It can be difficult to deal with the education system in a foreign country and language, so here are some things you need to know and a step-by-step guide to getting a place.
An overview of the stages of publicly-funded childhood education for children under 6 years old:
- Guardería (0-3 years old). Nursery schools referred to as Escoles bressol or llars d’infants.
- Segon cicle d’educació infantil: (3-6 years old). P3, P4, and P5. Technically part of infant education, but takes place at el cole (primary school).
How to apply for Segon cicle d’educació infantil (3-6 years old):
- Apply at the right time.
children born in 2017 will start P3 in September 2020. The application process starts early in the year, with Portes Obertes de l’Escola (school open days), so make sure you are aware of the deadlines well in advance.
- Deadline for submitting the application: from 13 to 22 May 2020.
- Submission of applications in person by appointment: from 19 to 22 May 2020
- Submission of documentation: until May 25, 2020
- List of applications with the provisional score: May 29, 2020
- Filing of claims: from 2 to 5 June 2020
- List of applications with the score once the claims have been resolved: June 9, 2020
- Definitive sorted list: June 11, 2020
- Extension of request for centres for applications that have not obtained any assignment (ex officio assignment): from 26 to 29 June 2020
- The final offer of school places: July 6, 2020
- List of admitted students and waiting list: July 7, 2020
The deadlines you can find on https://www.edubcn.cat/ca/alumnat_i_familia/informacio_general_matriculacio/preinscripcio
- Select your schools
Enter your address here to generate a list of schools for which you will be eligible. The list will include both public and concertada schools or you can visit https://www.edubcn.cat/ca/alumnat_i_familia/informacio_general_matriculacio/arees_influencia/consulta_de_centres_educatius#/cerca this government website.
- Submit your application
Fill in your application form in which you rank your four top choices of school in order of preference. The place you will get according to the points you get, the more points you have, the higher priority your application gets. For example, you get 30 points for living in the school’s area, 40 additional points if your child has a sibling already enrolled at the school and so on – for a full explanation, see here
The documents you need with your application are as follows:
- The libro de familia (family book). This requirement proves your relationship to the child, so if you don’t have it you will need equivalent documentation from your country (birth certificates etc). Bear in mind any foreign documents will have to be officially translated.
- The ID of the applicant (that’s you, the parent, not your child). For foreigners, this is your NIE. If you are non-EU you should have the NIE with the photo which counts as your official ID, so that is sufficient.
- A copy of empadronamiento.
- The Tarjeta Sanitaria (public health system card) if they have it.
- Documentation relating to any additional points applied to the application (for example disability/allergy).
To find out more about the required documents visit: https: https://www.edubcn.cat/ca/alumnat_i_familia/informacio_general_matriculacio/preinscripcio#/4
Step-by-step online pre-registration
- You can pre-register online from any device connected to the network (computer, tablet, mobile …).
- Fill in the form that you will find at preinscripcio.gencat.cat . You have a video tutorial available that explains how to fill it out.
- Once you’ve filled out the form, review the data and press the Submit button. The data will be sent automatically and a digital backup document will be created in PDF format that you need to save to your device (computer, tablet, mobile …).
- Take a photo with your mobile phone or scan all the general or specific documentation you need based on the criteria you have indicated on the form.
- Attention: if the address of the DNI does not match the one that you state in the pre-registration, it is necessary to specify it in the e-mail that you send with the documentation and the receipt of the pre-registration application. The address you provide will be verified ex officio without the need to provide the registration flyer.
- E-mail the receipt document and all documentation in digital format (photos or scanned files) to the school’s e-mail address you provided in the first option.
- Make sure the centre’s email address is official and you receive an acknowledgement of receipt
You can message me on Whatsapp messages on 612 464 198. No phone calls, please. Good Luck with your school applications.
