Early identification of school attendance problems: How helpful are Dutch laws, policies, and protocols?

The identification of emerging school attendance problems (SAPs) is highly important. Early identification permits early intervention, which reduces the likelihood of SAPs becoming established and contributing to additional problems. In the short term, SAPs can contribute to academic and social-emotional problems for the young person and stress for the family, and they place extra demands upon school resources. In the longer-term, SAPs can lead to school drop-out which contributes to problems for the community at large. Local, national, and international efforts aimed at the identification of emerging SAPs are thus a priority. This paper commences with a review of national laws and policies in the Netherlands that have a bearing on the identification of SAPs. Two Dutch protocols relevant to the identification of SAPs are also considered. Thereafter, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Dutch laws, policies, and protocols, paying particular attention to the question of whether they satisfactorily stimulate early identification of SAPs. The paper concludes with recommendations about ways to improve early identification in the Netherlands. These recommendations can stimulate thinking among educational professionals and policy-makers in other countries.