Boost your language skills and kickstart your transition to the Netherlands!

Kickstart School is celebrating its 20th Jubilee! Starting with only one student, Josien Deknatel began her company addressing the Dutch language needs of young nannies / au pairs helping Dutch families. She now leads a language school catering to the needs of over 1.500 remote or face-to-face students a year. Close to 5000 Klantenvertellen reviews with an average score of 9,2 confirm the leading value and quality of the Kickstart School approach to the language training of students from four to 90 years old!

See below how Kickstart School can help you and your family make the transition!

Kickstart your transition into a new (working) life

Kickstart can help you to communicate better with Dutch or English speakers through their general communication courses from A0-C1 level for Dutch and A2-C1 level for English, and with a number of exam courses for both Dutch and English.

It is a good idea to start preparing for your move when you are still back in your home country. Have a look at these personal video portraits of four of their students who joined Kickstart this year from further away - some of them did their Kickstart Dutch course before even arriving in the country!

Anyone who has recently been involved in the Inburgering process knows that there are many changes announced - then delayed - then announced again... Read the latest blog post on the Inburgering Exam if you are interested in what will change or stay the same for you - depending on the situation you are currently in.

Kickstart the transition of your children into their new (school) life

Kickstart has three types of language courses for children:

1. After-school Dutch Kids Club

If your children aged five to eight attend an international school but you want them to be able to communicate with their peers in Dutch, then the after-school Kickstart Dutch Kids Club proves to be an ideal stepping stone to help them practise in a playful and safe environment. Read more about the Kickstart Kids Club in a recent blog post.

2. Joining the Dutch school system

Do your children need to join the Dutch school system? Kickstart runs private sessions to support their landing process and make it achievable for them. Read in a recent blog post how their expert teacher Neeltje goes about it and what it takes to organise a smooth transition into the new school system. If you plan to stay in the Netherlands for at least four years, then you can see how a relatively small investment can save you a lot of money in the long run.

3. Extra support

Does your teenager attending an international school feel they lack confidence in academic English writing and speaking skills? Why not register for some extra support at Kickstart School, either in a small group or on an individual basis?

Curious to know more about the success of Kickstart School?

The key to the success of Kickstart School is that Josien and her team always try to accommodate the needs / wishes of the expat community to facilitate a smooth transition into their new life. The whole team consists of expats who are fully aware of the adaptation processes one must go through. They all aim to deliver good, reliable service to the Kickstart students and they try not to be bureaucratic. Nearly all staff members are former students, so they know what Kickstart students value!

The Kickstart clients are mainly educated, private individuals / young professionals who need / want to settle in the Netherlands and learn the language for a reasonable price and in a qualitatively good way. Josien has never stopped making plans for new services that her team of 40+ freelance teachers carry out either from the school - situated on one of The Hague’s canals - or remotely from home.

Kickstart initially only taught Dutch. However, in 2001, after seven years, English was added to the curriculum due to the high demand. Since 2019, the third language you can learn at Kickstart is Chinese. Josien is currently studying Chinese to experience the process from a student’s point of view. Exam courses for Chinese are also available.

Kickstart School has been providing courses for children for quite some time now but, as of 2021, it has been working towards becoming a Centre of Excellence for children of all ages with courses ranging from Academic English for teenagers to Dutch for Basisschool pupils.