Admissions (Primary)

Admissions information and procedure

Dutch International Schools are as such acknowledged and funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science. Therefore eligibility requirements for admission to the schools are based on national regulations.

Students within international mobile families, between the ages of 4 and 11 years old can qualify for placement if one of the following conditions applies*:

1) The student has a non-Dutch nationality (or: also a non-Dutch nationality) and is temporarily residing in the region because parent(s) are working in The Netherlands (or in a Dutch border region) for a limited time. This to be proven by parent’s employment contract(s).
2) The student has the Dutch nationality and has lived and gone to school abroad for at least two years because a parent was stationed abroad.
3) The student has the Dutch nationality and has a parent (with whom the student will be living) that will be stationed abroad within two years and for at least two years. This is to be proven by a written statement of the parent’s employer.

For Dutch International Primary Schools these rules are to be found in the Primary Schools Act (Wet Primair Onderwijs).

The Primary Schools Act also obligates us to investigate beforehand if International School Almere is the best suitable placement for any child. Other experts may also be involved, such as a school social worker, a psychologist, remedial educationalist (generalist) or other specialists from another school or organisation. If we are unable to determine if International School Almere is the best suitable placement, due to incomplete and/or incorrect information, by law we are not able to continue with the admission procedure.

Class placement

As students come from all over the world and many different educational systems, class sizes are kept small to allow teachers to better meet the needs of a wide range of abilities within the classroom. The policy of International School Almere is to place students according to their age. The first six weeks are regarded as an evaluation period to determine if class placement or placement within our school is indeed the appropriate learning environment for your child.

Secondary school

All students that are enrolled in the primary section of International School Almere must re-apply for enrolment into secondary school as according to Dutch regulations, the primary and secondary departments are considered separate schools.

Inquiry Form

If you have an interest in placement**, please fill in our Inquiry Form (after your child has turned 3,5 years of age). The school will confirm the receipt of the inquiry form as soon as possible. Admissions are processed as and when they are received. However, when places are no longer available, priority levels are assigned to determine placement. 

Waiting list 2023-2024

We have a waiting list in several groups. Please contact our School Business Manager (Primary) for more details.

Priority level 1

Qualifying* siblings of students currently in the school (primary and/or secondary).

Priority level 2

Qualifying* students coming directly from outside The Netherlands.

Priority level 3

Qualifying* students from another international school in the Netherlands.

 *Students between the ages of 4 and 11 years can only be admitted if they qualify for placement in accordance with the primary Education Act (Wet op het primair onderwijs) article 40, tenth paragraph.

** ADMISSION POLICY FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND LEARNING SUPPORT

  • Reports and relevant testing details need to be supplied before admission.
  • Details of the child’s difficulties/requirements need to be clarified and discussed with the Learning Support Coordinator before admission.
  • Internal assessment may be required before admission to the school.

If, after a period of no less than six weeks in school, we feel we cannot meet the academic, social/emotional or physical needs of your child, we reserve the right to transfer to an establishment that we, the school, believe can better accommodate these needs, or ask that you do so. This may be within the Dutch system

Admission to the school will be confirmed only after it has been established by the Admission Team that the programme is appropriate for the child’s needs and a place is available. Final confirmation of placement will be confirmed within 6 weeks of the completed admission documentation and the registration fee.​

Contact details admissions:

T. +31 (0) 36 536 7240

E. admissions.primary@isalmere.nl