As in many countries, the Netherlands have both state schools and private/public schools. The main difference is that state schools don’t require students to have a certain religion or belief.
About one third of children in the Netherlands attend public schools. These are schools where children of all religions can go and are usually run by the municipality.
These state schools
The other two thirds of Dutch children attend private schools, or ‘special schools’ as the Dutch call them, where classes are given from a religious point of view (e.g. Jewish, Islamic, Protestant) or pedagogical point of view (e.g. Montessori, Freinet, Jenaplan, Dalton). These are usually run by organisations or foundations.
These private schools