Swapping Schools in Spain

Sometimes it’s necessary for your child to swap schools, so, what steps do you need to take?

Sometimes changing schools is necessary, for instance, if you move to another location or the current school does not suit your child. In Spain, a child can move to another school at any point in the academic year. To facilitate a seamless transition for the child, parents usually wait until the end of the school term. Changing to a new school follows a similar process to enrollment.
If you’re relocating, you may be required to provide the new school with proof of your new address or other documentation from the previous school. When relocating to a different autonomous community, it’s important to contact the education department in your new area to understand what documentation is required. This varies among communities.
When choosing a new school, it is important to look into the differences between your child’s old school and the new one, such as checking any material they may have missed and what subjects may be new to your child. Try to keep any hurdles to a minimum.
Especially important for those who are relocating, keep the school calendar in mind such as starting dates.
Considering the pace and schedule of the new school is also an important factor. If your child is moving from a public school to a private school, you will need to consider things such as students not going home to have their lunch. Private schools have a shorter break and more hours in the classroom so it is vital to consider how these sort of changes my affect your child.
If switching from public to private, you might want to reduce the hours of extra-curricular activities due to longer classroom hours. Likewise, if you are transferring out of a private school, maybe you’ll want to increase the after-school activities to maintain the rhythm.
You will need to ensure that you have your child enrolled in the new school.  If it is a private school, many having waiting lists, so this is something to be aware of.  Some have a selection process and the school might ask the student to demonstrate a minimum level of knowledge of a specific language or schedule an appointment with the school psychologist for an evaluation.
Before changing to a state school, you first need to register your new address on the town hall list, known as the ‘Padrón Municipal de Habitantes’. Then, you must visit the Education Department at the local town hall (ayuntamiento) to obtain a school registration form where you’ll select whether your child is taught in Spanish or the local dialect, such as Catalan. You must also provide a medical certificate that gives a full medical history for each child.

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