilingual education
Another option that might be interesting for expat parents settling in the Netherlands, are Dutch bilingual schools. These are typically aimed at Dutch children who want to put some extra energy into developing their proficiency in English; part of the curriculum is taught in Dutch, part in English, and pupils are expected to communicate in the corresponding tongue of that class. However, bilingual education could also be a good way for expat kids who speak English to increase their proficiency in Dutch.
Through Scholen op de Kaart (‘Schools on the map’) you can find all nearby primary and secondary schools. Nuffic shows a map with all the bilingual schools in the Netherlands. You should be mindful of the fact that these are bilingual schools, not international schools (and that this is a Dutch website).
After school's out
If you’ve graduated from secondary school in the Netherlands, you can start with your vocational training or higher education.
Vocational training (MBO)
MBO stands for ‘middelbaar beroepsonderwijs’ (which can be literally translated into ‘mid-level professional education’) and is oriented towards vocational training. Many secondary school pupils with a VMBO diploma attend MBO. It lasts up to four years, depending on the chosen level. There are four levels:
At all four levels there are two types of MBO training: 1) school-based education, where on-the-job training in a company takes up between 20% and 59% of the curriculum; or 2) apprenticeship-based education, where this type of in-house training represents over 60% of the curriculum. Both types lead to the same degree. After completing an MBO degree, students can enter the job market. If they’ve completed a level 4 course, they can also choose to try and enrol in a university of applied sciences. There are also bilingual MBO courses in the Netherlands.
Higher education
Apart from excellent primary, secondary and vocational education, our region is home to renowned international universities, renowned knowledge institutes and over 70,000 students. There are two types of universities in the Netherlands:
Universities of applied sciences
Study programmes at universities of applied sciences focus on the practical application of arts and science: skills are developed that allow for the expert execution of concrete roles in society. By working on projects on your own or with fellow students, you will develop in a way that is significant to your future profession. There will be theoretical teaching, but the focus is on honing professional skills through practice. Internships and cooperation are characteristic features of education at a university of applied sciences.
Academic universities
Academic universities focus almost completely on theoretic education; this type of education isn’t geared towards one specific job. You will do scientific research and are expected to do a lot of your work independently. We do have to point out that more and more universities are incorporating more interactive tutorials besides traditional lectures. Besides unlocking a lot of the more abstract jobs in society, a degree from an academic university is foremostly an important steppingstone if you want to become a scientific researcher.
A degree from a research university is often seen as being more impactful than a degree from a university of applied sciences. This is not correct. It is more accurate to say that the two are simply different. If you want to practice law or be a psychologist, you'll be better off with a degree from an academic university; if you want to be a music therapist or a teacher at a primary or secondary school, you're better off with a degree from a university of applied sciences. There are also a lot of subjects that are taught at both types of universities (business, communication, etc.). For these subjects, your choice of university type should concern whether you would prefer a more theoretical or a more practical perspective on your chosen field.
International community at the HAN
It's not without reason that UK-born Joey studies automotive engineering at the HAN University of Applied Sciences in Arnhem: apart from wanting an excellent place to study his craft, he missed the international community that he’d experienced before when living in Lyon, France. That is why he came across the Channel once more to enjoy the ideal opportunities provided by the HAN and the city of Arnhem. Listen and find out why he loves Arnhem, how he got a student accommodation and how the international community allows him to broaden his horizons personally as well as professionally.