# Is Homeschooling allowed in Spain?



## naphtali5725 (Feb 21, 2012)

Hello all,

I have children that are homeschooled, is homeschooling allowed in Spain?

Kind regards,


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

naphtali5725 said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I have children that are homeschooled, is homeschooling allowed in Spain?
> 
> Kind regards,


not exactly...............

it's technically still illegal - although I believe it's permitted in Cataluña

that's not to say it doesn't happen, but the kind of support systems you will be used to simply don't exist & you do run the risk of being taken to court for not sending your kids to school

there's a link to a discussion about homeschooling on the first post of this thread which might be useful to you, and if you use the search facility you should come up with more

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/62551-education-spain.html


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

My understanding down in Andalucia is that it is illegal not to send your kids to school from the age of 6. That doesn't mean that you can't still homeschool them outside of school hours although your kids might have other ideas about that!!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

thrax said:


> My understanding down in Andalucia is that it is illegal not to send your kids to school from the age of 6. That doesn't mean that you can't still homeschool them outside of school hours although your kids might have other ideas about that!!


Theres been alot of debate about homeschooling. I'm not sure I understand the logic behind it, but thats not the question. I know of people who have done it in Spain, but its costly (you have to pay for the structured course work, books, exams etc) and its illegal, so you have to watch yourself

Jo xxx


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

The legislation about this is "open to interpretation" as are so many things in Spanish law with the latest case being the Judge Garzon case. Perhaps in the UK too, I don't know.

The last case I heard of was one where the judge sentenced that children have a right to education. If you educate them at home you may not be fulfilling that right and so you are actually neglecting them - completely the opposite of what home educators want to do, but there you are, different perspectives. 

Quote:
Article in El País 
Solo la escuela enseña a convivir · ELPAÍS.com
In a case of home schooling in Málaga a family was told that the process is illegal. All children between the ages of 6 - 16 must attend a school to be educated. The court didn't evaluate the level of education the children received, in fact these children speak five languages for example. The sentence is based on the fact that education within the official system is a right that children have and children cannot be denied that right For the moment in Spain the only place where children can receive education is in a school, not in a family.

Please look at this thread posts number 2 and 3 especially.
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/74222-home-schooling.html


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## naphtali5725 (Feb 21, 2012)

the issue i have is only with one child, and he is 16, so by the time i could get to spain he would be 17, so perhaps I don't have to worry about it.

I homeschool him now,(have all the books, study guides, etc. etc. etc. more than he would get taught in these pitiful american schools)
and his test scores are in the 12th grade level, even though he's only 16...so those who think that homeschooling kids is wrong, or whatever, are not clearly seeing the picture, especially when they have social interaction with extracurricular activities with other kids.

kind regards


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

naphtali5725 said:


> the issue i have is only with one child, and he is 16, so by the time i could get to spain he would be 17, so perhaps I don't have to worry about it.
> 
> I homeschool him now, and his test scores are in the 12th grade level, even though he's only 16...so those who think that homeschooling kids is wrong, or whatever, are not clearly seeing the picture, especially when they have social interaction with extracurricular activities with other kids.
> 
> kind regards


it won't be an issue then


and I don't think any of us said we think homeschooling is wrong - just not exactly legal here, which answers your question



if anyone really WANTS to discuss the rights & wrongs of homeschooling, why not open a thread in La Tasca


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

naphtali5725 said:


> the issue i have is only with one child, and he is 16, so by the time i could get to spain he would be 17, so perhaps I don't have to worry about it.
> 
> I homeschool him now,(have all the books, study guides, etc. etc. etc. more than he would get taught in these pitiful american schools)
> and his test scores are in the 12th grade level, even though he's only 16...so those who think that homeschooling kids is wrong, or whatever, are not clearly seeing the picture, especially when they have social interaction with extracurricular activities with other kids.
> ...


If he's going to be 17 when you arrive then compulsory education isnt going to be an issue. As for whether its right or wrong, I think in Spain they dont look at the achievements of what homeschooling can do, but that the child is being denied what is considered every childs right and that is an overt education within the system. As PW has pointed out there are families who've been been condemned, inspite of their childrens obviously academic abilities

Jo xxx


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

naphtali5725 said:


> the issue i have is only with one child, and he is 16, so by the time i could get to spain he would be 17, so perhaps I don't have to worry about it.
> 
> I homeschool him now,(have all the books, study guides, etc. etc. etc. more than he would get taught in these pitiful american schools)
> and his test scores are in the 12th grade level, even though he's only 16...so those who think that homeschooling kids is wrong, or whatever, are not clearly seeing the picture, especially when they have social interaction with extracurricular activities with other kids.
> ...


Just so that you know, I'm not convinced one way or the other. Even though a child is "ahead" in a homeschooling environment, it doesn't mean that he wouldn't have been in a "usual" school setting, and vice versa. I'm willing to believe there's good and bad in both systems. I'm just giving you an idea of what the picture is in Spain.


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

If he is seventeen, and does not speak Spanish, there is little or no chance he will get a job, there is quite bad unemployment in Spain, one of the worst in Europe. There are Spanish people who once had a job, and lost it and are now living from begging, or raiding the Rubbish bins Your son would have to be also legally registered for an NIE,unless you have private health insurance you would not be entitled to any medical care or help in Spain,At 17 yrs old it is very hard relocating a teenager, their world evolves around friends of the same age, who speak the same language, he would feel very lonely.
Many years ago when we lived in UK we relocated our children only 200 miles,in the same country they were teenagers, and they were devastated at leaving all their friends, in fact two of them ran away to where they used to live on separate occasions.They came back home to us eventually after a few weeks. You might really be better thinking of moving to Columbia at least they speak the same language there, and same American culture and the cost of living will probably be lot cheaper.


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## naphtali5725 (Feb 21, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> it won't be an issue then
> 
> 
> and I don't think any of us said we think homeschooling is wrong - just not exactly legal here, which answers your question
> ...


oh, sorry guys, i meant other people, not on this forum, sorry


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

To be honest, we plan to send our boy to a local Spanish school, but he will be home schooled too. And he would have been if we were still living in UK.


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## Casslar (Feb 16, 2012)

I know we are not alone as parents who have kids in Spanish school but effectively homeschool in English - so that our kids dont fall behind in their native language, and can one day get their english language GCSE in case they want to live/work somewhere that requires it. Perhaps there is more boundary blurring here, in the UK its easier for people to handover responsibility to the state for their children's education - most people I know here have thought about it harder, made conscious decisions, and an effort to get involved


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Depends on your definition of home schooling I see.
For me homeschooling in europe is when your child does not attend an educational establishment outside of the home because the parents either don't agree with the educational system, or the child for some reason can't attend a school outside of the home. It is when the principal educational input received by the child is almost exclusively provided by tutors or parents in the home, or at least not in a separate educational institution
Doing extra stuff with your children outside of school hours is not what I think of as home education


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Depends on your definition of home schooling I see.
> For me homeschooling in europe is when your child does not attend an educational establishment outside of the home because the parents either don't agree with the educational system, or the child for some reason can't attend a school outside of the home. It is when the principal educational input received by the child is almost exclusively provided by tutors or parents in the home, or at least not in a separate educational institution
> Doing extra stuff with your children outside of school hours is not what I think of as home education


totally agree

having private classes in a particular subject either taught by a professional tutor or the parents, is _supplementary _to the main education which takes place in SCHOOL - whether the classes are for UK level English or to play the piano - it makes no difference

it's not homeschooling as such - which is that ALL education takes place outside a school environment


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