Special Education Primary School Noorderlicht

What Special Education Primary School Noorderlicht does

SBO Noorderlicht is a special basic education (speciaal basisonderwijs) primary school located at De Schans 135, 5011 EN Tilburg, Netherlands, serving children aged 4 to 13 for whom regular primary education is temporarily or structurally unsuitable. The school is operated by Stichting Biezonderwijs, a non-profit educational foundation that governs a network of nine schools covering special education (SO), special basic education (SBO), secondary special education (VSO), and practical education for approximately 1,900 students aged 4–20, supported by around 600 professionals. Within this network, Noorderlicht shares its director (Stephan Gijsman) with two other Tilburg SBO schools — SBO Zonnesteen and SBO Westerwel — and is supported by two adjunct-directors (Marian de Brouwer, Yvonne Koppelmans) and the foundation's in-house expertise center De Kracht, which provides training, coaching, diagnostics, and research for children with learning and developmental difficulties.

The school's core offering is individualized small-group instruction focused on three pedagogical pillars: developing each learner's self-awareness of strengths and weaker areas, maximizing performance across subject areas, and fostering social learning through group-based teaching. Supporting programs include Citytrainers Junior (a student-led playground coaching initiative), the Tiny Forest outdoor learning environment (opened March 2020 in partnership with IVN, Gemeente Tilburg, and Stichting Op Groene Voet), and Gezonde School certifications for Healthy Nutrition and Exercise & Sports. The technology stack is limited to standard digital administration and student tracking systems (digitaal administratie- en leerlingvolgsysteem) and digital learning materials with supplier data agreements — there is no proprietary technology platform.

SBO Noorderlicht is entirely government-funded through the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science; no tuition is charged to parents. Enrollment is gated by a toelaatbaarheidsverklaring (TLV, admission statement) issued by regional educational partnership Plein 013, with intake conversations and placement decisions handled internally and multiple placement moments per year. The go-to-market motion is community-led: families are typically referred by regular primary schools in consultation with Plein 013, and the school's marketing channels (website, Biezonderwijs social media, downloadable Schoolgids PDF, intake conversations, and open days) primarily serve top-of-funnel awareness and mid-funnel parent education rather than commercial customer acquisition.

Name

Special Education Primary School Noorderlicht

Legal name

Stichting Biezonderwijs

Website

https://sbonoorderlicht.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SBO Noorderlicht is a publicly funded Dutch special basic education primary school in Tilburg serving children aged 4–13 with learning or developmental needs, operated by Stichting Biezonderwijs and funded through government education allocations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Primary Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialized Programs & Classrooms (Autism, Emotional/Behavioral, Intellectual/Developmental, Multi-Disability) (EDAJAKAH)

Keywords

• Special primary education
• Special basic education
• Primary education services
• Special needs education
• Learning support education

Headquarters

HQ city

Tilburg

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Education Funding: As a publicly funded special basic education school under the Biezonderwijs foundation, SBO Noorderlicht operates through government educational funding from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap). The school does not charge tuition fees to parents.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SBO Noorderlicht provides speciaal basisonderwijs (special basic education) for children aged 4 to 13 in Tilburg who cannot be adequately served in regular primary schools. Instruction is delivered in small groups, focused on individual learning needs, talent development, and social learning. The school is part of the Biezonderwijs foundation's network of 9 schools and is supported by the foundation's in-house expertise center De Kracht.

Product overview

SBO Noorderlicht is a special education primary school serving children aged 4-13 in Tilburg, Netherlands. The school operates as part of the Biezonderwijs foundation network of 9 schools. The core offering is special basic education (SBO) with small group instruction tailored to individual learning needs. Supporting programs include Citytrainers Junior (student-led sports activities), Tiny Forest (outdoor nature-based learning), and access to De Kracht expertise center for specialized training and diagnostics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SBO Noorderlicht Special Primary Education

Quantifiable outcome

• Students develop self-awareness of their strengths and areas for growth
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• IVNminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2020Environmental education organization that collaborated with SBO Noorderlicht and municipality of Tilburg to establish the school's Tiny Forest - a forest the size of a tennis court with native Dutch trees and shrubs, including an outdoor classroom.
• Gemeente Tilburg (Municipality of Tilburg)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2020Municipality of Tilburg partnered with the school and IVN to create the Tiny Forest on school grounds. The municipality shares responsibility for maintenance of the green schoolyard and Tiny Forest.
• Plein 013coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partnership (samenwerkingsverband) for appropriate education in the region. Plein 013 issues the toelaatbaarheidsverklaring (TLV - admission statement) required for students to attend SBO schools. The partnership ensures students requiring special support receive appropriate educational placement.
• SBO ZonnesteencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating special basic education school in Tilburg. The schools share one director (Stephan Gijsman) and together form part of the Biezonderwijs network. Collaboration includes shared educational approaches and administrative coordination.
• SBO WesterwelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating special basic education school in Tilburg. The schools share one director (Stephan Gijsman) and together form part of the Biezonderwijs network. Collaboration includes shared educational approaches and administrative coordination.
• Stichting Op Groene VoetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation collaborated with the school to create a worm hotel near the Tiny Forest. Approximately 5000 worms process food scraps and organic waste from the school into compost for plants.
• De KrachtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpertise center of Biezonderwijs that supports educational professionals and students through training, coaching, guidance, and advice. Also conducts research and diagnostics for children with learning and developmental difficulties. Services are free for Biezonderwijs staff through the Biezonderwijs Academie.
• VertrouwenswerkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExternal trust person organization contracted by Biezonderwijs to provide professional support through a neutral external trusted person for reports of abuse, inappropriate behavior, or serious incidents at school.
• BiezonderwijscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent educational foundation operating 9 schools for children aged 4-20 with special educational needs. Schools include special education (SO), special basic education (SBO), secondary special education (VSO), and practical education. Biezonderwijs provides governance, shared services, and expertise through its expertise center De Kracht.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Stichting Kentalis: A large Dutch foundation providing special education and care for children with hearing, language, and developmental difficulties. Comparable in mission and student population, though Kentalis operates at a national scale across multiple disability categories.
• Koninklijke Auris Groep: Dutch foundation providing special education and support for children with speech, language, and hearing needs across multiple regions. Operates SBO/SO schools comparable to SBO Noorderlicht's offering but at broader geographic scale.
• Stichting Biezonderwijs: The parent foundation operating nine schools including SBO Noorderlicht. Comparable as the broader operator providing shared services, governance, and De Kracht expertise center support across the network.
• Bartiméus: Dutch foundation specializing in education and support for visually impaired and multi-disabled children. Comparable as a specialized-education foundation offering SBO/SO programs, though narrower in student population than Noorderlicht.

Direct peers

• SBO Zonnesteen: A collaborating special basic education (SBO) school in Tilburg that shares director Stephan Gijsman with SBO Noorderlicht and operates under the same Biezonderwijs network, making it the closest operational peer in scope, geography, and student segment.
• SBO Westerwel: A third Tilburg SBO school under Biezonderwijs, also led by director Stephan Gijsman. It competes for TLV-allocated students from the same Plein 013 pipeline, making it a directly comparable peer.

Regional players

• Gemeente Tilburg — Onderwijs: The Tilburg municipality co-funds and co-supports local education infrastructure including the Tiny Forest partnership. Relevant as the regional public-sector counterpart shaping local special-education capacity and demand.
• Stichting Plein 013: The samenwerkingsverband (educational partnership) that issues TLVs admitting students to SBO schools including Noorderlicht. While not an operator, it is the critical gatekeeper for the regional special-education pipeline Noorderlicht depends on.

Others

• Stichting Op Groene Voet: Foundation that collaborated with the school on the worm hotel sustainability initiative. Adjacent participant in the school's outdoor learning ecosystem rather than a direct education competitor.
• Stichting IVN: Dutch environmental education organization that partnered with SBO Noorderlicht to establish the Tiny Forest. Comparable as an ecosystem partner delivering nature-based learning adjacent to the school's core curriculum.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Biezonderwijs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/special-education-primary-school-noorderlicht
• Instagraminstagram.com/biezonderwijs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Special Education Primary School Noorderlicht