KOLVA vzw is the legal representative and board of different catholic schools in Aalst.

The school involved in START is SintMaarten Institute. This preschool and primary school is located at the Moorselbaan in Aalst. The school consists out of 1 director, 2 care coordinators, 11 kindergarten teachers, 16 primary school teacher, 2 teachers in gymnastics, 1 administrative staff member and 1 ICT staff member.

122 toddlers are enrolled in the kindergarten and 210 pupils in the primary school. Most of these children live in Aalst and approximately 20 % of the children are from ethnic-cultural minorities. In Aalst, 8,8 % of the children are born in poor families, which is higher than the average in the Flemish community of Belgium. This number is increasing every year.

The school is located in one of the poorest areas of Aalst. That is why the school invested in cost policies for parents living in poverty and a policy on the use of languages. The school developed many cooperative teaching methods in order to co-construct expertise and knowledge on working with children who do not speak the dominant language of the school, Dutch.

The mission and vision is built upon the vision of the catholic umbrella organisation in which the child is seen and positively approached as a unique personality and as part of a close, caring community.