School holidays in the Netherlands (2024)

FAQs

What are the holidays for students in the Netherlands? ›

The Ministry sets compulsory school holiday periods like Christmas (2 weeks), May holiday (1 week) and the summer holidays (6 weeks) which must be adhered to by primary, secondary and special education schools. The Ministry gives only advisory dates for the spring (1 week) and autumn (1 week) holiday.

The statutory minimum holiday entitlement of 20 days is four times the agreed working time per week for each year of employment. These statutory days are in addition to public holidays of which there are normally seven each year. In practice, most employees are entitled to 25 days.

In the Netherlands, school attendance is compulsory for children aged 5-16. If a student is truant for more than three consecutive days, the school is required to notify the school attendance officer (leerplichtambtenaar) who is employed by the municipality.

One of the most celebrated days in the Netherlands is King's day. During King's day, the whole population takes on to celebrate the birthday of the King; Willem Alexander. On the day of the celebration, the whole Netherlands is “painted” orange.

The school year has three compulsory holiday periods: at Christmas (2 weeks) in May (1 week) and. in the summer (6 weeks).

Q: Which country has the most school holidays? In most countries, the longest break in the school year is during summer, lasting between 5 and 14 weeks. In Ireland, Italy, Lithuania and Russia, summer holidays are normally three months, compared to six to eight weeks in Britain, The Netherlands and Germany.

School opening hours

Schools may decide their own hours. Usually, school starts between 8:30 and 8:45, and ends between 15:00 and 15:15. There is a lunch break for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, during which the children can either go home or have lunch at school (overblijven/TSO).

Hard to give up flexibility

But that argument is imprecise because that high number stems from the fact that only Israel has a six-day school week. While students study 219 days annually in elementary schools and 209 days in middle schools, students in OECD countries go to school just 185 days a year on average.

It is mandatory for every employer in the Netherlands to pay their staff an extra sum of money on top of their gross salary. This sum is called 'Vakantiegeld' in Dutch, roughly translated as 'Holiday/Vacation Money'. It's also sometimes called the 13th wage, as it is almost the equivalent to an extra month salary.

What is the average salary in the Netherlands? ›

The income of people in the Netherlands with a paid job in 2021 was just under 47 thousand euros a year on average.

How the 4 day week currently exists in the Netherlands. Despite the fact that the Netherlands is known for its average shorter working week, it turns out that men still work 39.4 hours and women 29.2 hours per week (paid work). On average, we already have a 4 day working week.

This Leerplicht Law, originating in 1969 and renewed in 1994, takes effect on the first school day of the month following a child's fifth birthday. Children are obliged to attend school until the age of 16, or until they have a diploma for HAVO, VWO or MBO level 2, which is called a start qualification.

In the Netherlands, schooling is compulsory from age five to 16. School absenteeism can be fined at €100 euros per day up to a maximum of €600 euros per family for one week and €900 for two weeks.

In the Netherlands, school attendance is compulsory for all children aged from 5 to 16. Young people aged from 16 to 18 have to get a basic qualification before leaving school.

6 weeks in July and August (summer break)

Christmas (Kerstavakanie – two week) Spring (Voorjaarsvakantie – one week) May holiday (Meivakantie – one week, usually spread across April/May) Summer (Zomervakantie – six weeks)

Pupils attend school Monday through Friday. School hours in primary school are from 8:30 to 15:00 with an hour-long lunch at 12:00. Wednesdays are half-days and children go home at 12:00. School hours for secondary school students start at 8:30 until about 16:00–17:00, depending on the day's schedule.

Financial aid in the Netherlands is known as studiefinanciering or student finance. Student finance is a scheme set up by the Dutch government to fund tuition fees and other living costs of eligible students. Then, there are scholarships, which function in a similar way, but are based on an awards system.