The Dutch primary teacher shortage: 15.6% in The Hague, rare four-day weeks and what parents can do

For several years now, Dutch primary schools have struggled to find enough teachers. On 20 October 2026, DutchNews reported that, despite the shortage, school heads are largely rejecting the four-day week. In a survey by news site Nu.nl and the school leaders' association AVS, only 3 of 308 heads said they had cut the number of school days.

On paper, the shortage is easing. The latest survey for the education ministry puts it at 6.3% of teaching jobs on 1 October 2025, down from 8.1% a year earlier. But in the five biggest cities (the G5: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Almere) it is 13.7%, more than twice the rate elsewhere. These are also the cities where most international families live.

This article starts from DutchNews' report and checks the figures against primary sources. It explains what the rules on teaching hours actually allow, when children can be sent home, what to look for when choosing a school, how international schools compare and what parents can do. It is written for families who moved to the Netherlands from abroad and are new to the Dutch system.

Main sources for this article

• DutchNews, "Primary school teachers reject four-day week amid staff shortage" (20 October 2026)
• Centerdata, "Personeelstekorten primair onderwijs – peildatum 1 oktober 2025" (December 2025, commissioned by the education ministry)
• NL Times, "Dutch primary schools rarely adopt four-day weeks despite teacher shortage" (20 October 2026)
• Rijksoverheid, "Hoe regelen basisscholen de schooltijden en lesuren?" (rules on school hours)
• Inspectie van het Onderwijs, "Er vallen veel lesuren uit. Mag dit?" (lesson cancellations)

1. What is happening: the October 2026 survey and the numbers

The headline says heads "reject" the four-day week. The story underneath is that schools are keeping the doors open five days a week by other means. Here are the survey and the statistics behind it.

Only 3 of 308 schools have cut days

DutchNews reports that 308 primary heads took part in the survey by Nu.nl and the AVS (Algemene Vereniging Schoolleiders, the association of school leaders). Only three, under 1%, had reduced the number of days pupils attend this school year (DutchNews, 20 October 2026).

According to NL Times, four in ten respondents named putting other staff in front of the class, such as the head or a teaching assistant, as the best solution (NL Times, 20 October 2026).

A shorter week is a last resort. For families, the shortage is more likely to show up as days when someone other than the regular teacher is in charge than as days with no school at all.

Why schools avoid a four-day week

An AVS policy adviser told Nu.nl that a four-day week does not necessarily help teachers and can harm education. It raises questions about how missed lessons are made up, whether homework is set and what working parents do with their children (Nu.nl, 20 October 2026). A board member of the teachers' union AOb warned that emergency measures must not become permanent, because children have a right to good education and not just childcare.

The shortage: 6.3% in 2025, 8.1% in 2024

The figures in the DutchNews article come from Centerdata, a research institute that measures primary school staff shortages each year for the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). On 1 October 2025, the national shortage was estimated at about 5,800 FTE, or 6.3% of teaching jobs (Centerdata, December 2025).

A year earlier it was about 7,700 FTE, or 8.1%. The report says part of the fall may be due to fewer jobs once the post-Covid catch-up funding (NPO) ended, and to falling pupil numbers. In other words, the drop is not only the result of more teachers being hired.

Schools are also short of heads and deputy heads. That shortage fell from about 850 FTE (10%) to about 450 FTE (6.2%).

2. The big picture: concentrated in cities and some districts

Behind the 6.3% average, some schools have no shortage while others miss a large part of their staff.

G5 cities: more than double the rest

Centerdata has measured the G5 separately since 2020. In 2025 the shortage was 13.7% in the G5 and 4.8% elsewhere. Response rates in the G5 were around 96%, so these figures are robust.

As Figure 1 shows, Utrecht is far below the other four cities and Almere stands out. The Hague's 15.6% is almost double the 8.1% in the surrounding Haaglanden region (excluding the city itself). Crossing a municipal border can change the picture considerably.

Five years of data

The report's appendix shows the trend from 2021 to 2025. Most G5 cities peaked around 2023 and have come down since, while Rotterdam has been flat and Almere remains very high.

The Hague has come down about six points from its 2023 peak of 21.8%, but that only brings it back to roughly where it was in 2021. "Improving" and "still serious" are both fair descriptions.

Big differences between districts

The report also breaks the G5 down by district (stadsdeel). In The Hague, Laak has the highest shortage at 25.8%, while Scheveningen and Leidschenveen-Ypenburg are around 10%.

District averages hide large differences between individual schools. In the G5, about 20% of schools report no shortage at all, while 13% report a shortage of more than 30%. Outside the G5, those figures are 60% and 2%. In the end, every school has to be checked on its own.

Which schools are hit hardest

The one school characteristic clearly linked to the size of the shortage is the schoolweging, an indicator of how complex a school's pupil population is, based on family background. The more complex the population, the larger the shortage tends to be. This does not mean those schools are worse. Schools that need the most staff are the ones that struggle most to attract them.

3. The rules: legal teaching time and four-day weeks

The rules on teaching time determine how far a school can change your family's week.

7,520 hours over eight years

Dutch primary pupils must receive at least 7,520 hours of teaching over the eight years from group 1 to group 8. Groups 1 to 4 must get at least 3,520 hours and groups 5 to 8 at least 3,760 hours, and schools may distribute the remaining 240 hours freely (Rijksoverheid, Inspectie van het Onderwijs).

The last three rows matter most for families. A school cannot run a permanent four-day week for groups 3 to 8, such as closing every Wednesday. It can schedule a four-day week at most seven times a year, and these weeks must be announced in the school guide (schoolgids).

Groups 1 and 2 are exempt

Groups 1 and 2 (roughly ages 4 to 6) do not have to follow the five-day rule. Many schools already give the youngest children a shorter week, and that has nothing to do with the shortage. Check the timetable for groups 1 and 2 in the school guide before your child starts so you can plan work around it.

A day off is not a four-day week

A 2019 letter from the education minister confirmed that a structural four-day week is not legally allowed, while schools may remove a day from the timetable for groups 3 to 8 up to seven times a year (Tweede Kamer, kst-27923-358). The Inspectorate says new rules are being prepared to give schools more freedom over how they use teaching time, but no details had been published as of 27 October 2026.

4. What it means for families: days at home and changing teachers

The breakdown of the figures shows that most of the shortage is invisible from the outside.

Most of the shortage is hidden

Centerdata counts not only open vacancies (openstaand) but also hidden shortages (verborgen tekort). A hidden shortage is a gap filled in an undesirable way, such as an unqualified person teaching the class or two groups being merged.

As Figure 2 shows, open vacancies account for just 1.7 points of the 6.3%. The other 4.6 points are hidden. There are more than twice as many classes without a fully qualified teacher as there are advertised jobs. A school can look fully staffed while an unqualified person is in charge of a class.

How hidden gaps are filled

For schools outside the G5, the report breaks down how hidden shortages are filled. The most common solution is to use unqualified staff already working at the school.

Splitting a class over other groups is rare at 3%. Most gaps are filled by putting someone in front of the class. In four of the G5 cities, including The Hague, 80% to 90% of the shortage is hidden.

What schools do when a teacher is missing

On a day-to-day level, when a teacher is ill or on a course, schools tend to work through a similar sequence. Ordered roughly from least to most disruptive, it looks like this.

Expatica notes that some big-city schools have had trainee teachers take a class alone and, occasionally, sent pupils home for the day (Expatica, updated 2 June 2025).

Is sending children home allowed?

The Inspectorate of Education says lessons can be cancelled, for example because of a teacher shortage. The school can make up the missed lessons later in the year and must still meet the legal minimum teaching time (Inspectie van het Onderwijs).

So a message saying "group 5 has no school tomorrow" is not necessarily against the rules. The problem starts when such days add up to too little teaching over the year, or when pupils fall behind. If cancellations seem frequent, note the dates and reasons. That record will help when you talk to the school.

The first people to feel a sudden day off are working parents. Section 8 covers how to prepare with your after-school care. For childcare costs and allowances, see Dutch childcare costs in 2027.

5. Choosing a school during the shortage

Because the shortage varies so much between schools, the choosing stage matters.

Public and "special" schools

Dutch primary schools are either public (openbaar) or "special" (bijzonder). Both are funded by the government and charge no tuition. Special schools are based on a religion or an educational philosophy such as Montessori or Dalton, and about two-thirds of pupils attend one (Expatica).

Whether a school is public or special says nothing about its staffing. Both kinds include schools with large and small shortages. The parental contribution (vrijwillige ouderbijdrage) really is voluntary: children cannot be excluded from trips or activities if parents do not pay (Rijksoverheid).

Reading Inspectorate reports

Dutch schools have a lot of freedom, and the Inspectorate of Education (Inspectie van het Onderwijs) supervises their quality. You can look up each school's judgement and reports by name (Toezichtresultaten).

Judgements are usually voldoende (sufficient), onvoldoende (insufficient) or zeer zwak (very weak). If a school is judged very weak, its board is legally required to send all parents a summary of the report. A sufficient rating with an old report date tells you little about recent staff turnover. Combine it with the figures on Scholen op de kaart and your own impression from a visit.

Questions to ask on a visit

The most useful question on a visit is simply: "What happens when a teacher is ill?" Also ask whether any class is taught by someone without a qualification, and how many days lessons were cancelled last year.

Shared teaching (duobaan), where two teachers split the week, is common and unrelated to the shortage, so it is not a warning sign on its own.

6. Enrolment and waiting lists: the example of The Hague

Choosing a school does not guarantee a place. In the big cities, popular schools are oversubscribed and places are decided by priority rules and lottery. Here is how it works in The Hague.

Apply from age 3, start at 4

In The Hague, the municipality sends parents an application form around the child's third birthday. You submit it to your first-choice school and receive an answer within six weeks. If all your choices have an admission cap (leerlingplafond), you are asked to list at least five schools (Scholenwijzer Den Haag).

Compulsory education (leerplicht) starts on the first day of the month after a child turns five (Rijksoverheid). In practice, most children start the day after their fourth birthday, joining the class one by one rather than all together at the start of a school year.

Priority rules and lotteries

Priority rules (voorrangsregels) and a lottery are only used when a school has more applications than places. In The Hague, each school chooses which rules to apply and in what order, from options such as a sibling at the school, attending a linked preschool, living near the school, or a parent working there. Priority does not guarantee a place.

Amsterdam, Utrecht and Haarlem also use address-based priority and a municipal lottery (Expatica). Each city has its own procedure, so check your municipality's school finder as soon as you know where you will live.

Arriving with an older child

If you arrive with a child aged four or older, you apply directly to a school, and the class for their age may already be full. Expatica notes that many schools accept applications before you have an address or a BSN (citizen service number), provided you are seriously planning to move to the area.

Children aged 6 to 12 who do not speak Dutch often start in a newcomer class (nieuwkomersklas or taalklas) focused on Dutch. The Hague International Centre says 15 primary schools in the region offer one (The Hague International Centre).

The shortage reaches these classes too. Centerdata puts the teacher shortage for language classes at 14.0% in the G5 on average, and 23.6% in The Hague. Expect the possibility of a wait, or of changing teachers once your child is in.

7. Dutch school, international school or something else?

Reading about the shortage, some parents wonder whether an international school would be safer. Here is how the options compare.

Government-funded and private international schools

Dutch International Primary Schools (DIPS) are international departments of Dutch schools. They teach an international curriculum mainly in English while falling under Dutch law and Inspectorate supervision. Fees are well below private schools: International School Eindhoven, for example, charges €6,690 a year for its international primary department in 2026-27 (ISE).

Places are restricted. Under the admissions policy of AICS in Amsterdam, which reflects Dutch rules, eligible pupils include non-Dutch children whose parents work in the Netherlands for a limited period, and Dutch children who have lived and studied abroad for at least two years because of a parent's job (AICS Admissions Policy 2026). Many have waiting lists, and guides such as ACCESS and DutchReview advise applying early.

Because DIPS are part of Dutch school boards, they recruit in the same labour market and are not immune to the shortage. Private international schools recruit independently, but fees for primary typically start around €15,000 a year (DutchReview, Expatica). XPAT.NL also notes that the DIPS fee is mandatory, unlike the voluntary contribution at Dutch schools (XPAT.NL).

The table shows that avoiding the shortage alone is a weak reason to pick a school type. Eligibility, fees and how long you expect to stay usually decide the matter.

Older children: the ISK

Children who arrive aged 12 or older can join an international transition class (Internationale Schakelklas, ISK). It is designed for ages 12 to 18 and usually lasts about two years, combining intensive Dutch with regular subjects (ACCESS NL, 24 May 2024). Families with one child in secondary and one in primary should check where both schools would be before deciding where to live.

ACCESS suggests that families staying five years or more are often best served by Dutch primary education. Whichever path you choose, the shortage shows up at the level of the individual school, not the type of school.

8. What parents can do: the participation council and BSO

Parents cannot solve a national labour shortage. But the system gives you some real rights, and there are practical steps you can take at home.

The participation council

Every Dutch school has a participation council (medezeggenschapsraad, MR) with elected staff and parent members. A school cannot change its school hours without the consent of the parent members (Rijksoverheid). The MR also approves the level of the voluntary contribution and is consulted on which group 8 test the school uses.

You do not need to join the council to benefit. Reading its minutes or passing comments to a member will tell you a lot about how the school handles staffing. Some schools publish minutes in English.

The Inspectorate does not settle individual complaints, but it uses reports in its supervision. It advises using the school's complaints procedure first, and reporting to the Inspectorate alongside it (Inspectie van het Onderwijs).

After-school care (BSO)

For working parents the most practical step is to check your after-school care (BSO, buitenschoolse opvang) contract. BSO usually covers the hours after school and the school holidays. Whether it can take your child from the morning on a study day (studiedag) or a sudden day off depends on the provider. Some accept extra days for a fee, others cannot because they are full.

The childcare allowance (kinderopvangtoeslag) has a cap on the hours it covers, so check how extra days are counted before the end of the year.

If your child's class keeps changing teachers, ask to see the results in the school's pupil monitoring system (leerlingvolgsysteem, LVS) at parent meetings.

9. Where the numbers differ between sources

Figures on the teacher shortage can look inconsistent across media. Most differences come down to what is being counted and when.

5,800 FTE or 13,000 teachers?

In July 2026, DutchNews wrote that the Netherlands is short of 13,000 teachers across primary, secondary and vocational education (DutchNews, 27 July 2026). That covers more sectors than the 5,800 FTE primary figure and uses a different unit. The same article said some big-city schools had cut timetables to four days, while the October survey found three schools out of 308.

IamExpat's figure of 18% in the G5 against 8% elsewhere (IamExpat, 26 August 2024) matches Centerdata's 2023 data reasonably well. Older articles are usually not wrong, just from a different year.

Why the shortage fell

Recruitment is picking up. DutchNews reported a 13.5% rise in new registrations for teacher training. According to DUO figures, 858 men qualified as primary teachers last year, up 66% from 515 about ten years earlier (NL Times, 2 October 2026).

The CPB, the government's economic policy bureau, estimates that one extra working year for early retirees would fill only 13% of the primary shortage, and less than 4% in the G5.

10. If you are used to another school system

A few features of the Dutch system often surprise newcomers and affect how the shortage is felt.

No legal class size limit

There is no legal maximum class size in Dutch primary schools. The average group had 22.6 pupils in 2024-25, but there were still about 3,000 classes of 30 or more (Rijksoverheid, Rijksoverheid report, March 2025). When a class is split over other groups, those groups get bigger for the day.

Group 8 and the transition to secondary

In group 8 every pupil takes a national transition test (doorstroomtoets), and together with the teacher's school advice (schooladvies) it determines the type of secondary school (Rijksoverheid). If the upper groups have frequent changes of teacher, ask how the school ensures continuity in the advice process.

Explaining it to family abroad

Relatives abroad may be alarmed to hear that "there was no teacher, so school was cancelled". It helps to explain that this is permitted within limits in the Netherlands, that yearly teaching time is protected, and that two teachers sharing a class is normal.

11. Steps to take

Here is what to do, split between families still choosing a school and families whose children already attend one.

If you are still choosing

1. Check your municipality's school finder (Scholenwijzer in The Hague) for enrolment rules and deadlines
2. Look up candidate schools on the Inspectorate site and note the report dates
3. Check pupil numbers and parent ratings on Scholen op de kaart
4. Read the school guide for teaching hours, four-day weeks and cover policy
5. On a visit, ask what happens on sick days and whether any class has an unqualified teacher
6. If all your choices have an admission cap, list at least five schools
7. Look for a BSO place at the same time and decide on the combination

If your child already attends

1. Put this year's four-day weeks from the school guide in your calendar
2. Ask your BSO how it handles study days and sudden days off
3. Keep a record of cancelled days and the reasons given
4. If teachers keep changing, ask to see the LVS results at the parent meeting
5. Read the MR minutes for proposed timetable changes
6. If explanations fall short, use the complaints procedure and inform the Inspectorate

12. Example situations (fictional families)

The families below are fictional and do not refer to real people or schools. They show how the same rules lead to different answers.

Family C will usually get further by documenting the problem than by protesting, since the school is often still looking for staff.

13. Mistakes to avoid

Some reactions to the shortage tend to backfire.

Taking your child out during term without permission can lead to contact from the municipality's attendance officer, however many days the school has cancelled.

14. Summary

• The Dutch primary teacher shortage was 6.3% (about 5,800 FTE) on 1 October 2025, down from 8.1% in 2024
• The G5 cities stand at 13.7%, more than twice the rest of the country; The Hague is 15.6% and its Laak district 25.8%
• About 70% of the shortage is hidden, filled mostly by unqualified staff
• Schools must provide at least 7,520 hours over eight years; a permanent four-day week is not allowed for groups 3 to 8, and four-day weeks are capped at seven a year
• Only 3 of 308 surveyed schools have cut days; most put other staff in front of the class
• When choosing a school, combine Inspectorate reports, the school guide and direct questions on a visit
• Parents can prepare through the participation council, their BSO contract, records and the complaints procedure

For school phone rules, see the Dutch school phone ban plan for 2027.

Sources

Starting article and expat media

• Primary school teachers reject four-day week amid staff shortage — DutchNews: starting article
• Drive to recruit more teachers sparks 13.5% rise in applications — DutchNews: training registrations, 13,000 figure
• Dutch primary schools rarely adopt four-day weeks — NL Times: survey details
• Later retirements would only dent teacher shortage — NL Times: CPB and DUO figures
• Teacher shortage worsening across the Netherlands — IamExpat: G5 in 2023
• Dutch primary schools are changing their timetables — IamExpat: timetable changes
• A guide to the Dutch primary school system — DutchReview: school types and terms
• Primary schools in the Netherlands — Expatica: costs, enrolment, shortage effects
• Dutch Education: A First-Time User's Guide — ACCESS NL: choosing a school, ISK
• Schooling for expat kids in NL — XPAT.NL: international Dutch schools
• Primary education — The Hague International Centre: newcomer classes
• Scholen kiezen bij lerarentekort andere oplossingen — Nu.nl: original survey report

Primary sources

• Personeelstekorten primair onderwijs 2025 — Centerdata: survey overview
• Report PDF — Centerdata: national, G5 and district figures
• School hours and lessons — Rijksoverheid: five-day rule, four-day weeks, MR consent
• Teaching time in primary education — Inspectorate: 7,520 hours
• Many lessons cancelled: is that allowed? — Inspectorate: cancellations
• Complaints about schools — Inspectorate: complaints and reports
• Toezichtresultaten — Inspectorate: school judgements
• Kamerstuk 27923-358 — Tweede Kamer: minister's letter on four-day weeks
• No maximum group size — Rijksoverheid: class size rules
• Group size in primary education 2025 — Rijksoverheid: average of 22.6
• Voluntary parental contribution — Rijksoverheid: contribution rules
• School advice and transition test — Rijksoverheid: group 8 test
• Compulsory education — Rijksoverheid: leerplicht
• Enrolling at a primary school — Scholenwijzer Den Haag: Hague enrolment and priority rules
• Scholen op de kaart: school data
• School fees — International School Eindhoven: DIPS fee example
• Admissions Policy 2026 — AICS: DIPS eligibility

All sources were checked on 27 October 2026. Shortage figures are measured on 1 October each year and published around December. Rules on teaching time are under review, so check your school's latest guide and official websites.

Original article

Primary school teachers reject four-day week amid staff shortage — DutchNews