Education Policy
Schools in the Netherlands do not have much to do with the municipality. They receive money directly from the rijksoverheid and the boards are largely independent. Yet education is also an important municipal task. Municipalities are obliged to offer a broad and diverse range of education of sufficient quality. In addition, they have tasks in the field of:
- educational housing
- early childhood education for children with (language) delays
- agreements with schools and child care organizations on early childhood education
- pupil transport
- compulsory education
Offer
In Geldrop and Mierlo there are several schools for primary education, a school for secondary education and a school for special primary education. The locations and address details of schools can be found on the schools and childcare page. The address details of school boards, educational inspectorate and educational support institutions can be found in the municipal guide.
Quality
The inspectorate tests the quality of schools. The reports are public and can be viewed per school on the website www.onderwijsinspectie.nl. Very weak schools are placed under supervision. All schools in the municipality of Geldrop and Mierlo are rated good.
Educational disadvantages - early childhood education
The educational disadvantage policy aims to prevent and eliminate learning disadvantages, especially language disadvantages. Early childhood education offers an answer here. In Geldrop-Mierlo, four local children's centers within the municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo provide pre-school education for toddlers aged 2 to 4 years.
In its meeting of October 18, 2021, the Municipal Council of Geldrop-Mierlo decided to adopt the policy framework OAB / Early Childhood Education Geldrop-Mierlo 2022 - 2024 and the corresponding subsidy regulation Geldrop-Mierlo Early Childhood Education 2022.
Policy framework OAB/ Early childhood education Geldrop-Mierlo 2022 - 2024
Appropriate education
Since August 2014, schools are obliged to provide a suitable educational place for your child (duty of care). You no longer have to search all schools yourself for a place for your child. For both primary and secondary education partnerships have been formed. These partnerships consult with the municipality. After all, the municipality is responsible for pupil transport and educational housing.
Pupil Transport
The municipality must arrange appropriate transportation for children who cannot go to school independently due to a disability or disorder. The policy of the municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo was established in 2011 in the Pupil Transport Policy Document.
The municipality uses the following eligibility criteria for the transportation scheme.
- A can child cannot attend a regular (mainstream) school or cannot travel to school independently due to a structural disability. The regulation applies to pupils of elementary school, special schools for primary education and (secondary) special education.
- The municipality uses a kilometer limit. For regular (ordinary) primary education, the school must be further than 6 km. For primary and secondary special education, that limit is 4 km. There is no mileage limit for children who cannot travel by public transportation because of their disabilities.
- Parents with incomes above a threshold amount pay a co-payment.
School far away
The pupil transport scheme also covers children without disabilities who do not have an accessible school within a six-kilometer circle. Parents may qualify for a certain contribution to the cost of pupil transport. This also applies to parents whose religion requires them to attend a school far away.
Types of pupil transportation fees
There are three types of reimbursements or indications:
- public transport
- accompanied public transport
- adapted cab transport
Receiving an indication for public transport entitles you to a transport budget. This is a fixed amount and may also be used to bring the child to school by car, for example. Parents are and remain responsible for their children's school attendance. Only when public transport with accompaniment is really not possible, can a person get an indication for adapted transport.
Adapted cab transportation can be paid to you either in kind or as a transportation budget. In-kind means that you do not receive money, but use the municipal cab scheme. If you choose in-kind transport, a child can only be transported from home to school, not to other addresses such as grandparents and after-school care. With a transportation budget, you arrange your child's transportation yourself.
Pupil Transport Indication
In order to determine who is eligible for pupil transport, the municipality has engaged the independent assessor. He issues a recommendation after which the municipality makes a decision on the pupil transport to be granted.
Request
You can download the pupil transport application form at Regeling en Aanvragen, leerlingvervoer. Make sure that you include all required information. Read the explanation carefully.
Educational Housing
Annually, schools can submit applications for new construction, expansion of school buildings and outside maintenance to the municipality. For secondary, housing funds are paid directly to the schools.
Compulsory education
For more information on compulsory education, visit the Request for Exemption from Compulsory Education page.
School vacations
Every year, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science issues an advisory guide on school vacations. This guidance can be found at Rijksoverheid or at www.schoolvakanties-nederland.nl. In addition, it is always wise to ask your child's school what the exact vacation dates are. Sometimes schools deviate from this national guideline.