In previous years, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science determined the dates for the school holidays for the next three years. However, a bill has been passed that has ensured that the summer holidays in secondary education are shortened from 7 to 6 weeks and that, in addition to the summer holidays, the dates of the Christmas holidays and the May holidays are also mandatory instead of the advisory dates that were previously always prescribed. datum. The holiday dates for schools in the Netherlands have been determined for years by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). Until now, advice dates have been given per region for most holidays, dates that schools did not have to adhere to. Only the dates for the summer holidays were legally determined. However, this has changed with the approval of the Education Time VO bill by the Senate on 26 June 2012. This law came into effect on 1 August 2013. This means that from 2014 onwards the summer holidays for secondary education (VO) will coincide with those in primary education (PO, primary education).
Legally required dates for summer, Christmas and May holidays
The amendment to the law approved by the Senate has to do with teaching time. This teaching time will be extended, students are expected to be at school longer during the year, with the result that the summer holidays of Secondary Education (VO) will be shortened. Instead of the 7 weeks summer holiday always granted until now, this will be reduced to 6 weeks. In addition, the dates set by the Ministry for the Christmas holidays and the May holidays will no longer be advisory dates, but these dates will also become legally mandatory for primary and secondary education. These holidays will therefore be centrally prescribed by the government. The Dutch regional division used until now and the boundaries of the regions remain unchanged.
PLEASE NOTE: The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science only indicates advisory dates for the autumn and spring holidays. Schools may therefore deviate from this. The ministry advises you to check with the school on which days it is closed for holidays.
School holidays in Secondary Education (VO)
From the 2012-2013 school year onwards, the following has been centrally established for secondary education, i.e. by the government:
- 6 weeks summer vacation;
- 2 weeks Christmas holiday;
- 1 week May holiday.
In addition, secondary education receives two vacation weeks that are not centrally prescribed. The school determines in consultation with the participation council how it will use these two weeks. In addition, schools are allowed by law to schedule 12 ‘schedule-free’ days per school year. Teachers can use those days for non-teaching-related tasks such as team meetings, further training or to restart the school year after the summer holidays.
Schools may divide the 12 schedule-free days as follows:
- a maximum of 6 days may be scheduled directly around the summer holidays;
- a maximum of 8 days may be spread over the school year (i.e. not around the summer holidays).
Parents, students and teachers have a say in the planning of education days and days off through the participation council.
Mandatory time off on Dutch public holidays?
The Netherlands has the following public holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter, Queen’s Day, Liberation Day, Ascension Day, Pentecost and Christmas. During most of these holidays, school-going students are (compulsorily) free. However, this does not apply to Good Friday and May 5 (Liberation Day). On these dates, schools can decide for themselves whether they release students.
Holiday dates for the 2019-2020 school year
po = primary education (the same dates apply to special primary education)
secondary education = secondary education (the same dates apply to special secondary education)
|
Type of holiday |
Region |
Holiday period |
|
Autumn holidays (primary and secondary) |
North |
October 19 to October 27, 2019 |
|
Middle |
October 19 to October 27, 2019 |
|
|
South |
October 12 to October 20, 2019 |
|
|
Christmas holidays (primary and secondary) |
All regions |
December 21, 2019 to January 5, 2020 |
|
Spring break (primary and secondary) |
North |
February 15 to February 23, 2020 |
|
Middle |
February 22 to March 1, 2020 |
|
|
South |
February 22 to March 1, 2020 |
|
|
Carnival |
starting February 23, 2020 |
|
|
May holidays (primary and secondary) |
All regions |
April 25 to May 3, 2020 |
PLEASE NOTE: For the autumn and spring holidays, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science only indicates advisory dates. Schools may therefore deviate from this. Schools can extend the May holidays by a week. For the correct dates, consult the school website.
Final dates of summer holidays 2020
po = primary education (the same dates apply to special primary education)
secondary education = secondary education (the same dates apply to special secondary education)
|
Type of holiday |
Region |
Dates |
|
Summer holidays (primary + secondary) |
North |
July 4 to August 16, 2020 |
|
Middle |
July 18 to August 30, 2020 |
|
|
South |
July 11 to August 23, 2020 |
Holiday dates for the 2020-2021 school year
primary education (the same dates apply to special primary education)
secondary education (the same dates apply to special secondary education)
|
Type of holiday |
Region |
Holiday period |
|
Autumn holidays (primary and secondary) |
North |
October 10 to October 18, 2020 |
|
Middle |
October 17 to October 25, 2020 |
|
|
South |
October 17 to October 25, 2020 |
|
|
Christmas holidays (primary and secondary) |
All regions |
December 19, 2020 to January 3, 2021 |
|
Spring break (primary and secondary) |
North |
February 20 to February 28, 2021 |
|
Middle |
February 20 to February 28, 2021 |
|
|
South |
February 13 to February 21, 2021 |
|
|
Carnival |
starting February 14, 2021 |
|
|
May holidays (primary and secondary) |
All regions |
May 1 to 9, 2021 |
PLEASE NOTE: The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science only indicates advisory dates for the autumn and spring holidays. Schools may therefore deviate from this. Schools can extend the May holidays by a week. For the correct dates, consult the school website.
Final dates of summer holidays 2021
primary education (the same dates apply to special primary education)
secondary education (the same dates apply to special secondary education )
|
Type of holiday |
Region |
Dates |
|
Summer holidays (primary + secondary) |
North |
July 10 to August 22, 2021 |
|
Middle |
July 17 to August 29, 2021 |
|
|
South |
July 24 to September 5, 2021 |
Holiday dates for the 2021-2022 school year
po = primary education (the same dates apply to special primary education)
secondary education = secondary education (the same dates apply to special secondary education)
|
Type of holiday |
Region |
Holiday period |
|
Autumn holidays (primary and secondary) |
North |
October 16 to October 24, 2021 |
|
Middle |
October 16 to October 24, 2021 |
|
|
South |
October 23 to October 31, 2021 |
|
|
Christmas holidays (primary and secondary) |
All regions |
December 25, 2021 to January 9, 2022 |
|
Spring break (primary and secondary) |
North |
February 19 to February 27, 2022 |
|
Middle |
February 26 to March 6, 2022 |
|
|
South |
February 26 to March 6, 2022 |
|
|
Carnival |
starting February 27, 2022 |
|
|
May holidays (primary and secondary) |
All regions |
April 30 to May 8, 2022 |
PLEASE NOTE: The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science only indicates advisory dates for the autumn and spring holidays. Schools may therefore deviate from this. Schools can extend the May holidays by a week. For the correct dates, consult the school website.
Final dates of summer holidays 2022
po = primary education (the same dates apply to special primary education)
secondary education = secondary education (the same dates apply to special secondary education)
|
Type of holiday |
Region |
Dates |
|
Summer holidays (primary + secondary) |
North |
July 16 to August 28, 2022 |
|
Middle |
July 9 to August 21, 2022 |
|
|
South |
July 23 to September 4, 2022 |
Change in law now final
Since the amendment to the law, resulting in an extension of the teaching time, was approved by the Senate on 26 June 2012, the holiday dates for the year 2014 have become final. You will find the latest news about the holiday dates on the website of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The date on which the change in law will come into effect has been set as August 1, 2013, so that from 2014 the summer holidays for secondary education will coincide with those in primary education. my view on