# schooling



## chuckle1 (Nov 5, 2011)

hello to all, im a new member and myself my husband and our 2 children will be moving to spain in may next year and we have heard that we will have to get our children to have hepititus injections before they will be accepted in a spanish state school is this true????? will our gp do this for us ??. We have a private tutor come to teach our children age 13 and 6 but have read so many stories all saying that my 6 year old daughter will be fine but my 13 year old who will be 14 by the time we move there, will find it very very hard to adapt but cant afford private english school, so can anyone tell me if home schooling is allowed in spain should my son really struggle to get on. thankyou hope someone can advise me xx


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Hi and welcome to the forum

My grandchildren moved to Spain aged 11, 9 and 3 all going to state schools and all now speaking Spanish fluently due to going to a local school and my daughter encouraging them to invite Spanish playmates home. Yes it is hard for them when they first move but it would also be hard if you moved 100 miles away from the base you have now.

Good luck on your move

Maiden


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I'm pretty sure there are no compulsory vaccinations for Spanish children but some schools or districts might have their own policy. 

Home schooling is not legal in Spain. There are some state-run bilingual schools which might be good for your boy. As you say, the private international schools are incredibly expensive.

The Spanish summer holidays start in late June, so are you planning to wait till September before putting them into school? Try and get him onto an intensive language course over the summer.


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## Seb* (Mar 22, 2009)

chuckle1 said:


> hello to all, im a new member and myself my husband and our 2 children will be moving to spain in may next year and we have heard that we will have to get our children to have hepititus injections before they will be accepted in a spanish state school is this true????? will our gp do this for us ??. We have a private tutor come to teach our children age 13 and 6 but have read so many stories all saying that my 6 year old daughter will be fine but my 13 year old who will be 14 by the time we move there, will find it very very hard to adapt but cant afford private english school, so can anyone tell me if home schooling is allowed in spain should my son really struggle to get on. thankyou hope someone can advise me xx


This will be massively hard on your oldest. At 14 I don't see much of a chance for him to walk in and start progressing. Even with Spanish 1on1, I can't see him anywhere near to fluent enough to pick up anything in a Spanish school. Where are you going to move to? Because in some regions they teach in two different languages, not only in castellano!

I think the only real chance your son has, is really strong and intensive Spanish tuition (and I am not talking one of those weak once a week jobbies! The quality is very important as well - native speaker would be ideal! This can be costly, but well worth it). When you arrive in Spain the school will most likely put him back for a year or so to give him a chance to catch up and master the language. You will need to work hard on his Spanish when you are here as well in combination with the HEAVY school schedule in Spain this will be hard on him, but it's needed.

Home schooling is illegal in Spain! But let's be realistic, if he should fail in the spanish system it might be the only way (seeing how close he will be to his GCSEe), if international school or boarding school (or relatives) in the UK isn't an option! But if he is talented enough and gets enough support he might make it in the spanish system, but this will need a lot of hard work (starting now) and will depend on the school as well!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> I'm pretty sure there are no compulsory vaccinations for Spanish children but some schools or districts might have their own policy.
> 
> Home schooling is not legal in Spain. There are some state-run bilingual schools which might be good for your boy. As you say, the private international schools are incredibly expensive.
> 
> The Spanish summer holidays start in late June, so are you planning to wait till September before putting them into school? Try and get him onto an intensive language course over the summer.


In my grandchildrens area it is compulsory to have vaccinations,


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

chuckle1 said:


> hello to all, im a new member and myself my husband and our 2 children will be moving to spain in may next year and we have heard that we will have to get our children to have hepititus injections before they will be accepted in a spanish state school is this true????? will our gp do this for us ??. We have a private tutor come to teach our children age 13 and 6 but have read so many stories all saying that my 6 year old daughter will be fine but my 13 year old who will be 14 by the time we move there, will find it very very hard to adapt but cant afford private english school, so can anyone tell me if home schooling is allowed in spain should my son really struggle to get on. thankyou hope someone can advise me xx


Hi

as the others have said, home schooling is illegal in Spain

your younger child will for sure be absolutely fine, but your then 14 year old son will indeed almost certainly find it pretty much impossible to learn Spanish to a high enough level to study successfully & graduate at 16

you say you can pay a private tutor - that can work out very expensive - around here they charge 20€ an hour for GCSE coaching - I used to do it myself (quite a lot of parents of English kids in Spanish school also want them to do the UK quals - mine will be doing Spanish, Maths & English)- work that out over the number of hours you'd need someone - even if you could find the teachers to teach the range of subjects..........................

after you've picked yourself off the floor, have a look at this - fees might be less than you think Welcome to Nabss | Nabss

then settle down for a good long read of this - the definitive thread about 
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/62551-education-spain.html

my kids did have to have hep jabs before starting school - although the doc actually just took my word for it that they had had them (they had) - I couldn't easily get their records from the US at the time


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

They have to have additional jabs here in Spain. Make sure that you bring your 'red book' with you and show them this when they ask for your 'family book'.

Most schools won't preclude children who haven't had the jabs but the children must have them shortly after starting school. We had to wait 5 months for an appointment and so they had to start school without them.

In my opinion, your 14 year old will really struggle as all lessons will be in Spanish or a local 'dialect/language' - for us this is Valencian. It took our children a year before they really started to understand well enough. So, at 14, this is leaving it very late.


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## saranigel1 (Oct 18, 2011)

every one seems to say home schooling is illegal in spain but as a parent of home schooled children in england i am told it is now acceped in spain and becomin more popular i am also moveing to spain in the new year and plan on home schooling my child until at least the new school yr in september and that will depend on the schools in the area i am moving to


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

rob_w said:


> /SNIP/
> 
> It is all but illegal to home educate in Spain and your fourteen year old will ultimately fail in a Spanish School. With forty percent of young Spaniards who are qualified or have been through the education system out of work what chance do you think your son will have of finding work when he fails to gain entrance to higher education in Spain or the UK in three or four years time?
> 
> If you can't afford an International education for the lad then he or you all need to stay put in the UK in my opinion.


You are not replying to the OP of the thread in this post. Saranigel1 hasn't said anything about a 14 year old...


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

saranigel1 said:


> every one seems to say home schooling is illegal in spain but as a parent of home schooled children in england i am told it is now acceped in spain and becomin more popular i am also moveing to spain in the new year and plan on home schooling my child until at least the new school yr in september and that will depend on the schools in the area i am moving to


This is an area which is still open to inerpretation and if it ends up in court it can depend on the judges decision.
Here is something from the education thread which can be found in the stickies at the top of the page



> 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.
> So this is the latest case, but the case before this gave the thumbs up to home education I believe. Also, as it's legal in many other other european countries Spain will probably follow sooner or later.
> Just one last thing, the article does say that more than 1000 children are educated outside the school system at the moment...


Article here
Solo la escuela enseña a convivir · ELPAÍS.com


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Spain seems to have got it right about home schooling.
I find it amazing that anyone without professional qualifications is allowed to educate a child.
Surely there should be some check on a parent's own educational level??
I have had experience in the UK of immigrant students entering our system at all ages. Obviously the younger the child the easier the transition. Again it's obvious that a lot depends on the aptitude and ability of the individual student. I've seen fourteen-year-olds slot neatly into the UK system and be fluent within a year - I remember one Romanian teenager who was kicking a football around and swearing fluently with his new English mates within a week!!
But then I've seen others who are traumatised by the whole experience of moving to a new country and being put into its education system.
In some areas of the UK there is support for pupils who have no English but I don't think that's the case here.
I tend to agree with Seb. You need to consider the future and not just the next couple of years.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> *I find it amazing that anyone without professional qualifications is allowed to educate a child*.


YES!!

Jo xxxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> Spain seems to have got it right about home schooling.
> I find it amazing that anyone without professional qualifications is allowed to educate a child.
> Surely there should be some check on a parent's own educational level??
> I have had experience in the UK of immigrant students entering our system at all ages. Obviously the younger the child the easier the transition. Again it's obvious that a lot depends on the aptitude and ability of the individual student. I've seen fourteen-year-olds slot neatly into the UK system and be fluent within a year - I remember one Romanian teenager who was kicking a football around and swearing fluently with his new English mates within a week!!
> ...


as far as support is concerned it seems to vary from area to area - even from school to school within areas/towns

the primary school my girls went to offered lots of support - as does the secondary they now both attend - but I have heard that at least one of the others in our town offers none - to the extent that foreign kids are just put in the corner with a colouring book!

a lot depends on the attitude & aptitude of the parents too - and I'm not in teh least surprised to hear of the Romanian kid picking a language up easiliy - lack of access to first language tele etc. probably had a lot to do with it

I met a 16 year old lad from Georgia (the Russian one) a few years ago - he had only been here a year yet was managing fine in school, more than holding his own, yet hadn't known a word of Spanish when he arrived

an English kid of that age would be very unlikely to succeed - simply because the chances are they would only watch English tele, read English mags & so on


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I think homeschooling could be a great opportunity for both parents and children. I don't see more personalised education as problematic. Parents wanting to take a more active role in their children's education sounds good. Families having more quality time together seems more positive than negative. Also home schooling doesn't mean there's no contact with other children, just not in the traditional classroom. It also doesn't mean that no other "expert" can be called in to help parents fill in the gaps in their own knowledge. 
However, like most things concerning children, it has be thought about, needs long term planning and it also needs outside evaluation imo. (which I don't think is available in Spain ATM). I have to say though, you don't necesarily have to be qualified to teach somebody smth, do you??! It's not something to think about when the child is 2 and decide you can educate the child up to primary school level. And after that? Will you be able to/ want to carry on? How will your child adapt to going into the system at 12/ 16/ 18 years old? For all that you can give your child, how much are you taking away, including their right to an education in a recognised form according to the Spanish judge in the post above ?
All points that one presumes that those involved in homeschooling have thought about, analysed and come to their own conclusion about. 
As I said on another thread, most parents try to bring up their children in the best way that they believe possible. No matter what your own personal views are about smacking or no smacking, pocket money or no pocket money, video games or wooden toys your views are just - your views


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> as far as support is concerned it seems to vary from area to area - even from school to school within areas/towns
> 
> the primary school my girls went to offered lots of support - as does the secondary they now both attend - but I have heard that at least one of the others in our town offers none - to the extent that foreign kids are just put in the corner with a colouring book!
> 
> ...


Agreed.
Also it's smth that is very much affected by the recession, of course. One of the favourite things to cut is what's known in Madrid as the "enlace" classroom, which translates to smth like "link". It's where, for example, immigrant children go to get extra help with language so that their intergration into the classroom is quicker and smoother. This may be taken away in any region, not just in Madrid, Cantabría and Castilla de la Mancha where the cuts have been bigger and have got more headlines.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> as far as support is concerned it seems to vary from area to area - even from school to school within areas/towns
> 
> the primary school my girls went to offered lots of support - as does the secondary they now both attend - but I have heard that at least one of the others in our town offers none - to the extent that foreign kids are just put in the corner with a colouring book!
> 
> ...




Children pick languages up easily, my English grandson was screaming in Spanish at a football match 4 months after arriving despite watching and still watching nothing but English television but when they are at school they are totally immersed in the language and culture so much so my granddaughter is often mistaken for Spanish due to her local accent and mannerisms.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I think homeschooling could be a great opportunity for both parents and children. I don't see more personalised education as problematic. Parents wanting to take a more active role in their children's education sounds good. Families having more quality time together seems more positive than negative. Also home schooling doesn't mean there's no contact with other children, just not in the traditional classroom. It also doesn't mean that no other "expert" can be called in to help parents fill in the gaps in their own knowledge.
> However, like most things concerning children, it has be thought about, needs long term planning and it also needs outside evaluation imo. (which I don't think is available in Spain ATM). I have to say though, you don't necesarily have to be qualified to teach somebody smth, do you??! It's not something to think about when the child is 2 and decide you can educate the child up to primary school level. And after that? Will you be able to/ want to carry on? How will your child adapt to going into the system at 12/ 16/ 18 years old? For all that you can give your child, how much are you taking away, including their right to an education in a recognised form according to the Spanish judge in the post above ?
> All points that one presumes that those involved in homeschooling have thought about, analysed and come to their own conclusion about.
> As I said on another thread, most parents try to bring up their children in the best way that they believe possible. No matter what your own personal views are about smacking or no smacking, pocket money or no pocket money, video games or wooden toys your views are just - your views


I hear all you say but the couple of experiences I've had relating to parents who withdrew their children from the state system for home schooling didn't inspire confidence. In each case there were issues between parents and the school and home schooling was a reaction to these.
I would question the comment that you don't need to be qualified to teach somebody something. As a general statement that's true - you don't need a degree to teach someone to ride a bicycle. But in the context of educating children it's dubious. The logical extension is: why have trained and qualified teachers at all? Why have schools?
Education has many aspects and shouldn't be seen entirely as being narrowly academic. But in a world where work is becoming increasingly specialised and technical and where the possession of qualifications of some sort are essential for school leavers, how many stay-at-home parents have the knowledge and skill required even to teach the most basic things? You do address these points but I think they are serious enough to render the whole concept impractical.
Even primary school teaching requires skills and knowledge about how children learn. It also requires books and resources far beyond the scope of most homes. 
As far as I was aware there was no outside supervision of home-schooled children in the UK. I'm not convinced that all parents who choose home schooling - thankfully a tiny minority - do think it through. 
And I would respectfully suggest that anyone who is themself lacking in elementary skills and knowledge of grammar, orthography and punctuation would not be a proficient teacher of literacy, imo the most fundamental of all skills.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

MaidenScotland said:


> Children pick languages up easily, my English grandson was screaming in Spanish at a football match 4 months after arriving despite watching and still watching nothing but English television but when they are at school they are totally immersed in the language and culture so much so my granddaughter is often mistaken for Spanish due to her local accent and mannerisms.


I think I would agree with that. Most of the Portuguese, Po
lish and other students who came to our schoolm knowing not one word of English quickly assimilated.
The ones who didn't had other issues.
We did so little to help these students and their parents who often had no interaction with English people and in that respect often relied on even very young children to translate for them. Because I could string a few sentences together in Polish I was often asked to scuttle from school to school in our area to talk to bewildered parents.
I think there's more help available now.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

saranigel1 said:


> every one seems to say home schooling is illegal in spain but as a parent of home schooled children in england i am told it is now acceped in spain and becomin more popular i am also moveing to spain in the new year and plan on home schooling my child until at least the new school yr in september and that will depend on the schools in the area i am moving to


It is illegal, and families are being taken to court for doing it.

HSLDA | Home Schooling - Spain


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> I hear all you say but the couple of experiences I've had relating to parents who withdrew their children from the state system for home schooling didn't inspire confidence. In each case there were issues between parents and the school and home schooling was a reaction to these.
> I would question the comment that you don't need to be qualified to teach somebody something. As a general statement that's true - you don't need a degree to teach someone to ride a bicycle. But in the context of educating children it's dubious. The logical extension is: why have trained and qualified teachers at all? Why have schools?
> Education has many aspects and shouldn't be seen entirely as being narrowly academic. But in a world where work is becoming increasingly specialised and technical and where the possession of qualifications of some sort are essential for school leavers, how many stay-at-home parents have the knowledge and skill required even to teach the most basic things? You do address these points but I think they are serious enough to render the whole concept impractical.
> Even primary school teaching requires skills and knowledge about how children learn. It also requires books and resources far beyond the scope of most homes.
> ...


I don't think we disagree. 

For example I said it _*could*_ be great, not that it is. I said people may think when their child is 2 that teaching primary is easy, but??

The only thing I'm saying that is different to you is that I'm not putting a downer on the whole thing. Done in the correct way it could, and can, work for some families and I'm not going to say don't do it, it's wrong - I don't know the families, I don't know their circumstances. However I am supposing that they love and care about their children...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I don't think we disagree.
> 
> For example I said it _*could*_ be great, not that it is. I said people may think when their child is 2 that teaching primary is easy, but??
> 
> The only thing I'm saying that is different to you is that I'm not putting a downer on the whole thing. Done in the correct way it could, and can, work for some families and I'm not going to say don't do it, it's wrong - I don't know the families, I don't know their circumstances. However I am supposing that they love and care about their children...


Yes, nearly all parents do that, even if their waying of showing that strikes us as strange at times.
One thing I learnt during my teaching career is the younger the child the harder the work of teaching. 
When I taught German A level to about six eighteen year old students I could stroll into the classroom -or even my comfortable study with such a small group - and say in German 'The demise of the Weimar Republic was inevitable from its inception' or some such and then sit back and let them argue, occasionally correcting their language mistakes.
Faced with a class of five year olds as I once was when the class teacher passed out during a PE lesson I had no control - couldn't even get the little sods to get dressed. and line up.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> Yes, nearly all parents do that, even if their waying of showing that strikes us as strange at times.
> One thing I learnt during my teaching career is the younger the child the harder the work of teaching.
> When I taught German A level to about six eighteen year old students I could stroll into the classroom -or even my comfortable study with such a small group - and say in German 'The demise of the Weimar Republic was inevitable from its inception' or some such and then sit back and let them argue, occasionally correcting their language mistakes.
> Faced with a class of five year olds as I once was when the class teacher passed out during a PE lesson I had no control - couldn't even get the little sods to get dressed. and line up.


Yep, I know what you mean. To keep a class of 7 year olds engaged, happy and learning you need a change of activity, or at least what is perceived by them to be a change of activity, every 10 mins approx. Lots more preparation needed.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> Children pick languages up easily, my English grandson was screaming in Spanish at a football match 4 months after arriving despite watching and still watching nothing but English television but when they are at school they are totally immersed in the language and culture so much so my granddaughter is often mistaken for Spanish due to her local accent and mannerisms.


 *Most* children of a *young* age pick up languages easily.


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## saranigel1 (Oct 18, 2011)

i am so sorry for my spelling and grammar i didnt realise posting on this site for advice was a test but i must stress that instead of posting on my down falls in spelling you concentrate more on reading the posts more carefully if you feel the need to coment at least have your facts right first i at no time have ever montioned a 14 yr old son i infact have 3 daughters i have also not ever mentioned not being able to afford the costs for educating my children in a private school i was led to believe that this site was for help and advice not to slam people down as a social pass time


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## Seb* (Mar 22, 2009)

saranigel1 said:


> i am so sorry for my spelling and grammar i didnt realise posting on this site for advice was a test but i must stress that instead of posting on my down falls in spelling you concentrate more on reading the posts more carefully if you feel the need to coment at least have your facts right first i at no time have ever montioned a 14 yr old son i infact have 3 daughters i have also not ever mentioned not being able to afford the costs for educating my children in a private school i was led to believe that this site was for help and advice not to slam people down as a social pass time


Maybe you should read the first post again, then the mystery of the 14 year old son gets clearer 

And to your first post: No, home schooling is NOT accepted and people are brought before courts here. It's a very unclear situation and you might end up having a lot of stress with social workers and the authorities. Telling people otherwise is dangerous and irresponsible! As a foreigner to this country you don't want to end up on the wrong side of the law!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Seb* said:


> Maybe you should read the first post again, then the mystery of the 14 year old son gets clearer
> 
> And to your first post: No, home schooling is NOT accepted and people are brought before courts here. It's a very unclear situation and you might end up having a lot of stress with social workers and the authorities. Telling people otherwise is dangerous and irresponsible! As a foreigner to this country you don't want to end up on the wrong side of the law!



This is getting silly.
saranigel1 doesn't need to sort out whose got the 14 year old son. Everyone else does, like rob_w who was the first to make the assumption that saranigel1 was the parent of a 14 year old boy!!
Can we all read all the posts before we start writing about each others posts?
Please??


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## saranigel1 (Oct 18, 2011)

thank you pesky wesky i agree with you reading the posts first will avoid alot of problems 
and seb i am well aware who the 14 yr old boy was as i read all the posts before commenting i was replying to a post of rob-w who found the need to tell me i had a 14yr old son also i have never told anyone that it was legal to home school in spain i mearly said that as a homeschooler in the uk we are told that it as becoming more accepted in spain 
in the uk there is a large network of support to homeschoolers and the local authorities offer support and guidence to the parents doing this they you also have to under go assesments from them to moniter your progress making sure you are giving the child all that they need and if you are found not to be doing so they have the power to tkae action to force them into mainstream school i do not think you have to be a teacher to do this succesfully as i am not and my eldest daughter last year passed all her gcse exams and secured a place in college on the highest level course home schooling was something i had ever thought of doing all my children were in mainstream school and very happy homeschooling was started as we had no other option my daughter was ill with a long term illness and the school could not / would not offer her the support that she needed as she didnt fit in with their charts and reports so the choices i was left with was leave her there and watch her fail and be alianated for not being the norm or to try to do my best as a parent and find a solution that would benift her and thankfully it paid off and i must say it was an increadable exsperiance for me also one that i am proud to have done 
to set the record straight i do actually intend to but my other daughter in a private school when we move to spain but not until the new school yr in sep 2012 as this is the advice i have been given buy one of the schools i have been in contact with as they try not not enrole mid yr and as we are not arriving until feb / march next yr and the school yr ending in june they feel that it would not be good for her to start for a few wks and then have a large break with the holidays and have to go through it all again in september so i will home school her until then as i do not want her to fall behind on her education 
for people wanting more information you i is possible to buy full education packages in the uk and abroad for all children which comes with tutor support for the profesionals this in the uk is seen as more than acceptable by the powers that be although i dont no were this stand in spain


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Home schooling isnt legal in Spain!! People/Brits I think get away with it, but its not something to be advised or recommended. Personally I cant see the point in moving to a foreign country and then becoming or remaining an insular family who doesnt use tried and trusted schooling that is provided! But thats just my viewpoint (and we're all different). Life is about challenges and various types of places for education, work, play, experiences etc and school is a good learning curve on how to integrate with others and learn to become self reliant without a parent around.

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

saranigel1 said:


> thank you pesky wesky i agree with you reading the posts first will avoid alot of problems
> and seb i am well aware who the 14 yr old boy was as i read all the posts before commenting i was replying to a post of rob-w who found the need to tell me i had a 14yr old son also i have never told anyone that it was legal to home school in spain i mearly said that as a homeschooler in the uk we are told that it as becoming more accepted in spain
> in the uk there is a large network of support to homeschoolers and the local authorities offer support and guidence to the parents doing this they you also have to under go assesments from them to moniter your progress making sure you are giving the child all that they need and if you are found not to be doing so they have the power to tkae action to force them into mainstream school i do not think you have to be a teacher to do this succesfully as i am not and my eldest daughter last year passed all her gcse exams and secured a place in college on the highest level course home schooling was something i had ever thought of doing all my children were in mainstream school and very happy homeschooling was started as we had no other option my daughter was ill with a long term illness and the school could not / would not offer her the support that she needed as she didnt fit in with their charts and reports so the choices i was left with was leave her there and watch her fail and be alianated for not being the norm or to try to do my best as a parent and find a solution that would benift her and thankfully it paid off and i must say it was an increadable exsperiance for me also one that i am proud to have done
> to set the record straight i do actually intend to but my other daughter in a private school when we move to spain but not until the new school yr in sep 2012 as this is the advice i have been given buy one of the schools i have been in contact with as they try not not enrole mid yr and as we are not arriving until feb / march next yr and the school yr ending in june they feel that it would not be good for her to start for a few wks and then have a large break with the holidays and have to go through it all again in september so i will home school her until then as i do not want her to fall behind on her education
> for people wanting more information you i is possible to buy full education packages in the uk and abroad for all children which comes with tutor support for the profesionals this in the uk is seen as more than acceptable by the powers that be although i dont no were this stand in spain


yes - one confused new poster has managed to upset the applecart & confuse everyone else!!

it isn't acceptable that your spelling or grammar was questioned & the poster concerned has been informed of this

as the others have said - _strictly speaking_ homeschooling is illegal here at the moment

that's not to say it doesn't happen, or that it won't change at some time in the future

because there have been cases where the parents have been taken to court & lost - there are no open support groups 

I doubt that the fact that you would be getting support from the UK & doing the UK curriculum would have any bearing on any court (if it should come to that), partly because any school here teaching the UK curriculum has to follow certain guidelines, get a special licence & follow very strict rules - I doubt homeschooling would be treated any differently

here's a news story about a 'school' in my town which was closed by the authorities.

Private Javea School Closes | AMLASpain News

there was very little about this in the English language press - but in the Spanish press it was very well reported, perhaps an indication of the feeling against the concept

at the time they were saying that as far as they (the owners) were concerned they weren't a school - just a bunch of parents & some professionals getting together to provide 'homeschool support' - & I remember that that is how it originally started - a group of parents unhappy with the education their kids were being given in school (I think deciding to give the 'notaschool' a name didn't help)

whether or not any of us on this forum agree with it is neither here nor there (& like Pesky Wesky I can see the benefits for some kids if it is done properly with all the proper support that I know is available in the UK & the US) - you could be causing yourself all sorts of problems by following that path here - and do you really want or need the extra stress, worry & possible expense of a court case in a country where you don't speak the language if you don't HAVE TO?

here, they DO have the power to force them into mainstream school

as a short term solution between arriving & the end of the school year you'd be fine I'm sure - I personally wouldn't take the chance on a long term basis though

I'm surprised a school won't enroll mid-year though - they do around here (both private & state schools)

btw - I understand homeschooling is legal in Cataluña


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

If one is considering a permanent move to Spain...surely one's children would be seeking further education or employment here and would therefore need a very assured command of Spanish?
So...disregarding whether it's legal or not...wouldn't any home schooling here have to be in Spanish to be effective?
Apologies if I've missed something....


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Some thoughts...
Xabiachica - Yes, very strange that the school advised the child not to start mid year. If the poster arrives Feb/ March there's still more than a whole term to go.Wierd!
Jojo - Why someone would want to come to Spain and then homeschool their child, therefore assuring the child's exclusion from the biggest social group in a child's environment, is something I find difficult to get my head around too, unless the child has health or learning difficulties - perhaps./SNIP/
mrypg - I imagine, legal or not, British homeschooling wouldn't have a leg to stand on in Spain, but I don't know for sure.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> btw - I understand homeschooling is legal in Cataluña



Still not sure if it's legal or not, but here's the article (2008?) that has been posted on the forum before
Homeschooling in Catalunya - (barcelona-metropolitan.com)


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Still not sure if it's legal or not, but here's the article (2008?) that has been posted on the forum before
> Homeschooling in Catalunya - (barcelona-metropolitan.com)


I think there has been movement since then - though I might well have been misinformed by a group of parents here who wanted me to help them home-school their kids about a year ago, when I told them that it isn't exactly legal

they said they had been in touch with some alliance or other in Cataluña & were linking up with them

I couldn't see quite how that made what they wanted to do legal in Valencia though :confused2:


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> I think there has been movement since then - though I might well have been misinformed by a group of parents here who wanted me to help them home-school their kids about a year ago, when I told them that it isn't exactly legal
> 
> they said they had been in touch with some alliance or other in Cataluña & were linking up with them
> 
> I couldn't see quite how that made what they wanted to do legal in Valencia though :confused2:


Well, if you find out anything else would you mind telling me about it?
Thanks


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Well, if you find out anything else would you mind telling me about it?
> Thanks


for sure - if I come across anything I'll post it here

I didn't pursue it at the time because I decided not to get involved


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> for sure - if I come across anything I'll post it here
> 
> I didn't pursue it at the time because I decided not to get involved


I can understand that!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

snikpoh said:


> They have to have additional jabs here in Spain. Make sure that you bring your 'red book' with you and show them this when they ask for your 'family book'.
> 
> Most schools won't preclude children who haven't had the jabs but the children must have them shortly after starting school. We had to wait 5 months for an appointment and so they had to start school without them.
> 
> In my opinion, your 14 year old will really struggle as all lessons will be in Spanish or a local 'dialect/language' - for us this is Valencian. It took our children a year before they really started to understand well enough. So, at 14, this is leaving it very late.



...Only not everyone will have a red book. 
My *libro de familia* is dark blue (from Bilbao) and the book which has my daughter's jabs in is a small light blue book (from a private clinic in Madrid)...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> ...Only not everyone will have a red book.
> My *libro de familia* is dark blue (from Bilbao) and the book which has my daughter's jabs in is a small light blue book (from a private clinic in Madrid)...


the 'red book' snikpoh refers is the heath record book that kids in the UK get from birth - they record health visitor records of weight, growth & general progress from babyhood - & jabs, illnesses & so on up to I think age 16 - ours went missing in the US


I have yet to hear of a family where the parents weren't married here & whose kids weren't born here managing to get a libro de familia


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> the 'red book' snikpoh refers is the heath record book that kids in the UK get from birth - they record health visitor records of weight, growth & general progress from babyhood - & jabs, illnesses & so on up to I think age 16 - ours went missing in the US
> 
> 
> I have yet to hear of a family where the parents weren't married here & whose kids weren't born here managing to get a libro de familia


Ahhh, I see. Trust the UK to have smth nationalised too, not like here where every authority does it different.
Still, I was right that not everyone will have one 'cos we don't!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Ahhh, I see. Trust the UK to have smth nationalised too, not like here where every authority does it different.
> Still, I was right that not everyone will have one 'cos we don't!


neither do we


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## MacRov (Oct 26, 2010)

There was never any mention that I recall of us being asked for our kids inoculation history by the school. Maybe the mrs remembers but our 2 definitely haven't had to have any extra jabs.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MacRov said:


> There was never any mention that I recall of us being asked for our kids inoculation history by the school. Maybe the mrs remembers but our 2 definitely haven't had to have any extra jabs.


the school won't have asked - but did they not have to have a medical check up before starting school ? - that's pretty standard & the doctor would have asked during that


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## MacRov (Oct 26, 2010)

nope no medical at all.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MacRov said:


> nope no medical at all.


odd - they insist on it around here, although when we first came over 8 years ago they didn't


then even if they've been in the state school system since they started school, they have to have a medical again before starting secondary


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