Enrolment

Enrolment

The norm in the state system is for children to be enrolled between specific dates in May which will be advertised locally, for the following September. The process and paperwork required vary from area to area, and even from year to year, so the first thing you would need to do is approach the town hall of the area you are moving to, to find out what their particular requirements are. You will need to be registered at the town hall as a local resident, and for this you will need proof that you own or are renting a property within the area. You will also need to provide: parent's identity (passport or residence card), and the child's birth certificate. In some areas you will also need proof of vaccinations and a medical form signed by a Spanish doctor. In all cases the authorities will need sight of original documents and at least one photocopy of each. If you are enrolling more than one child, you will need to provide extra photocopies to accompany each enrolment application.

 
Integration

In some primary schools in mixed-nationality areas there are integration schemes whereby non-Spanish speaking children are given extra language classes, and may also be paired with Spanish children for the first few months of schooling to help them settle in. Whilst these moves are highly positive, they are still fairly patchy, and may not be in operation in your local primary school. It should always be remembered that many state school teachers have been drafted to growth areas like the Costa Blanca from other parts of Spain which do not have big foreign communities, they may be dealing with integration issues for which they have no training or experience, and are usually doing the best they can in difficult circumstances.

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