# Question about opening a language school....



## Innig (Apr 3, 2014)

Hi All. I'm new to posting here although I have been reading the forum for a couple of years now.

I have a question - I'm thinking of opening a language school to teach English, nothing fancy and at the beginning it will only be me teaching so I won't be employing anyone yet. My question is regarding the required permissions, does anyone have any experience with this? (autonomo etc is already covered I'm looking to find out what else they will find to hold the process up  ) I am looking for a ball park figure to include the costs in the business plan. I am well aware of the mine field that is paperwork in Spain having lived and worked here 10 years but this permissions thing is all new to me.

Thanks for reading and any help appreciated!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Someone else asked about this a while ago. Heres the thread http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...-english-spain.html?highlight=language+school

Jo xxx


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## bobgb (May 2, 2013)

It isn't a minefield. And you might be eligible for reduced Social Security payments etc. You don't need to have any special qualifications. You can do all the paperwork yourself or get a Gestor. Here's a great little book with tons of info and photos etc. Cover nearly everything you want to ask.
/SNIP/


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## Innig (Apr 3, 2014)

bobgb said:


> It isn't a minefield. And you might be eligible for reduced Social Security payments etc. You don't need to have any special qualifications. You can do all the paperwork yourself or get a Gestor. Here's a great little book with tons of info and photos etc. Cover nearly everything you want to ask.
> /SNIP/


Wow I had no idea they had books on Amazon on that type of thing. Thanks will check it out now  Unfortunately I'm not in the age bracket for the reduced social security but I am qualified to teach. I think a Gestor is always a good idea for anyone who isn't Spanish that needs paperwork! 

Thanks again for the book tip!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

bobgb said:


> It isn't a minefield. And you might be eligible for reduced Social Security payments etc. You don't need to have any special qualifications. You can do all the paperwork yourself or get a Gestor. Here's a great little book with tons of info and photos etc. Cover nearly everything you want to ask.
> /SNIP/.


I don't agree at all.
If you get a gestor that will help you enormously and in fact after you've opened, to do the bookeeping I would have thought that it'd be a necessity, but imply that it's pretty straightfoward to open an English school in Spain I think is a huge underestimate.
The worst academies I've known of or had contact with, are definitely the ones that are run by people who have no "special qualifications". If you want a place where people give money to sit in classroom, the way to do it is to buy a book and go through it page by page.
To be successful and/ or to run a professional school where people learn and enjoy the experience you need to know about *teaching*, you need to know about *language*, you need to know about *business*, you need to know about the *culture*, and you need to know about and care about your *clients* needs, and possibilities.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Innig said:


> Wow I had no idea they had books on Amazon on that type of thing. Thanks will check it out now  Unfortunately I'm not in the age bracket for the reduced social security but I am qualified to teach. I think a Gestor is always a good idea for anyone who isn't Spanish that needs paperwork!
> 
> Thanks again for the book tip!


atm *all* new registrations start at about 50€ a month autónomo payments, gradually increasing to full payments over 2 years


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

..... I'm not sure about buying a book on anything to do with rules and regulations in Spain!! Spain changes its rules and regulations so frequently and they vary hugely from area to area, that I wouldnt trust any information unless it was told to me by someone there and who knows!

If you feel a book is the way to go, buy one in Spain thats up to the minute

Jo xxx


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

We are opening a language school on the 6th May after a year of teaching in our flat. It has been an absolute nightmare as regards finding a suitable location that doesn't need a fortune spent on it. There are a lot of requirements that have to be met to get the licence from the Town Hall. Size of the building, toilets x 2 (disabled), width of doorways, no steps anywhere, Entrance door has to be a single wide door, not a double door, ventilation in fact it is absolutely ridiculous. I don't know if the requirements are different in other Provinces though.

Everybody qualifies for the reduced rate of social security and if you are over a certain age it is massively reduced due to the fact that you will never make enough payments to qualify for a Spanish pension.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Cazzy said:


> We are opening a language school on the 6th May after a year of teaching in our flat. It has been an absolute nightmare as regards finding a suitable location that doesn't need a fortune spent on it. There are a lot of requirements that have to be met to get the licence from the Town Hall. Size of the building, toilets x 2 (disabled), width of doorways, no steps anywhere, Entrance door has to be a single wide door, not a double door, ventilation in fact it is absolutely ridiculous. I don't know if the requirements are different in other Provinces though.
> 
> Everybody qualifies for the reduced rate of social security and if you are over a certain age it is massively reduced due to the fact that you will never make enough payments to qualify for a Spanish pension.


Good to hear from someone who's going through the process now.
I think the disabled toilet thing is nationwide - the ventilation I don't know.
Apart from building requirements, how about getting licences to open a school, getting town hall inpectors round, getting billing set up etc etc?


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Good to hear from someone who's going through the process now.
> I think the disabled toilet thing is nationwide - the ventilation I don't know.
> Apart from building requirements, how about getting licences to open a school, getting town hall inpectors round, getting billing set up etc etc?



Luckily one of our students works with the Inspector from the Town Hall. When we find a building that we think is suitable we get the Inspector round to have a look at it. He tells us what needs doing to get the licence, usually the list is massive. Then we move onto the next... We have got a Gestoria sorting out all the financial stuff for us, we think this will be easier to start with. Now we have found a place the inspector is monitoring the work to check that everything complies to the regulations. Once the work is finished to his satisfaction he will issue the licence.The next step is to find another teacher, probably just as difficult!!:fingerscrossed:


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Cazzy said:


> Luckily one of our students works with the Inspector from the Town Hall. When we find a building that we think is suitable we get the Inspector round to have a look at it. He tells us what needs doing to get the licence, usually the list is massive. Then we move onto the next... We have got a Gestoria sorting out all the financial stuff for us, we think this will be easier to start with. Now we have found a place the inspector is monitoring the work to check that everything complies to the regulations. Once the work is finished to his satisfaction he will issue the licence.The next step is to find another teacher, probably just as difficult!!:fingerscrossed:


This is where "connections" come into their own. I don't know if I'm getting immune, but I'm beginning to think that, given how difficult the systems are to work, it's actually a good way to do things. As long as you're not stepping on anyone else that is, of course.
The reason I've never set up a school on my own is the difficulty of getting teachers. Before everyone not in the business starts to yell about how many TEFL teachers there are in Spain... Yes, there are loads, but when you qualify that by saying you want qualified, professional teachers, numbers are drastically reduced. Then if you want people who will stay more than a year, again numbers go down. Add to that the worry of being able to guarantee teachers their hours for a full academic year...
Sorry Cazzy, don't mean to stress you out!!
Hope everything comes together and you'll be able to start your venture soon!


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> This is where "connections" come into their own. I don't know if I'm getting immune, but I'm beginning to think that, given how difficult the systems are to work, it's actually a good way to do things. As long as you're not stepping on anyone else that is, of course.
> The reason I've never set up a school on my own is the difficulty of getting teachers. Before everyone not in the business starts to yell about how many TEFL teachers there are in Spain... Yes, there are loads, but when you qualify that by saying you want qualified, professional teachers, numbers are drastically reduced. Then if you want people who will stay more than a year, again numbers go down. Add to that the worry of being able to guarantee teachers their hours for a full academic year...
> Sorry Cazzy, don't mean to stress you out!!
> Hope everything comes together and you'll be able to start your venture soon!


Teachers are the problem! At the moment my Husband and I are working flat out. Now we have the school I expect we will get more people enquiring about classes. The problem is with all the extra expense we don't have a lot of money to pay for another teacher, although we can offer accommodation. Like you said will we be able to afford to pay them? What if we don't get anymore students?


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## bobgb (May 2, 2013)

*English School*

I cannot see where this "minefield" comes from. A language teaching "Academia" that has 20 or less students at any one time is classed as "inocuo". I know that different councils have their idiocincracies but it is, as far as I know, fairly uniform across Spain. Your post says you are in Isla Redonda which I think is near Sevilla. I have done some Googling and I get the same in any Ayuntamiento I find but I couldn't find yours. Here is an extract from Agilar de Frontera near Cordoba:
A tal efecto se adjunta: 
1.Memoria Descriptiva 
2.Plano de Situación y planta 
3.Resguardo de haber abonado la tasa correspondiente por Inspección sanitaria.
That means that with your application to open a school you have to provide a description of what you want to do, a sketch showing the exact location, and a bank slip to show that you have paid the relevant charge. Where is the minefield?
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REQUIREMENT TO PUT IN 2 TOILETS OR DISABLED TOILETS OR ANY PARTICULAR TYPE OF DOOR.
You need to have a fire extinguisher, an emergency escape light in each teaching room, in passageways and at the exit (really easy to fit), one toilet with liquid soap and disposable paper towels.
If you have had to provide more than this it is for one of the following reasons:
You have a bloody minded town hall.
You have an incompetent gestor.
You plan a bigger school with more than 20 students at any moment.
You are undertaking reforms to the property that require a "licencia de obras" works permit. That takes you into a different area of legislation. You seem to indicate you had problems finding what you wanted.
A simple shop premises or a first floor office type is adequate. If you need dividing walls, you put in "mamparas" which are considered temporary and do not require permission.
STARTING YOUR OWN SCHOOL IS EASY. I have opened seven across the years and I advised a girl (for free) just last month who opened a language school for teaching Spanish. She found it to be exactly as I describe above. She also had the option of teaching in her granny's old shop without the licence but prefered to have the official permission.
It is not a minefield but it can be if you make it one.


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

bobgb said:


> I cannot see where this "minefield" comes from. A language teaching "Academia" that has 20 or less students at any one time is classed as "inocuo". I know that different councils have their idiocincracies but it is, as far as I know, fairly uniform across Spain. Your post says you are in Isla Redonda which I think is near Sevilla. I have done some Googling and I get the same in any Ayuntamiento I find but I couldn't find yours. Here is an extract from Agilar de Frontera near Cordoba:
> A tal efecto se adjunta:
> 1.Memoria Descriptiva
> 2.Plano de Situación y planta
> ...


No problem with the Gestor! I am not in Isla Redonda at the moment! If the Town Hall say we have to do it we have no choice if we want to operate legally with a licence.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

With respect, I think its safer to listen to someone who is doing it and going thru the process now, as the rules, regulations and permissions change so frequently that anything that happened more than a few months ago could now have changed!

That said, things may vary from region to region depending on interpretation of said rules

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

bobgb said:


> I cannot see where this "minefield" comes from. A language teaching "Academia" that has 20 or less students at any one time is classed as "inocuo"..


is that 20 students on the premises at one time - or 20 on the roll?


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

I don't know! All I know is I'm sticking to the rules, after spending a lot of time and money I don't want to be closed down!!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Cazzy said:


> I don't know! All I know is I'm sticking to the rules, after spending a lot of time and money I don't want to be closed down!!


I'm with you on that one!

I'm hoping bobgb will clarify 

I _do _know that I couldn't survive with only 20 students though...


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

xabiachica said:


> I'm with you on that one!
> 
> I'm hoping bobgb will clarify
> 
> I _do _know that I couldn't survive with only 20 students though...


We have a hundred at the moment and are hoping to expand now we have a school.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Cazzy said:


> We have a hundred at the moment and are hoping to expand now we have a school.


well done - hard work, isn't it?

I have about 70 atm - thankfully a lot of groups!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

I was involved with an attempt at opening a language school last year. The town hall told us that each classroom had to have its own disabled loo facilities and that this was non-negotiable. Each loo had to measure 24 sq m which was bigger than one of the classrooms. They then informed us that this requirement was only effective for classes that ran for 60 minutes or longer; we kept ours to a maximum of 55 minutes so that turned out to be ok. Then we were told that we had to get the local fire station to inspect the rooms and issue a fire certificate. We asked the town hall if there were any proper procedures in place and they said there were not because such an inspection had never been carried out before but it was down to us to organise it. We approached the fire station who tried to help but in the end said they couldn't because there were no written procedures to inspect just part of a building. If they were to inspect the entire building (mostly made up of apartments and ground floor shops) then they could help but it would cost approximately €20,000. There were many other things which the town hall kept raising. It meant that we operated for 10 moths without a licence and in the end closed down. We later discovered that many of the requests from the town hall were irregular and that the owner of another language school nearby was a close friend of the mayor and didn't want our competition. Spain...


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

Latest update on our school saga - The disabled toilet door opens into the wheelchair turning circle, so has to be changed to a metal sliding monstrosity - more expense!!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Cazzy said:


> Latest update on our school saga - The disabled toilet door opens into the wheelchair turning circle, so has to be changed to a metal sliding monstrosity - more expense!!



....... and breath. We're all behind you on here :cheer2:

Jo xxxx


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

I checked and it seems that the one hour class time is a for real law. Could that help??


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## Innig (Apr 3, 2014)

Thank you all for getting so involved! After a lot of research I think I will try to rent an office type space in one of those new business centres that are springing up all over Spain - I imagine they will have all of the relevant permissions and disabled toilets/access etc?

I have a further question - I know you need a PGCE or Spanish equivalent to work in a state school, do you need that to work in a private school? or could I work a day a week or something there as well as having my own "academy" ?

Thanks again for all the helpful information


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Innig said:


> Thank you all for getting so involved! After a lot of research I think I will try to rent an office type space in one of those new business centres that are springing up all over Spain - I imagine they will have all of the relevant permissions and disabled toilets/access etc?
> 
> I have a further question - I know you need a PGCE or Spanish equivalent to work in a state school, do you need that to work in a private school? or could I work a day a week or something there as well as having my own "academy" ?
> 
> Thanks again for all the helpful information


I don't think a PGCE allows to work in the Spanish state system. I think the only way to work in the Spanish system is by sitting a public exam which is no easy matter even if you are a native. If you want to to teach primary or below you also need a Spanish teaching degree I believe.
You could work as a kind of teacher's aide, but those jobs, which are sometimes pretty well paid, are usually offered to students on an(academic) yearly basis.
You would be qualified to work in an international or British school with a PGCE, so Google those in the area you're interested in.


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