School on Aruba: in Dutch, compulsory from four to seventeen, and enrolling between December and February

Yes, your child can go to a school on Aruba that follows the Dutch model, and that is the island's quiet trump card for families: "The education system of Aruba is derived from the Dutch system", with kindergarten from 4 to 6, primary education from 6 to 12 and then mavo, havo and vwo, for some 22,000 pupils at over 80 schools, largely funded by the government. Compulsory schooling runs from the first school day of the school year in which your child is four on 1 October until the day it turns seventeen, or earlier completes a programme. The find at the Compulsory Education Bureau is the calendar: enrolments happen "usually well in advance, in the months December to February" before the new school year, with the school board, with an extract from Censo and proof of AZV insurance. The pitfall is therefore not the language but the timing: whoever lands in May has missed the enrolment round and depends on what is still open.

How is education organised?

Primary education consists of kindergarten (4 to 6, 26 schools under 5 school boards), primary school (6 to 12, 37 schools under 4 boards) and special education. Primary school covers reading, writing, arithmetic, Dutch language, history, geography, nature, music, drawing, physical education, crafts, traffic education, civics and Papiamento language; English and Spanish are optional. In the final year the school's advice and marks determine which form of secondary education your child goes to: mavo, havo or vwo (general secondary education), or the vocational EPB. The public schools fall under the Public Schools Service; the denominational boards (Catholic, Protestant, Adventist, Full Gospel) are subsidised. In addition there are private, unsubsidised schools: De Schakel with Dutch as the language of instruction, and the International School of Aruba with English.

Item	What applies
Compulsory schooling	from the first school day of the school year in which the child is 4 on 1 October, until the 17th birthday or a completed programme
Enrolment	with the school board or the school, usually December to February before the school year
Documents	extract from Censo (or other proof of living on Aruba) and proof of AZV insurance
No AZV	declaration releasing the school from liability, or an equivalent private insurance
Public education	enrolment fee Afl. 75 per school year, plus about Afl. 25 collective accident insurance
Leave	at most 10 school days a year for weighty circumstances; holidays in school time are prohibited
Fine for breaches	Afl. 250 to Afl. 2,500, imposed by the minister

What does it cost, and what does the school ask?

Funded education is almost free: for the public schools the enrolment fee is Afl. 75 per school year, plus about Afl. 25 as a contribution to a compulsory collective accident insurance, with school uniform, diary and materials at your own expense. What the denominational boards and the private schools charge is not on a government page; ask the school, and expect serious money at De Schakel and the ISA. For enrolment the school wants an extract from Censo or other proof that the child lives on Aruba, and proof of AZV insurance; without AZV the parents sign a declaration releasing the school from liability, or take out an equivalent private insurance. The registration at Censo should therefore be settled before school enrolment.

How strict is compulsory schooling?

Stricter than you think. Holidays in school time are prohibited; leave for weighty circumstances (the family moving house, serious illness or death in the family) you request in advance from the school head, up to at most ten school days per school year, and preferably a month ahead. Family visits to the Netherlands, a cheap travel period or "no other booking option" explicitly do not count. The school reports unauthorised absence to the Compulsory Education Bureau, and the fine runs from Afl. 250 to Afl. 2,500. Home schooling is possible, but only after recognition by the Compulsory Education Bureau, to be requested anew every school year.

What is the pitfall?

Language is not the problem, the calendar is. The enrolment round runs from December to February; whoever plans the move for the summer and only then looks for a school finds the popular schools full. Contact the school board of your choice in the autumn before your departure, and arrange the Censo registration and the AZV so the papers are there when the school asks for them.

For children who do not yet master Dutch, the five public primary schools run the PRISMA programme, with extra Dutch language and reading in a separate class; for a Dutch child that does not play, but the playground language does: Papiamento, and they learn that for free.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Aruba or go straight to step 5.2 in the open plan.