Freedom of education is a key feature of the Dutch education system and is safeguarded by Article 23 of the Constitution. It covers the freedom to set up schools, organise teaching systems and determine founding principles. Under the Constitution, private and public schools are guaranteed equal public funding. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science sets the attainment targets and the quality standards to which government-funded private and public schools must adhere.

Qualitative standards set by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in educational legislation limit freedom of education, however. These qualitative standards – core objectives – refer to what needs to be taught and studied in both public and private primary, secondary and special education, but freedom of education allows schools to decide how to translate these global frameworks into specific education. The number of instructional hours is also prescribed at a national level, but schools can decide what they want to emphasise in their educational programming.

The Constitution places public and private schools on an equal footing, so public and private education are equally funded. Primary and secondary education are free; parents do not have to pay tuition fees. 

Some secondary education schools offer bilingual education and teach academic content in two languages, native Dutch and a secondary language (usually English). A smaller number of primary schools also offer bilingual education.

Childcare/early childhood education

The Wet Kinderopvang (Child Care Act) includes various forms of childcare. There is no formal educational provision for children under the age of four, but childcare facilities are available and widely used outside the education system.

Day care facilities cater for children aged from 6 weeks to 4 years. Their main function is to care for children to allow parents to work. They provide daily care for children and opportunities to meet and play with other children, and increasingly offer development stimulation programmes.

Childcare facilities must have an early childhood education programme for children aged 2.5–4 who are at risk of educational and/or language disadvantages, due to background factors such as low educational level of parents. The programme aims to prevent and mitigate educational deficiencies, particularly in language development.

Compulsory education

The Compulsory Education Act (1969) sets down the obligation to attend school between the age 5 to 16/18 years. Every child must attend school full time from the first school day of the month following their fifth birthday until the end of the school year in which they turn sixteen.

Since August 2007, young people under the age of 18 who have finished compulsory education but have not yet obtained a basic qualification certificate must continue education to obtain at least a diploma at general secondary (havo), pre-university (vwo or vocational (mbo-2) level.

Primary education

Primary education includes: 

• mainstream primary education (basisonderwijs – bao); 
• ‘mainstream plus’ schools (speciaal basisonderwijs – sbo); 
• special schools (speciaal onderwijs – so). 

Primary education lasts eight years and is for all children aged 4–5 to 12 (learners must leave primary education at the latest by the end of the school year that they turn 14).

Secondary education

Secondary education includes: 

• practical training schools (Praktijkonderwijs, opro); 
• pre-vocational secondary education schools (voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs – vmbo); 
• general upper-secondary education schools (hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs – havo); 
• pre-university education (voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs – vwo);
• secondary special education (voortgezet speciaal onderwijs – vso).

Private education

Private schools can be based on a particular religious denomination or a specific educational model. Public and private may also be based on combinations of denominational and educational. Although most private schools are fully funded by the government, a small number of schools are privately funded.

1901: Compulsory Education Act

1927: schools for primary special education are regulated by legislation

1967: schools for secondary special education are regulated by legislation

1969: revision of Compulsory Education Act

1985: Primary Education Act defines learners with dyslexia, dyscalculia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and gifted learners

1998: (Secondary) Special Education Expertise Centre Act and the Secondary Education Act define learners with dyslexia, dyscalculia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and gifted learners. The (Secondary) Special Education Expertise Centre Act defines specific learner groups:

• Learners with visual impairment or with multiple disabilities including visual impairment 
• Learners with hearing impairment and/or communication disorders (due to hearing, language or speech difficulties or autism), or learners with multiple disabilities including hearing, language or speech impairment 
• Learners with physical and/or intellectual disabilities and/or with a chronic physical illness, such as epilepsy 
• Learners with mental or behavioural disorders.

1998: Expertise Centres Law. Special education schools became expertise or resource centres, with schools providing mild support became part of the mainstream system (‘mainstream plus’ schools in primary education and schools for practical training in secondary education – ‘Together to School Again’ policy). Teachers from the resource centres and the regional Together to School Again alliances supported mainstream schools. Mainstream primary and secondary schools received a budget to support learners with special educational needs (SEN) within their own schools.

2003: Learner-bound budget introduced to allow parents to choose between mainstream and special education for their children, and the money would follow the child. In mainstream schools this budget became known as a ‘backpack’ for children with SEN.

2009: Equal Treatment by Virtue of Disability and Chronic Illness Act was adapted to apply to primary and secondary education, as well as employment, living and vocational education. This change also provided input for policy reforms in 2014.

2012: Act on Quality of (Secondary) Special Education, aimed at higher-quality education, support and attainment targets. The Act introduced three profiles in secondary special education: further (vocational or higher) education, labour market and day care/activities.

2014: ‘Tailored Education’ policy reform, which introduced regional school alliances between mainstream and special schools, giving regions more responsibility for including learners in mainstream schools. The alliances receive fixed budgets that can be used in either mainstream or special schools. 

2023: Roadmap to inclusive education, aiming for more inclusive education in 2035 by introducing six areas with associated measures and actions:

• Equipping schools and staff
• Low-threshold help in and near the school
• Organising a comprehensive range of (inclusive) education and support
• Creating space in learning routes and in school development
• Building accessible and diverse housing
• Normalising inclusive education and diversity.

2024: The ‘Together for All Children’ policy framework sets out the ambition for inclusive education by 2035. It defines inclusive education as ensuring that every child is welcome, learns, and participates in a mainstream school environment close to home. Key principles include equal opportunities, personal development and support for all learners, regardless of ability or background.

The framework is grounded in international agreements such as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It emphasises collaboration between schools, parents and external partners to create inclusive learning environments. It aims to prepare all learners for full and equal participation in society, fostering respect, diversity and tolerance. It provides a common language and direction for national, regional and local policies to achieve inclusive education.

The Dutch education system is highly decentralised and ranks among the most autonomous systems in Europe. This structure is based on the constitutional principle of freedom of education, which grants schools the right to determine their own educational content and pedagogical approach, provided they meet national quality standards.

The national government (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science) sets the legal framework, defines core objectives and monitors quality through the Education Inspectorate. School boards have extensive authority over curriculum development, staffing, budgeting and teaching methods. There is no national curriculum, although central examinations exist at certain levels.

This autonomy is balanced by strong accountability mechanisms, such as inspections and performance monitoring. Municipalities play a limited role, mainly in supervision and support. Regional partnerships co-ordinate tailored and inclusive education.

The Hervormingsagenda Jeugd (Youth Reform Agenda) is a result of the ruling by the Arbitration Committee (‘Committee of Wise Men’). The Youth Reform Agenda aims to ensure that children and families in need of assistance receive the appropriate help and support as quickly as possible.

The agenda includes a package of agreements, including a clear division of tasks, roles and responsibilities, drawn up by collaborating parties, such as client organisations, professionals, youth care institutions, municipalities and the national government. Various measures and actions have also been developed for each theme, intended to improve youth care and ensure its financial viability. These plans cover the period from 2023–2028.

The Compulsory Education Act 1969 requires learners to go to school and receive education. Parents must abide by the law and are therefore responsible for registering their child at school. Parents can, however, ask for an exemption from compulsory education and set their own criteria.

Public schools cannot refuse learners for ideological reasons. Since the Tailored Education Act, school boards and their school locations have a legal ‘duty of care’ for learners that need additional support. For a newly admitted learner with (potential) additional needs, the school must investigate whether appropriate support is possible and, if not, find a suitable place for the learner at another school within the school alliance.

The Dutch education system amended the requirement of a minimum IQ for admittance to school. Therefore, learners with very severe impairments and very low cognitive capacity can also attend schools and are provided for with specific education targets. Because of their severe impairments, some of these learners still attend health care organisations instead of schools. The Ministries of Education and Health are jointly investigating possibilities to extend the opportunities for these children in different settings.

Parents enrol their child – with or without special educational needs – in a mainstream school of their choice. The school is obliged to construct a suitable educational programme within the school of application or another school within the regional school alliance.

The following legislation constitutes the Dutch education system:

• Compulsory Education Act (1969)
• Primary education: Primary Education Act (WPO, 1985)
• (Secondary) special education: Expertise Centres Act (WEC, 1998)
• Secondary education: Secondary Education Act (WVO, 2020)
• Childcare Act (2005)
• The Act on Quality of (Secondary) Special Education (2012/2013), amending the Expertise Centres Act
• The Act on Tailored Education (2014), amending the Primary Education Act, Secondary Education Act and Expertise Centres Act
• Social Support Act (WMO) (2015).

The following legal and regulatory frameworks ensure the inclusive nature of the education system:

• The Primary Education Act and the Secondary Education Act 2020 state that primary and secondary education should ‘stimulate active citizenship and social integration’. They also state that education should be aimed at uninterrupted development for learners.
• Since August 2006 (updated in 2019), a weighting system for funding schools with learners with (potential) educational disadvantages has been in place in primary education.
• In 2009, the Equal Treatment by Virtue of Disability and Chronic Illness Act was adapted to apply to primary and secondary education as well as employment.
• The Act on Quality of (Secondary) Special Education (2013).
• The Tailored Education Act (2014).

Tailored Education

To enact the Tailored Education policy, the Primary Education Act and Secondary Education Act were amended. The goal was to tailor education to every learner, with a strong focus on inclusive education (‘mainstreaming’ in mainstream schools). The policy aims to decrease the number of learner labels and to focus on learners’ abilities, talents and learning needs. Some important features of the Tailored Education policy are:

• no learner left behind: school boards are responsible for providing an adequate place in the education system for every learner;
• co-operation between all school boards of the schools that make up the regional school alliance;
• co-operation between schools and other organisations and institutions responsible for the care and well-being of children (municipalities, health organisations, youth care, etc.): regional school alliances and municipalities in the same region must discuss the regional support plan and make arrangements for youth/health care support (municipalities are responsible for organising and funding youth care);
• participation of stakeholders, for example through mandatory participation councils (with teachers and parents) in the school alliances and schools, and through parents involvement in decisions surrounding learners’ individual developmental plans.

Every school board is responsible for providing adequate education for every learner who enrols, regardless of their specific educational needs or the kind of support they need. By co-operating with other school boards within the regional school alliances, schools are required to arrange educational provisions in such a way that every learner can be educated, taking into account their special educational needs. Schools are free to decide on how arrangements are offered.

As a result of the Tailored Education policy, the organisation of educational support has become less complex and more flexible. This allows more learners to benefit from support.

The change in structure also envisioned a change in the classroom, so that more learners receive the most appropriate support possible within the mainstream setting. However, several issues hinder this, meaning that not everyone involved can provide the most appropriate support possible to their learners. Therefore, from 2020–2027, the government is implementing the Tailored Education improvement agenda and simultaneously working towards inclusive education.

Experiments for Inclusive Education

Under the Education Experiments Act (EWO), in 2018 a collaboration started between mainstream and special education. Special and mainstream schools integrate their school organisation and classes over six years, becoming one school organisation. During the integration period, both schools continue to receive their own funding. After six years, they decide how to move forward with the collaboration. As schools want to work together more intensively, the legislation will be prolonged and broadened to enable more mainstream and special education schools to work together.

The Experiment Inclusive Learning Environment 2024 aims to promote the social and educational inclusion of learners with special educational needs within mainstream education. This is pursued by integrating special education as much as possible into mainstream education. The experiment runs until August 2034 and provides guidance for preparing amendments to the legislative and regulatory framework.

Strengthening the Position of Parents and Learners in Tailored Education Act

In 2025, the Strengthening the Position of Parents and Learners in Tailored Education Act entered into force. Under this Act, schools are required to include their full range of support provisions in the school guide and must grant learners the right to be heard regarding their individual developmental plan and the available support.

Educational Support for Sick Pupils Act

This Act improves and simplifies the educational support available to learners who are ill. The learner’s place of residence no longer matters. Establishing a single foundation with a legal obligation makes educational support more flexible and efficient.

Policy framework: working together to create an inclusive learning environment for all children and young people

The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) has developed a policy framework, ‘Met elkaar voor alle kinderen en jongeren’, which sets out the ambition to achieve inclusive education by 2035. The framework explains what inclusive education entails and describes the characteristics of an inclusive learning environment. It is aligned with international agreements such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Salamanca Statement. The central idea is that all learners, regardless of ability or background, should be able to learn and participate in mainstream schools close to home with appropriate support.

The framework’s main goal is to create schools where every child is welcome, can develop optimally and feels included. It aims to provide adequate support for all learners, ensure equal opportunities and prepare learners for full and equal participation in society. It also seeks to reduce systemic issues such as waiting lists and long travel times by integrating education and care systems.

The project is long-term, with the transition planned to be completed by 2035. By that time, most schools should have fully adopted inclusive education practices.

Overall responsibility for the education system lies with the state, specifically the Minister of Education, Culture and Science and the Secretary of State for Primary and Secondary Education.

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science lays down statutory requirements for early childhood education, primary and secondary education and secondary vocational education, and has overall control of adult general secondary education (vavo).

The Ministry sets the framework (in law, legislation and policy frameworks) for primary and secondary education (including special education). There is no national curriculum, but there are general education attainment targets and mandatory tests and exams.

The provincial authorities’ role in education is limited to supervisory and legal tasks. The independent school boards are responsible for school administration and management in primary and secondary education and secondary vocational education.

The guiding principle in educational governance is article 23 of the Constitution:

• Education shall be the constant concern of the Government;
• All persons shall be free to provide education, without prejudice to the authorities’ right of supervision.

At national level, the Inspectorate of Education has the authority to check whether the school boards, alliances and municipalities fulfil their legal duties and meet the national quality standards and guidelines.

The municipalities are responsible for complying with the Compulsory Education Act, and their officials are involved when learners drop out of school or are at risk of doing so.

In the regional school alliances, mainstream and special schools co-operate. There are more opportunities for intensive forms of co-operation between special and mainstream education, including combined and integrated facilities and hybrid forms of education.

The regional school alliances are a distinct legal authority with their own responsibilities stated in the Tailored Education act. Each alliance consists of all school boards within their geographical and legally defined region.

School boards are legally responsible for offering basic support in every school. School boards can consist of several schools or just one school. The schools within school boards have no legal responsibilities or authorisations, but they are the main contact for learners and their parents.

Special education is for primary school-aged children (4–12, up to a maximum of 14 years old). Secondary special education is for learners of secondary school age until the age of 20.

Both special education and secondary special education schools must adhere to the Expertise Centres Act (WEC, 1998).

Four types of special schools target a specific cluster of special educational needs:

• Learners with visual impairment or multiple disabilities, including visual impairment
• Learners with hearing impairment or communication disorders (due to hearing, language or speech difficulties or autism), or children with multiple disabilities including hearing, language or speech impairment
• Learners with (multiple) physical and/or intellectual impairments or with a chronic physical illness, such as epilepsy
• Learners with psychiatric and/or severe behavioural disorders.

In 2005, the Dutch government launched Tailored Education, which aimed to retain more learners with disabilities in mainstream schools in both primary and secondary education. It focuses on the potential and the duty of mainstream schools to adapt their teaching and support to the individual needs of learners with a disability and/or SEN.

Pre-school (from the age of two and a half) is separate to day-care in the Netherlands. Tailored Education is meant for children from the age of four. It focuses on:

• improving the quality and organisation of the teaching and learning of learners with a disability or SEN;
• supporting parents in finding a (mainstream) school which provides the teaching and learning their child needs;
• obliging mainstream schools to find and secure appropriate educational provision for every learner who applies for a place (the ‘one-stop-shop’ principle);
• developing new and bigger consortia in primary education (scaling up, from 234 consortia to 75) to ensure that specialist provision needed for all learners within the region can be financed (an average consortium will have 21,000 learners);
• re-distributing resources from special schools to primary education consortia and secondary education networks;
• discontinuing the Regional Expertise Centres (RECs) and transferring their task of identifying and assessing disability and/or SEN to the consortia and networks of mainstream schools;
• mandating decision-making about the placement of learners in special schools to the consortia and networks;
• developing a continuum of provision in each consortium or network;
• learners’ capabilities instead of on their shortcomings;
• developing a transparent system of budget financing to end open-ended financing.

Under the Tailored Education policy, every school board is responsible for providing adequate education for every learner that enrols, regardless of their specific educational needs. By co-operating with other school boards at regional level, in regional school alliances, schools arrange educational provisions so that every learner can be educated, taking into account their special educational needs. School alliances are free to decide how arrangements are offered.

At the national policy-making level, the representing parties of several stakeholders, including local-level policy-makers, are involved in decision-making processes. The Ministry of Education regularly consults with national representatives of school boards, school leaders, municipalities, teacher labour unions and professional group representatives.

Cross-sector co-operation between education, youth (health) care and social services is important for inclusive education. The ministries of Health and Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, together with representatives of school boards and youth health (care) organisations, have founded a joint policy programme called ‘Coalition Education, Care and Youth’. The programme aims to better connect the three domains and align care and education with learners’ individual needs.

The Dutch Research Council (NKO) has bodies for practice-oriented research in education, youth and (mental) health care. The council allocates resources (funded by the ministries) for local consortia of researchers, education/care practitioners and other stakeholders to conduct research that fosters evidence-informed practices for inclusive education and for co-operation between education and youth care.

To ensure the full involvement of families in all educational processes, the Participation in Education Act (2006) states that all schools should have a participation council (WMS, art. 3, lid 1). School staff, parents and learners (in secondary education) participate in the participation council. The council is authorised to discuss and make proposals on all school matters, including budget and finances, organisational and educational policy, annual reports and complaints (WMS, art. 6 and 8). It can advise on decisions around adopting or modifying the school support profile (WMS, art. 11).

The law on ‘Strengthening the Position of Parents and Pupils in Tailored Education’ makes learners’ right to be heard regarding their educational support needs legally binding. Schools are required to discuss development and support needs with each learner, to take the learner’s input into account, and to explain how this input has influenced the support plan. This must be recorded in the development perspective plan. The law also aims to improve access to information about tailored education for parents and learners. As of 1 January 2025, every regional school alliance must have a parent and youth support centre that provides information, offers support and monitors developments in tailored education. The alliances use these insights to further improve their tailored education policy.

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science regularly consults with organisations that represent vulnerable groups.

Day care facilities must have a parent committee. The parent committee provides advice on important topics, such as pedagogical policy.

School boards and schools involve parents and staff in policy- and decision-making. The board and the schools report at least annually on their goals and the results they achieve to the internal supervisor. The board and schools are accountable to the government and stakeholders.

At an individual level, parents are involved in their children’s development at school. For every learner that receives extra support, schools are obliged to provide an individual development plan (OPP). This describes the learner’s expected outflow and educational objectives. It indicates the level the learner can achieve and the support that they will need to achieve it. The parents have to agree with the development plan (WPO, art. 40a, lid 5).

The councils for primary and secondary school boards set up networks and learning communities focused on specific themes, including Tailored Education.

The Support Centre for Tailored Education (a centre for schools, financed by the Ministry) sets up work groups, workshops, webinars and learning communications on specific areas within special educational needs and inclusive education practices. The Netherlands Initiative for Education Research (NKO) has specific funding for academic workshops for educational research, in which universities, colleges, school boards and other regional stakeholders work together in a consortium. There are regional workshops focusing on inclusive education and equity in education.

Implementing inclusive education is carried out in close collaboration between the education and care sectors. The forum with the main stakeholders plays a central role in this process: this forum is used to present policy options, test proposed policy measures and discuss substantive outcomes. The forum provides broad input from the field.

In addition, youth organisations are consulted separately. Through dedicated meetings, young people are invited to reflect on policy options and proposed directions, ensuring that their perspectives are explicitly incorporated into policy development.

The Inclusive Education Working Group (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science – OCW; Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport – VWS) is the core platform where policy is jointly developed with stakeholders. This group meets every 6–8 weeks and includes representatives from OCW, VWS field parties. The working group further elaborates, prepares and aligns substantive themes. Thematic groups operate under the working group to deepen specific topics and report their findings back, after which the working group formulates advice to OCW.

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) actively fosters clear communication with local stakeholders, including school boards, regional organisations, learners and their families.

The Netherlands has a decentralised education system, meaning school boards are the competent authority under which schools operate and are the formal point of contact for OCW. However, OCW ensures transparency and engagement with the broader education community, including school boards, teaching staff and other stakeholders. OCW communicates directly with these stakeholders through several channels:

• Monthly newsletter providing policy updates and practical information. There is one for primary education and one for secondary education.
• Social media platforms such as LinkedIn for quick news and interaction.
• Denk mee met OCW – open consultation events where teachers and school leaders contribute ideas for policy development.
• OCW Dichtbij – regional conferences to explain policies and gather feedback, primarily attended by educational professionals.

Stakeholders are also represented by various organisations:

• Parents can seek advice from groups like OUders&Onderwijs.
• Learners in secondary education can contact LAKS and LBVSO for guidance on learner rights and exams. LAKS and LBVSO are advocacy groups that represent learners’ interests to the government and politicians. LAKS focuses on all secondary school learners and LBVSO specifically supports those in (secondary) special education.
• School boards in primary, secondary and special education are typically members of their respective associations (PO-Raad, VO-Raad, Sectorraad PRO and Sectorraad GO), which share national and regional developments.
• School leaders and teachers often join professional associations or unions for relevant updates and support.

These initiatives ensure that communication is accessible, collaborative and responsive to the needs of all parties involved.

Education is financed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Local authorities contribute to educational facilities, such as school buildings. The Ministry of Health contributes to health and welfare costs in education (through the learners rather than through the schools).

Primary and secondary school boards (including special education) receive a basic budget for each learner, which must fund the ‘basic support’ available in every mainstream school.

Primary schools receive targeted (throughput) funding for each disadvantaged learner through an arrangement. The extent of the funding is determined by the learner weighting system for primary education, which is based on five criteria:

• Both parents’ educational level
• The mother’s country of origin
• The mother’s duration of stay in the Netherlands
• The average educational level of all the mothers in the school
• Whether parents are participating in a debt restructuring programme.

Children of newcomers to the Netherlands, such as asylum seekers, often have language difficulties at school. Schools with at least four registered learners in this category can apply for extra funding to ensure that recently-arrived immigrant learners learn Dutch quickly. The size of the grant depends on how long the learners have been living in the Netherlands. The school chooses how to spend the extra funding and selects the most suitable type of education for the new learner.

Secondary schools receive targeted (throughput) funding for each disadvantaged learner through the same arrangement as described above for primary schools. They can obtain extra (throughput) funding if they have a relatively high proportion of learners from deprived neighbourhoods. This funding enables schools to tackle educational disadvantage and prevent school drop-out.

Additional budgets are available for disadvantaged learners in pre-vocational education who are lagging behind with language and/or arithmetic (identified by a test). Since 2016, the regional school alliances have distributed these budgets based on the number of learners who are lagging behind.

Regional school alliances are legally responsible for several tasks, such as making a regional support plan and creating a regional network of provisions for additional support. The Inspectorate of Education checks whether the school alliances fulfil their legal duties.

Since the introduction of the Appropriate Education Act in 2014, the Ministry has provided regional school alliances with funding for special needs education. Part of this funding is allocated directly to school boards, which in turn allocate the resources to special schools. This is more general funding for special schools, comparable to the general resources allocated to mainstream schools.

The Ministry also provides the regional school alliances with the individual budgets formerly provided for learners with an official decision of special educational needs (SEN) (‘backpack financing’). They decide how to divide the budget – for example, between special schools, mainstream schools, individual or group-based arrangements, special facilities, teacher support, etc. Regional school alliances allocate their budgets in different ways, but they generally fit into either the school model, the expertise model or the learner model. Every four years, the regional school alliances write a Regional Support Plan, in which they introduce their (financial) policy to support learners with SEN within the region.

The funding that regional school alliances receive for organising the network of provisions for extra support in the region is based on the total number of learners registered at the schools within the alliance. The funding has staff and material components (buildings, learning materials). School alliances are mandated to divide this budget for additional support and to set the criteria and procedures. From this budget, they fund additional support in mainstream education and ‘mainstream plus’ in special schools. Therefore, if a region has a high level of admissions to special education, less funding is available for additional support in mainstream education.

The Doelstellingen Monitor Passend Onderwijs (Tailored Education Objectives Monitor) tracks progress on seven goals from the Improvement Agenda for Tailored Education and assesses whether the system is functioning better for learners, parents, teachers and schools. The monitor examines how well support matches learners’ needs, the extent to which learners and parents are involved, how teachers are equipped, how regional co-operation functions, how resources are used and how heavy the administrative burden is. Overall, the monitor provides a clear picture of where the system is making progress and where structural improvements are still needed, offering concrete input for further policy development towards more inclusive education.

Co-operation between education and youth (health) care is essential to further develop inclusive education. Therefore, the national joint Education-Care Table discusses links between the work agenda for inclusive education and the Coalition Education, Care and Youth programme.

At national level, the Ministry monitors the implementation of the Tailored Education policy. In 2020, a five-year research programme ended (Summary Evaluation Education that Fits), which evaluated the Tailored Education changes at system, regional and school levels. From 2021 to 2026, national monitoring focuses on the improvement measures that were instated after the evaluation in 2020.

The Inspectorate of Education reports yearly on the latest developments in Tailored Education, based on periodic investigation visits in schools and school alliances.

The mechanisms used to monitor the effectiveness of processes at different system levels are:

• Effectiveness of teaching and learning processes: The Inspectorate of Education investigates this. The effectiveness of teaching processes form part of the quality standards. The Dutch Research Council (NKO) co-ordinates research programmes that focus on the effectiveness of teaching methods in general, as well as specifically for groups of vulnerable learners.
• Effectiveness of school management processes: The Inspectorate oversees quality assurance in regional school alliances, which must set goals aligned with their mission and regularly evaluate progress. Quality assurance systems, detailed in the school plan, ensure both boards and schools monitor and support educational quality, investigate shortcomings and implement improvements as needed. Clear division of responsibilities between boards and schools enables effective quality assurance.
• Effectiveness of teacher professional development processes: School boards are legally responsible for teacher professional development. School boards must keep a competency profile for each teacher, which is overseen by the Inspectorate of Education.
• Efficiency and effectiveness of funding mechanisms: Since 2014, regional alliances in the Netherlands have received funding based on learner numbers. This results in some regions gaining and others losing budget. School boards receive block grants determined by enrolment, with spending efficiency monitored by internal supervisors and the Inspectorate. Boards must justify their budgets and spending annually. The National Accounting Office assesses resource allocation across educational sectors.

The Inspectorate of Education assesses the quality of education in individual educational institutes (schools) and the education system as a whole. It also stimulates schools and educational institutions to maintain and improve the quality of education they offer.

The Inspectorate assesses general educational and financial quality standards (‘soundness requirements’) regulated at the level of the law. These include educational process, school climate, school results/educational outcomes, quality assurance and financial management. The Inspectorate also assesses quality standards that are set by the schools and boards themselves, to encourage a more ambitious learning culture within schools. The Inspectorate can conclude that a school is of basic quality, ‘insufficient’ or ‘very weak’.

The Inspectorate of Education oversees education quality, adherence to educational laws and proper spending of funds (legitimacy and functionality). It uses a system of yearly risk analysis to decide which schools should be inspected in that year.

The Inspectorate assesses education quality in the individual school boards for primary and secondary education and the vocational educational institutes, and the education system as a whole (for example, Inspection framework primary education 2021). It also encourages school boards and educational institutions to maintain and improve the quality of education they offer. During risk quality inspections, the Inspectorate considers the school’s learner population and the opportunities they offer to learners with additional needs when assessing the school outcomes.

The Inspectorate checks whether the school monitors learners’ development and offers appropriate guidance and extra support where necessary.

For learners who require additional support, the school draws up a development perspective plan (OPP) that sets out how education is tailored to the learner’s needs. The school formulates OPPs that meet the legal requirements and contain concrete goals. The OPPs guide the systematic and goal-oriented implementation of the extra support. The OPP content and implementation are evaluated with the parents and the learner at least every school year. Based on this evaluation, the school adjusts the goals or approach of the extra support.

Regional school alliances must prepare a regional support plan every four years, which describes how they develop a comprehensive offer to support all learners in the region.

Schools are obliged to describe the support they offer learners with special needs in a ‘school support profile’ (schoolondersteuningsprofiel) every four years. The profile describes the support available to learners with special educational needs and the regular support they offer for learners with dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD and gifted learners. School development and teacher training in special educational needs can also be based on this profile.

The board of the regional school alliance is accountable to the internal supervisor, the government and the stakeholders in accordance with the legal regulations and agreed guidelines. The board submits an annual report on its activities and consults periodically with the support plan council (including parent representatives) and, if applicable, the staff section of the participation council. It submits decisions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Aggregated statistics are available on the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science statistics website. The data displayed on this website originates from two main resources, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO) and is updated frequently. They receive this data from schools directly or from their governing body. The CBS receives registration data from the executive organisations of all ministries, including Education, Health and Social Affairs.

In primary and secondary education, data collection is the responsibility of the regional school alliances, without any obligation from the national government. There is no central registration of learners receiving extra support in mainstream education, because there is no national definition of which learners are eligible for extra support. Data on the total number of learners in mainstream and special schools is collected by DUO. DUO also collects data on learning achievements (final test in primary school, central and school exams in secondary school), schools and school alliances (such as data on financing, number of personnel).

National data on learners’ school careers and obligatory tests and exams is available. There is also limited data on early school leaving and absence. The data allows analyses of patterns in grade retention, diplomas, in- and outflux in different kinds of schools, transitions between schools, and post-education careers. However, there is little information on academic achievements within the educational system.

The municipalities collect data from schools on absence and out-of-school learners which they report annually to the Ministry of Education. They monitor learners who are absent without exemption for more than four weeks, learners that are out of education without an exemption, and learners that are absent but have an exemption from compulsory education (for physical or psychological reasons).

European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education data tables

Pre-service training programmes

Teacher education in the Netherlands is offered at universities and universities of applied sciences.

Primary education

A teaching qualification for primary education can be obtained through:

• Four-year programme at a university of applied sciences (pabo): Students are trained to teach all curriculum subjects and specialise in early childhood (4–8-year-olds) or middle childhood (8–12-year-olds). Programmes include coursework in pedagogy, didactics, child development and inclusive teaching, as well as extensive school-based practice.
• Fully or partially university-based programmes: Several universities offer academic routes to a teaching qualification for primary education or offer integrated academic routes in co-operation with the pabo. The latter programmes combine a university degree (e.g. in educational sciences or psychology) with a teaching qualification. Entry to primary teacher education through the pabo is possible with a senior general secondary school (havo) or pre-university certificate (vwo) or a secondary vocational diploma (mbo). University-based programmes are only accessible with a pre-university certificate. All students complete compulsory mathematics and language assessments Students with a havo or mbo certificate may also need to demonstrate their knowledge of geography, history, nature and technology before starting their training.

Secondary education

There are multiple pathways to become a secondary school teacher.

• full qualification (grade one, eerstegraads), which qualifies teachers to teach all levels of secondary education.
• lower-secondary qualification (grade two, tweedegraads), which qualifies teachers to teach in the first three years of havo and vwo and all the years of secondary and (pre-)vocational education (vmbo/mbo).

The grade one qualification courses are provided at universities and universities of applied sciences. The grade two qualification courses at higher education (HBO) institutions or universities (through an educational minor or module at the end of the bachelor programme).

Students in all routes specialise in one subject and are trained to meet the required standards of competence.

Alternative pathways like teaching as a second career are also available. These pathways lead to the same competence requirements.

Inclusive education in teacher preparation

Teacher education institutions increasingly integrate themes related to diversity, inclusion, social safety and cultural linguistic responsiveness. With the introduction of the Tailored Education policy, most teacher training colleges adapted their curricula for different subjects (educational science/pedagogy, didactics, subject matter and internships).

Initial teacher education often includes an introduction to teaching learners with special educational needs (SEN). Some teacher training colleges also offer an optional course and/or minor in SEN. Although supplementary training for teachers in special education is optional, most teachers in special education undertake a two-year, part-time training course. The course assumes the students are already working in education and focuses on both theory and practice. There are several specialist fields including visual impairments, behavioural problems, intellectual disability, remedial teaching and peripatetic teaching.

Framework of teacher competence

All teachers must demonstrate competence in:

• Course content (vakinhoudelijke bekwaamheid)
• Knowledge of the subject(s) taught, the curriculum and relevant developments in the field
• Course didactics (vakdidactisch bekwaam)
• The ability to translate subject knowledge into effective instruction, guide learning processes and use appropriate didactic strategies
• Pedagogy (pedagogisch bekwaam)
• The ability to create a safe, supportive learning environment, foster social development and respond to differences between learners.

Teachers are also required to practice professional conduct (for example, collaborating with colleagues, contributing to school development, reflecting on their own practice and engaging in continuous professional learning).

In-service training

Schools receive resources for professionalisation through national agreements between the Ministry of Education and social partners. The agreement aims to expand opportunities for further development for teachers and other education staff in schools. It contains arrangements for maintaining competence requirements and for training and professionalisation.

Teachers can apply for scholarships such as the Lerarenbeurs to pursue master’s degrees or specialised training, for instance in SEN.

The Dutch government has a constitutional duty to ensure that every learner has access to high-quality education. The Professions in Education Act (2004) requires all educational staff – including teachers, support staff and school leaders – to be both qualified and competent. The Besluit bekwaamheidseisen onderwijspersoneel (2017) sets out the national competence requirements for teachers. School boards are responsible for employing competent staff and for creating the conditions that enable continuous professional development.

The Ministry of Education provides a range of measures to strengthen teacher professionalism. These include:

• funding for professional development, enabling teachers and specialist/support staff to participate in training and development activities
• scholarships for advanced qualifications, such as a master’s degree in special educational needs or inclusive education;
• support for participatory governance, ensuring that school staff are represented in school participation councils and involved in decision-making processes.

To support schools in developing inclusive and responsive educational practices, the Ministry funds national and regional initiatives that provide expertise, training and knowledge exchange. One of these is the Support Centre for Education that Fits, which offers specific work groups, workshops, webinars and learning communications on specific areas within special educational needs and inclusive education practices.

For school leaders in primary education, there is a national register for competences and professional development. There is a professional standard for school leaders in both primary and secondary education which defines the leadership practices and competencies that are expected of them, serving as a guideline for professional conduct and development within the role.

At a national level, the Ministry of Education supports school leaders by:

• making funds available for (the development for) professionalisation activities through sector agreements in primary, secondary and vocational education and in the lump sum;
• conducting research into various topics concerning school leaders as professionals and their role within the educational system and their own school;
• ensuring school leaders are continuously well represented within the legal framework of education.

The introduction of the Tailored Education Act in 2014 gave the regional school alliances their own educational assessment procedures (instead of a nationwide procedure). Within the Tailored Education legal framework, learners with special educational needs are no longer defined or identified at a national level. The Act aims to provide learners with the best fitting educational context, in a mainstream school wherever possible, or in special education if needed. Learners’ educational needs determine the decisions made about extra support, rather than medical diagnoses.

Schools identify learners who need extra support to meet their educational needs, on top of the basic support that is provided in each school. School alliances set up the criteria and procedures for providing extra support within their region. The alliances are also responsible by law for assessing which learners are eligible for special education, so there is also no legal definition of learners who are eligible for special education.

The assessment procedure can lead to a declaration of admission to special education, which is valid for at least a year. The regional school alliance sets the criteria for the duration and review of the declaration. The declaration decision is made by a multi-disciplinary team, and the assessment procedure includes two experts: a special education generalist or a psychologist, and an expert chosen by the school or the regional school alliance.

However, due to registrations of enrolment in special education, learners can be monitored at national level.

Since the Tailored Education Act, learners’ capabilities and needs for support and the progress of the given support are assessed in an individual development plan, both for learners who receive extra support in mainstream schools and for learners in special schools. The individual development plan describes the expected outcomes and educational objectives for the learner. It indicates the level the learner can achieve and the support they will need to achieve it. The parents must agree with the development plan. The plan must be evaluated and, if necessary, adjusted at least once a year.

When a learner needs additional educational support, the school is obliged to investigate their needs and construct a suitable education programme or help find a school that can offer this (in the Tailored Education Act this is called the ‘duty of care’). This might lead to an assessment procedure for admittance to special education.

In special education, schools must provide an individual development plan for every learner. In mainstream education, schools must provide an individual development plan for every learner that receives additional support.

The individual development plan describes the learner’s educational objectives, their needs and how they will be met. It indicates the level the learner can achieve and the support that they will need to achieve it. The parents must agree with the development plan and the plan must be evaluated and, if necessary, adjusted at least once a year.

Besides contributing to tailored help, the plan should improve communication with parents and foster frequent monitoring and evaluation of interventions. The education, support and/or guidance must be aimed at the learner’s continuous development.

Schools are expected to offer a certain number of hours of education to every learner. However, not all the hours must be followed by every learner. Tailor-made teaching time is possible for individual learners and can be arranged at school level.

Curriculum framework

The curriculum framework has been renewed in recent years. The existing core objectives were no longer up to date twenty years after their introduction. They lacked current knowledge, insights and reflection of societal developments. The new core objectives are more concrete, up to date, and clearer about what learners are expected to know, be able to do, and experience. This enables schools and teachers to make sharper choices in what they offer to learners. There is increased attention to inclusivity with special attention to learners who are deaf or hearing impaired and blind or visually impaired, who have physical disabilities, or who have mild learning and/or behaviour problems.

The curriculum framework is for all learners, including those in special education. It consists of:

• core objectives, which indicate what subjects should be taught for the eight years of primary education and two to three years of lower-secondary education (pre-vocational and general);
• specific core objectives for special needs education. These are particularly for learners with severe learning disabilities and learners with multiple disabilities. The content uses practical situations and examples, is oriented towards exploration rather than knowledge and is related to the learners’ future context (work and (social) life skills).
• reference levels (in language and arithmetic), which indicate what level learners should achieve at the end of primary school and the end of each secondary education type;
• a compulsory test for all learners in the highest grade of primary education: this is not an exam that has to be passed, but rather a measure of language and arithmetic levels. It also provides the school and learner with information to assist in choosing which type of secondary education to apply to;
• central exams and school-based exams at the end of upper-secondary school (pre-vocational and general).

The national framework does not cover the actual content of the curricula. The freedom of education gives schools the autonomy to translate the curriculum framework into the specific learning content that makes up the curriculum, within the core objectives and reference levels. The constitutional freedom of education gives all schools a large degree of autonomy on how to interpret and teach the core objectives according to their own vision.

Primary and lower-secondary education have core objectives for all learners, including those in special education. In upper-secondary education (general and pre-vocational), learners take central exams and school-based exams.

This is also the case in secondary special education for learners who are on the ‘continuous education’ track. Learners in the other two tracks in upper-secondary (labour market and daytime activities and care) have objectives based on the core objectives for mainstream education. Additional core objectives are aimed at preparation for labour market or daily activities.

Policies are in place to provide schools with additional resources and staff to support learners with a potential educational disadvantage and improve their educational achievements and career prospects.

The policy on support for disadvantaged learners requires municipalities to draw up a local educational agenda with school boards and childcare providers. In the local agenda, school boards, local municipalities and childcare providers discuss and decide how best to combat educational disadvantages and avoid segregation in education.

Combating early school leaving is a central policy priority, alongside early detection of potential disadvantages among young children and increasing pre-primary enrolment of children from underprivileged backgrounds who are at risk of educational or language disadvantage.

Community schools collaborate with other social services, like the police, health and welfare services, and sports and cultural institutions, to enhance learners’ development opportunities.

Learners with mild learning disadvantages can (temporarily) attend ‘mainstream-plus’ primary schools. These schools have smaller classes, so learners receive more guidance. Mainstream-plus learners complete the mainstream curriculum and take compulsory tests. After completion, most learners transfer to mainstream secondary education; a smaller number transfer to secondary special education.

Regional school alliances receive extra funding for learners with mild learning disadvantages. They can allocate this to schools at the pre-vocational secondary education level (vmbo) to provide smaller classes and/or extra assistance in class. Practical training schools specialise in learners with a learning disadvantage. Learners attain a certificate at the end and can transfer to upper-secondary vocational education level.

Upper-secondary vocational education consists only of mainstream schools. They provide individual additional support.

By law, every school board is responsible for providing adequate education for every learner who enrols, regardless of specific educational needs or support. By co-operating with other school boards within regional school alliances, schools must arrange educational provisions to accommodate every learner, taking into account their special educational needs.

Schools establish support profiles, which school development and teacher training in special educational needs are based on. The profile describes the support the school can offer to learners with special educational needs, and the regular support they offer for learners with dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD and gifted learners. The document includes the school’s aims and what is necessary to achieve them.

Schools also have a duty of care. Individual schools must provide learners who require extra support with the most appropriate schooling. If a school cannot offer the necessary support, it must find a school that can. To fulfil this obligation, school authorities must offer tailor-made educational solutions in the framework of the school alliances. These solutions can be offered in mainstream or (secondary) special education.

There is no legal curriculum for children aged 0–4. Many pre-primary organisations are influenced by the Educational Framework 0–4 years or work with licensed pre-school programmes. There is no formal educational provision for children under four. However, there are various childcare facilities available outside the education system. These include:

• Playgroups: these groups are open to all children aged two to four years. Children usually attend playgroups twice a week, for two to three hours per visit. The main aim of the playgroups is to allow children to meet and play with other children and to stimulate their development.
• Pre-primary schools: an increasing number of playgroups offer development stimulation programmes and have a more educational focus. These ‘pre-primary schools’ are particularly intended for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (children of parents with low levels of education and at risk of language disadvantages). The central aim is to prevent and mitigate educational difficulties, particularly in the domain of language development.
• Day nurseries: these cater for children aged from six weeks to four years. Their main functions are to care for children to allow parents to work and to stimulate the development of young children. Professionals in daycare focus on pedagogical and educational quality. Several daycares also use pre-school programmes. Legislation includes rules about the quality of both day nurseries and playgroups. The child-staff ratio for baby care has been lowered to one carer per three children. There is also a greater focus on child development. All children are assigned a mentor. All day nursery and playgroup staff must be fluent in Dutch and meet minimum language proficiency standards.

Childcare facilities as a policy area fall under the responsibility of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The Ministry of Education provides funding for municipalities to maintain pre-school education. The Ministry of Education also provides funding for a regional support programme for all municipalities, to maintain and raise the quality of pre-school facilities.

Only the transition from primary to secondary school is protocolled. Schools are responsible for the transfer of learners who receive extra support. The legal responsibility for organising this support transfers from the primary to the secondary school board.

According to the duty of care, the secondary school board must investigate the extra support needed and, if the admitting school cannot provide this support, it is responsible for finding a suitable school. The regional school alliances are often involved in the transition from primary to secondary education.

The primary school advises on the level of secondary education suitable for a learner. The secondary school must place the learner at the level that the primary school advises (or higher). A final attainment test is also taken. If the test recommendation is higher than the school recommendation, the primary school reconsiders its recommendation and can adjust it (only upwards) in consultation with the learner and their parents.

From the 2019–2020 school year on, this test is also mandatory for learners in ‘mainstream plus’ and special schools. In some cases, the learner does not have to take the compulsory attainment test, such as if they have (severe) learning or behavioural difficulties or multiple disabilities.

Transitions from secondary to vocational or higher education

To create a smooth transition from pre-vocational education (VMBO) to upper-secondary vocational education (MBO) and to remove barriers, from 2020 onwards schools can offer a continuous and integrated VMBO–MBO learning route. In this case, schools offer a joint educational programme from upper-secondary vocational education up to and including the vocational education diploma.

The Efficiency in VET Act (2015) obliges vocational education and training (VET) institutions to ensure their portfolio is relevant to the regional labour market. They must offer courses that will allow graduates to find relevant work in the region. The Inspectorate for Education supervises compliance with this law and visits VET institutions every four years.

Special education transitions

In special education, learners can delay the transfer to the next level of education or the labour market.

Secondary school alliance experts assess whether learners leaving special education need provision in secondary special education or whether they can move into mainstream secondary education. This happens before a new declaration of admission is given and the learner is admitted to a secondary special school.

The Participation Act (2015) states that people with a disability can apply for a ‘job appointment indication’, which registers them on a national database. Employers hiring from the database get financial benefits. Learners in special secondary education, practical training or assistant worker training can apply for an indication during their studies to facilitate a smooth transition from education to work.