Children and school on Sint Eustatius: English-language Caribbean education, one secondary school and $ 227 child benefit

Yes, your children go to a school on Sint Eustatius that comes under the Dutch Inspectorate of Education. But whoever knows Bonaire must look again here: education on Statia is in English, and the only secondary school, the Gwendoline van Putten School, has moved step by step since 2015 from the Dutch system to the Caribbean CXC examination system. What it costs is mainly what you have to apply for: the child benefit of $ 227 per child per month does not come by itself, and childcare in 2026 costs $ 75 a month at the maximum number of sessions. The trap is the scale: four small primary schools, one secondary school of some 250 pupils, and a diploma that needs explaining in the Netherlands.

How is education organised?

The National Office's list of schools counts four primary schools on Sint Eustatius: the Roman Catholic Golden Rock School, the public Governor de Graaff School, the Bethel Methodist School and the Seventh-day Adventist school. For what follows there is the public Gwendoline van Putten School with about 250 pupils. It offers three programmes of the Caribbean Examinations Council, the CCSLC, the CSEC and the vocational qualification CVQ, plus the practical stream from the Dutch system; the language of instruction is English and the school expressly focuses on the regional needs of the Caribbean. Havo, vwo and mbo do not exist on the island. Secondary education is free: the school pays for books, teaching materials and even school trips, and parents pay for the uniform ($ 25 for the polo, $ 20 for the PE shirt), a diary and a calculator. The school day runs from 7.30 to 14.55.

How does compulsory education work?

The Compulsory Education Act BES applies on all three islands: compulsory education runs for children from 4 to 16, and after that the qualification obligation begins until the day the young person obtains a start qualification or turns eighteen. On Statia the school spells that out: compulsory education starts on the first day of the month after the fourth birthday, and a CSEC or CVQ level 2 diploma counts as the start qualification. The Executive Council supervises and has appointed an attendance officer, with an office at The Rock on Father van Teeffelenweg. One rule is new for whoever comes from the Netherlands: if a pupil wants to go abroad outside the school holidays, he or she must show a declaration of exemption, dispensation, leave or relocation at the border. So you arrange a family visit to the Netherlands in an ordinary school week with the school in advance.

What does it cost and what do you get?

Item	Amount or term (2026)
Child benefit Sint Eustatius	$ 227 per child per month, no means test (Bonaire: $ 239)
Applying for child benefit	by e-mail to the RCN unit SZW; legally at most 8 weeks of processing
Retroactive child benefit	at most 12 months
Child benefit stops	in the month after the child turns 18
Parental contribution day care at the maximum number of sessions	$ 75 per child per month (Bonaire: $ 100)
Parental contribution after-school care at the maximum number of sessions	$ 40 per child per month
Parental contribution from 2027	4% of the cost of the care
Secondary education	free; uniform $ 25 and $ 20, own diary and calculator
Compulsory education	4 to 16; qualification obligation until 18 or a CSEC or CVQ diploma

The RCN unit SZW pays the child benefit monthly from the month in which you meet the conditions on the first day; whoever applies later gets at most twelve months back. You apply with a form by e-mail, with a copy of your ID card and, if you come from the Netherlands, the SVB's termination letter, because that speeds up processing. For childcare the rules of the Childcare Act BES have applied since 2026: parents pay a low contribution, the childcare may charge nothing extra, and whoever cannot pay the contribution applies for a child place subsidy at the Public Entity's Unit Social Support.

Apply for child benefit in the first weeks. The Dutch child benefit from the SVB stopped on your deregistration, the Statia one only starts after an application, and the twelve months of retroactive effect are the only give in the system.

What does an English-language diploma mean for later?

That you have the conversation about leaving now. Studying is not possible on the island. Whoever goes to study in the Caribbean, the United States or Canada applies to the RCN for BES student finance, a performance grant with an optional loan; whoever goes to study in the Netherlands applies to DUO for ordinary student finance and in addition once for a start-up allowance from the RCN. Conditions: under thirty, living in the Caribbean Netherlands and Dutch nationality, or otherwise at least ten years on the islands. The difference from Bonaire lies in the fit: a CSEC diploma is a Caribbean diploma, not havo or vwo, and whoever wants their child to study in the Netherlands later enquires early how the chosen programme treats it. What else changes for the family, from healthcare to the safety net that is not there, is in the other articles; the order after arrival is in the step-by-step plan for Sint Eustatius.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.4: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Sint Eustatius or go straight to step 5.4 in the open plan.