{"id":21744,"date":"2020-03-02T15:38:23","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T14:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oudersenonderwijs.nl\/the-voluntary-parental-contribution\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T13:36:08","slug":"the-voluntary-parental-contribution","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oudersenonderwijs.nl\/en\/the-voluntary-parental-contribution\/","title":{"rendered":"The voluntary parental contribution"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":11523,"parent":21174,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/kennisbank-detail.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[316],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21744","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-school-costs-and-parental-contribution"],"acf":{"inhoud":[{"acf_fc_layout":"inhoud_blok","afbeelding_of_video":"geen","afbeelding":false,"video":null,"intro":"Many high schools and primary schools ask parents for a financial contribution every year. For example, for a school trip, Christmas celebration, or bilingual education. But how voluntary is this contribution? What can the school ask a contribution for? And what happens if you do not pay? We explain this in this article.","inhoud":"<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A voluntary parent contribution for extra activities<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Schools can ask parents for a voluntary financial contribution. This money is used for activities or materials not part of the mandatory curriculum. Everything that is part of the mandatory curriculum is usually paid for by the school. Schools mostly use the voluntary parent contribution to pay for extra activities and materials when government money is not enough. These are, for example, school trips, trips abroad, museum visits, Saint Nicholas and Christmas parties, or bilingual education.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 888px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-1405-1\" width=\"888\" height=\"500\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-staging.oudersenonderwijs.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cbc682f2-f891-4a12-bd2f-c73f4214c26e.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-staging.oudersenonderwijs.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cbc682f2-f891-4a12-bd2f-c73f4214c26e.mp4\">https:\/\/wp-staging.oudersenonderwijs.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cbc682f2-f891-4a12-bd2f-c73f4214c26e.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"extra_inhoud_blok","inhoud":"<h3>Not paid? Your child can still join<\/h3>\n<p>The law says the voluntary parent contribution is really voluntary. This means parents can decide if they want to pay. If you don&#8217;t pay, your child can still join. Both primary and high schools cannot exclude any child from activities that the school organizes. Even if the parent contribution is not paid. Children should not be excluded from activities that are not part of the mandatory curriculum.<br \/>\nIf many parents do not pay, this can affect the activities. Less money means fewer activities or the school chooses cheaper options.<\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Amount of voluntary parent contribution<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The school guide shows how much the voluntary parent contribution is, what it is used for, and that it is voluntary. The amount can differ per school. Each school decides this itself, together with parents in the school participation council. In primary school most parents pay a few tens of euros per year. In high school the costs often rise faster.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"knop","knop":{"title":"School costs: this is what parents pay themselves","url":"https:\/\/oudersenonderwijs.nl\/en\/school-costs-this-parents-pay-themselves\/","target":""},"kleur":"primary"},{"acf_fc_layout":"extra_inhoud_blok","inhoud":"<h3><strong><span class=\"TextRun SCXW171975353 BCX8\" lang=\"NL-NL\" xml:lang=\"NL-NL\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW171975353 BCX8\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">Payment of parent contribution<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW171975353 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The way parents pay the contribution varies a lot. Some schools ask a fixed amount per year and other schools ask parents per activity. The parent contribution is sometimes billed in advance and sometimes afterward. Sometimes the parent contribution is collected by the parent council and sometimes by the school itself. Many schools ask parents to pay by direct debit. Some schools even ask parents to sign a contract promising to pay the parent contribution. You never have to sign this contract. Parents sometimes feel pressure to pay the voluntary parent contribution. But remember: you really do not have to pay the voluntary parent contribution. You can always ask your questions to Ouders &#038; Onderwijs.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Who pays which school costs?<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Besides the voluntary parent contribution, there are other school costs. Some of these must be paid by the school, like books. Some costs are for parents, like atlases, calculators, and sports clothing. To make clear which costs can and cannot be asked from parents, the school costs are divided into four categories: costs for school, costs for parents, costs for digital learning tools, and the voluntary parent contribution.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"knop","knop":{"title":"which school costs are there?","url":"https:\/\/oudersenonderwijs.nl\/en\/which-school-costs-are-there\/","target":""},"kleur":"primary"},{"acf_fc_layout":"knop","knop":{"title":"Parent contribution digital learning tools","url":"https:\/\/oudersenonderwijs.nl\/en\/parent-contribution-digital-learning-tools\/","target":""},"kleur":"primary"},{"acf_fc_layout":"call_to_action","selecteer_call_to_action":"gerelateerde_onderwerpen_lijst","berichten_met_prioriteit":[{"ID":21865,"post_author":"0","post_date":"2019-08-13 13:59:01","post_date_gmt":"2019-08-13 11:59:01","post_content":"","post_title":"which school costs are there?","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"which-school-costs-are-there","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-04-10 15:36:07","post_modified_gmt":"2026-04-10 13:36:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":21174,"guid":"https:\/\/oudersenonderwijs.nl\/which-school-costs-are-there\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"page","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"download_pdf":false,"veelgestelde_vragen_verwijzing":{"titel":"","knop_tekst":"","url":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"meer_informatie_links","linkjes":false}],"samenvatting":"Many schools ask parents for a financial contribution each year. This contribution is always voluntary.","banner_subtitel":"","call_to_action":"contact","call_to_action_2":"geen","zoekwoorden":"","meta_samenvatting":"Ouders & Onderwijs is there for all parents with school-age children. Parents can get advice and answers to their questions from us.","banner_afbeelding":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The voluntary parental contribution to school<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many schools ask for a yearly voluntary parent contribution. 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