Admissions – Policy

GENERAL

Children qualify for places at the International School Wassenaar if they are:

• from countries outside of the Netherlands, who are part of the mobile international community.
• from Dutch families who have been internationally mobile (OC&W regulations define this as those who have spent ‘at least’ two years in a school abroad) immediately prior to the placement year, and in need of being educated in an international school to ensure continuity of education.

Applications will be placed in order of receipt. Children will be admitted when the places are allocated, and when there are no children on the list ahead of them.

In the case of children transferring from another international school in the Netherlands admission of children will only be done during a school year, (instead of at the start of a school year) if there are exceptional circumstances.

In the case that the school has limited places available, priority will be given to the following groups:

Priority level 1

Siblings of children already enrolled in the International School Wassenaar and children of new teaching staff.

Priority level 2

Children coming directly from outside The Netherlands.

Priority level 3

Children transferring from another international school in the Netherlands.

Priority level 4

Other qualifying children (who meet the Admissions Policy but do not fall into sections 1-3).

APPLICATION PROCEDURE 
All applications for the International School Wassenaar are processed via the Application Form. See the “Procedure” section. Please note that applications can only be made a maximum of 2 years before the year that the child will start at the school.

Confidential Information
It is the school’s practice to show photographs of school activities and events on its website and other school publications and may also include them in press releases and advertising. Consent is requested in the application form.

Parents accept that it is the school’s legal duty to provide requested information to Government Ministries. This is usually age and nationality information only.

Allocation of school places
Allocation of a school place will be dependent upon meeting the requirements set out above as well as those detailed below.

For applications made during the school year, children will be admitted when places are available and as soon as possible to ensure that they avoid missing school as much as possible.

Re-registration
Re-registration happens automatically when parents submit the Registration Form for the following academic year which needs to be signed to agree with the Standard Terms and Conditions (STC).

In addition, in the International School Wassenaar, there are academic and behavioural requirements that need to be met before children move to the next academic year. In the event that a child will not meet the requirements, they will be informed by the guidance team as early as possible in the school year who will also inform the admissions team.

Placement
Unless, there is significant evidence to suggest a child’s needs will be best met in a different year group, all children will be placed into the academic year that corresponds with their date of birth.

For 2023-2024 these dates are as follows:

DEFERRED PLACEMENTS

In the event that a family applies to join the school academic year and their personal circumstances change, there is the possibility of deferring for one year. For example, if an application is made for a child to start in August 2020 and at a later date, the family does not move to The Netherlands, they can defer the start date to August 2021. If the occasion arises that the child does not start at the school in August 2021, the family must reapply for a school place via the usual application process.

The International School Wassenaar

Please note that regardless of the level of priority, all children applying for the International School Wassenaar must meet the academic and Special Educational Needs requirements as outlined below.

If there are concerns about the child’s ability to join the Middle Years Programme, the school will organize a placement test. Depending on the results, the child will be offered a place at the International School Wassenaar.

Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Our aim is to be as inclusive as possible. The International School Wassenaar provides support for students with a range of Special Educational Needs (SEN). However, there are limitations to the support we are able to provide. The list below provides some indication of the profiles of students, for whom we may be unable to provide adequate educational opportunities for:

• Students with certain diagnosed memory problems
• Students with certain diagnosed learning development disorders
• Students who endanger their safety or others
• Students who exhibit extreme behaviours that have not responded to prior interventions
• Students who refuse to go to school
• Students who are not able to physically take care of themselves
• Students who need complex medical care

We recognize that each student is unique and so each individual case will be considered carefully by the guidance team who will determine whether or not we are able to cater for the student’s needs and therefore able to offer a place in the International School Wassenaar.

For students with any type of educational or behavioural difficulty, parents will need to provide complete documentation of their child’s academic history, psychological/educational evaluations, and details of extra academic/specialist support they have had or are currently receiving. Parents will also grant permission for the International School Wassenaar to contact previous schools or professionals involved with the child in order to obtain details relevant to the child’s education and well-being. Once the application information is complete, we will evaluate the application and decide if the school can accommodate the student.

If a student joins the school and, after a period of no more than six weeks in school, we feel we cannot meet the academic, social/emotional or physical needs of your child, we reserve the right to recommend a transfer to an establishment that we (the school) believe can better accommodate these needs. Please note that failure to disclose information to the International School Wassenaar relating to a child’s existing learning or behavioural difficulties may jeopardize your child’s school place.