Are you returning to the Netherlands with your family after a stay abroad? Or are you an expat, newly arrived in this country with your family? Both situations come with a lot to consider, arrange and choose. Such as choosing the right school.
This is not only of great importance for the further development of your child or children, but it can also determine where you will live or what kind of transportation you and your child will have to use to go to school.
In this series, I will explain how to best choose a good primary school (article 1), a good secondary school (article 2) and the follow-up (article 3).
So, how do you choose a good primary school for your child?
Choosing a school from a distance can be tricky. You can’t really get by with word of mouth or gossip. Moreover, there is still a tough question ahead if your child has followed an international curriculum: Do you opt for Dutch education or do you choose to continue with an international curriculum in a foreign language?
Dutch parents often choose to enrol their child in Dutch education. They want their child to integrate into the Dutch community, not only at school but also in sports, other hobbies and in the neighbourhood where they live. There are also parents who doubt whether Dutch education is still an option. Their child has become accustomed to international education and international culture.
The following questions can help you to determine whether you should opt for Dutch or international education:
Questions:
Children who come from abroad speak several languages and, as a parent, you usually want to make sure they stay multilingual. How do you do that? And can a primary school be of service?
This depends, of course, on which programmes they offer. IB-oriented programmes provide for this. Other regular schools often teach English, but usually at a different level and quality than children abroad are accustomed to.
If you opt for a Dutch primary school, you will have a choice of different educational systems. These are important to take a closer look at, you will want what best suits your child. For example, some educational systems are better suited for international programmes than others.
Primary schools in the Netherlands are distinguished by the type of teaching method they employ, but also by the belief they base themselves on. The Netherlands also has Special Education schools and the "Brede School" (Broad School).
The difficult thing is that each school can give its own substance to these different methods or considerations. So, how do you choose well from a distance?
Here are some tips for when you need to choose a school from a distance:
Make a telephone or video appointment with at least one of the following people: a care coordinator or internal supervisor, the unit head of the unit your child will be in, a teacher or the person who guides and accepts new pupils (in Dutch: zorgcoördinator, intern begeleider of unithoofd). Ask them critical questions, so that you really get to know more about the school.
Try to get information that differs from the standard information you can get from websites and at open days. Be creative and prepare for this talk as if you were conducting a job interview.
Example questions:
The best thing is if you can look around the schools yourself, but if you do not have the opportunity, you can search for people who are:
These people may be able to provide you with the "inside scoop", so to speak.
If you have children going to school in the Netherlands, what school did you choose? And how did you choose it? Let us know in the comments!