• 0–4 years: no school

• 4–5 years: kindergarten

• 6 years onwards: primary school for 8 years

• 12–18 years: secondary school

• University

After primary education, students receive a recommendation and enter one of three tracks:

1. VMBO – pre-vocational education (4 years)

2. HAVO – senior general secondary education (5 years)

3. VWO – pre-university education (6 years)

Pathways to university

Direct route: VWO

• Duration: 6 years (ages 12–18)

• The only track that gives direct access to research universities (WO)

• At the end, students take national exams

• After completion, students may enrol directly in a university

Indirect route: HAVO → HBO → University
Students who complete HAVO cannot go directly to university, but they can:

1. Enter HBO (higher professional education)

2. Complete an HBO bachelor’s degree (usually 4 years)

3. Then apply for a university master’s degree (WO)

Another route: VMBO → MBO → HBO → University
A longer but possible route:

1. VMBO (4 years)

2. MBO (vocational education; levels 3/4, 2–4 years)

3. HBO (bachelor’s degree, 4 years)

4. Then a pre-master + university master’s degree (WO)

This is the most vocationally oriented pathway, but it can also lead to university. Few students, however, follow this route to the end.

Students and teachers were divided into two groups and guided by two Dutch students.

The school has around 850 students and consists of two main buildings:

• Building A: academic pathway

• Building B: more technical curriculum

Classes run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except on Fridays, when they end at 1:00 p.m., as many students return to the islands.

There are around 22 students per class, and lessons last 50 minutes, except for practical lessons (laboratories, arts, projects), which last 140 minutes.

Mobile phones are forbidden during lessons and are only allowed in common areas such as the bar and cafeteria.

There are themed and specially decorated classrooms, for example English classrooms or the Erasmus+ room.
The school has excellent facilities.

There is a staff member who has access to an Excel file with all lessons taking place and checks whether any teachers are absent.

Her responsibilities include dealing with students with behavioural problems, clarifying mental health issues, and providing coaching for girls. She acts as the link between the Mentor Teacher and the Team Leader (who coordinates a group of teachers).

In cases of misbehaviour:

• If a student is sent out of class once, there are no consequences.

• If a student is sent out three times, the case is referred to the Team Leader.

Situations such as:
a) smoking inside the school (students may only smoke on the other side of the road)
b) bullying
c) violence
d) drug use

lead to suspension, which is a joint decision by the Team Leader and the Mentor Teacher, not a unilateral one.

Hierarchy:

Team Leader
↓
Student Support Coordinator
↓
Mentor Teacher
↓
Teachers

To reduce chatter and restlessness and improve students’ attention, strategies include, as in Portugal, changing students’ seating and redesigning the classroom layout.

Regarding disciplinary issues, when a student is sent out of class, they must go to a specific room (student office) and, at the end of the lesson, return to the classroom and ask the teacher what work they need to do.

Every time a student is sent out, a record is made upon entry to the student office.

• After three expulsions: after one hour, the student returns to class, asks the teacher what to do, and must meet with the Mentor Teacher.

• After five expulsions: the student goes to the student office, returns to class after one hour, asks the teacher what to do, and must spend an additional hour with the Student Support Coordinator (two hours out of lessons in total).

• After seven expulsions: the student must stay at school for a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and when not in lessons, they stay with the Student Support Coordinator.

In cases of school absenteeism, the School Attendance Officer (similar to the Portuguese CPCJ) intervenes, and the case may eventually go to court.

Parents/guardians have real-time access to the system, but not to behavioural records.
The Dutch equivalent of the Mentor Teacher calls parents and students in cases of disciplinary problems.

There are external teams that carry out group dynamics activities with classes.

The Student Support Coordinator believes that the “punishment room” is not the most effective option for dealing with indiscipline, but they have not yet found a more effective solution. She mentioned the case of a first-year class whose behaviour is so poor that they do not know which measures to apply to solve the problem.

In the Netherlands, at the beginning of the school year, in September, The Week Against Bullying takes place. During this week, two school coordinators visit classes to talk about the issue, and there are lessons and performances focused on bullying.

Every week, there is at least one report of bullying at the school (via the Mentor Teacher, students, or parents). After a report is made, the victim is called first, followed by the aggressor. They may be brought together, if that is the victim’s wish, to overcome the situation. Parents are also contacted.

All schools have an Anti-Bullying Protocol, which this school is currently looking to update.

The school receives regional guidelines but has the freedom to change some procedures.

The Student Support Coordinator noted that the greatest difficulty is dealing with peaks in cases and responding quickly to all of them, but that the beauty of the job lies in trying to understand the problem underlying bullying.

At the school, she observes that students’ well-being declines between November and December.

The teachers also explored the city of Harlingen, visiting locations that were included in the quiz questions answered by the students.

Meanwhile, I attended an English lesson (teacher Yvonne Visser) with a 5th-year class (the penultimate year of secondary education). [see next slide]

After lunch, we went to the tile factory, also in Harlingen. This visit was greatly appreciated by the students and allowed them to understand all the stages of the production process of a tile / tile panel.

It was interesting, and even gratifying, to note the absolute similarity in lesson dynamics at the same level when compared to what we do in Portugal. It is worth highlighting that the class was very cooperative and showed a good level of language proficiency and comprehension. It was also curious to see that the teacher did not finish the task by the end of the lesson, and the worksheet was left to be completed in the following class.

After the lesson, I had the opportunity to talk briefly with the teacher about co-teaching, assessment criteria, and examinations in the subject of English.

In English, according to the testimony of both Yvonne and Johanna, the host teacher of the Erasmus+ programme, teachers work collaboratively, sharing practices and materials. Assessment is organised by domains, each with the same weighting. Across the three terms, formal assessment instruments consist of two tests and one project, except in the third term, which includes only one test.

The grades obtained in Years 10 and 11 account for 50% of the final grade, while the final exam is compulsory and represents the remaining 50% (Continuous Assessment 50% + Exam 50%).

In Years 7 and 8, English has only two 50-minute lessons per week.

Completion of secondary education and access to higher education:

VMBO

Usually 6 to 7 national exams (Dutch, English, Mathematics + 2–3 specific subjects)

HAVO

Normally 7 national exams (Dutch, English, Mathematics + 3–4 specific subjects)

VWO

On average 7 to 8 national exams (Dutch, English, Mathematics + specific subjects)

In the Netherlands, school dropout rates are very low. In the most difficult cases, students may have a tutor at home, but home schooling is almost non-existent. There are also very few private schools.

At the school, there are several students with dyslexia and autism. These diagnoses can only be made in the first year. In the case of dyslexia, there is a coordinator (Marina Hoelestra), but for autism, the school does not have specific guidelines, and parents are expected to ensure appropriate support.

Like Portugal, the Netherlands is working towards inclusive education so that everyone can learn in the classroom. The measures foreseen for inclusive education are very similar to those implemented in Portugal: seating students in more favourable places for learning, differentiated exercises, and extra time to complete tasks, including tests. Depending on the difficulties, it is the subject teacher or the Mentor Teacher who implements the measures considered most appropriate and effective.

Up to the third year, there are teachers and assistants who help students in different subjects in a study room.

The Class Council meets two to three times a year. If there are problems, meetings are held more frequently.

The School Counsellor highlighted the meetings held with various members of the school (Mentor Teacher, Student Support Coordinator, Team Leader, Headteacher), as well as the meetings that take place when there is a risk that a student may not complete secondary education. In such cases, meetings with the student are held every six to eight weeks.

She also emphasised coaching programmes, implemented for boys for several years and for girls since last year. Although there are no quantitative data yet, these programmes are considered to have a very positive impact. This support includes conversations, physical exercise (notably boxing), and tutoring.

Around mid-April, once the school knows how many students it will have the following year, if teachers are needed, vacancies are advertised on the school website. Teacher selection is carried out not only by the team manager but also by the section leader, that is, the most senior teacher in the group/department or the head of department.

When a full timetable can be offered, recruitment is easier. The subjects with the greatest teacher shortages are Mathematics, Dutch, Physics, Economics, and German.

Less experienced teachers receive support from more experienced colleagues.

Teacher training in the Netherlands

Teacher education in the Netherlands is similar to what existed in Portugal some years ago:

• a three-year bachelor’s degree + a two-year master’s degree (one year of coursework + one year of teaching practice).

School governance and management

OVO is a school organisation in the Netherlands that manages several schools, mainly in the province of Friesland. It is the organisation responsible for scheduling visits and meetings with schools. This board has two people who manage all headteachers, who are not necessarily trained or career teachers.

The headteacher is selected by one of the two OVO directors, a Team Leader, and teachers from the school.

Geu Luik highlighted that what he enjoys most is contact with students, and what he enjoys least is bureaucracy, as well as the number of platforms and the repetition of information that must be entered into them.

School staff and diversity

There are not many foreign students or teachers. Among the students, there are some Ukrainian and Syrian pupils. As for teachers, there is one African teacher and one Muslim teacher.

Teacher appraisal

The Deputy Headteacher is also responsible for teacher evaluation: he observes lessons, talks with the teachers being evaluated, and gathers feedback from students and other colleagues.

Teachers are graded on a scale from 1 to 10. A grade below 5.5 is considered insufficient and means the teacher cannot renew their contract with the school.

The evaluation criteria are the same as those used by the national inspection system, applied throughout the country, including pedagogical differentiation and consistency across the different stages of the lesson. Teachers also complete a self-evaluation.

A teacher initially has a one-year contract, which may be renewed as a permanent contract, either at the same school or at another school belonging to the group of schools supervised by OVO. If the teacher wishes to move to a school outside this network, the process must start from scratch.

The school has between 80 and 90 teachers.

Inspection and autonomy

Schools are inspected every four years. Two inspectors visit the school and assess areas beyond pedagogy, such as financial management, and they interview teachers and students.

Each school has autonomy to define its educational offer and has its own budget. Therefore, depending on staffing needs, schools can recruit teachers with a high degree of autonomy.

I spoke with four groups:

• Group 1 (Mika and Fena): their project involved collaboration with a local physiotherapist. Their training goal is to become physiotherapy assistants, and they do not intend to pursue higher education.

• Group 2 (Ammarins, Jente and Madeleif): they were studying the impact of women’s health on workplace productivity. In collaboration with a professional from Leeuwarden who belongs to OVO, they are contacting companies to raise awareness and work with CEOs to find solutions to minimise this impact while respecting women’s well-being.

• Group 3 (Tamar and Trisjeanne): in response to housing shortages and high housing costs, which prevent young people from leaving their parents’ homes, they were working on the concept of houses of the future — smaller, more functional homes — also rethinking neighbourhood design.

• Group 4 (Juliano, Naomi and Rick): they created a questionnaire to identify areas where women feel least safe when walking and were studying the possibility of installing cameras to improve safety.

Students from the last three groups were in Years 11 and 12 and intended to go on to university.

All students had a computer or tablet. In other lessons I also observed that many students had one or the other device. Having a computer is mandatory. If students do not have the financial means, they can borrow one from the library. The English department has 12 spare devices. If a device is damaged, students must pay for it.

Meanwhile, the Erasmus+ students continued working on their final project.

In the afternoon, back at school, all students prepared dinner for teachers and students. After the meal, parents attended the presentation of the projects developed by the different groups.

Positive aspects

The school demonstrates a strong commitment to student autonomy and high-quality education. Alongside this, the calm and structured school environment, where behaviour is managed in a preventive way — for example, through established protocols such as those for bullying or teacher substitution — contributes to predictability and students’ emotional safety. It is also relevant to note that the school is part of a relatively small community, with around 15,000 inhabitants.

The timetable organisation, with 50-minute lessons and longer blocks for projects or practical activities, allows for a good balance between more focused work (lectures, quizzes, etc.) and more in-depth work (projects).

There are multiple pathways that enable students to access higher education.

Pedagogical practice appeared to be very similar to that in Portugal.

At an organisational level, there are several differences, particularly regarding the regional nature of the organisation that hierarchically and collectively manages schools and, apparently, the degree of autonomy each school has to implement certain measures and recruit teachers.

Negative aspects

The number of exams students must take and the weight of these exams in access to higher education.

The possible lack of specialised professionals assigned directly to schools, such as psychologists. However, the perception is that the system, as implemented, works effectively.

Regarding my own practice, I identified strongly with the classroom objectives and strategies used in English lessons, and, as a deputy headteacher, I felt close to my Dutch colleagues in terms of their enjoyment of working at the school, their commitment to the profession and to students, and the shared challenges we face: ensuring the well-being of all members of the educational community, with particular attention to mental health — which has intensified post-COVID — (in)discipline and how to deal with it, and academic achievement within an inclusive school.

There are, therefore, phenomena and challenges that are common to our societies, and the strategies used to address them are remarkably similar.