Family life and schools in Spain, with Barcelona specifics

• Pre-school, first cycle (0–3): nursery schools (escoles bressol, in Spanish escuelas infantiles). Not compulsory. In Barcelona, municipal nursery schools take children from 4 months to 3 years.
• Pre-school, second cycle (3–6): classes I3, I4 and I5, usually in a primary school.
• Primary education (6–12): six years, compulsory.
• Compulsory secondary education, ESO (12–16): four years.
• After 16: the bachillerato (baccalaureate, preparing for university) or intermediate and advanced vocational training.

In Catalonia a child's year of birth decides their school year group.

• Normal admissions: for state and state-assisted schools, families apply in a pre-registration period several months before the school year — in Catalonia typically between March and April. Places are allocated using a points system, with a lottery if there are more applications than places.
• Arriving mid-year: in Barcelona, families arriving after the school year has started or after the enrolment period can apply online for a place for newly arrived students aged 3 to 16. Students aged 16 to 18 who want to continue studying should book an appointment with the Barcelona Education Consortium (Consorci d'Educació de Barcelona).
• Documents: you will need your padrón registration (in Barcelona, a volant de convivència showing who lives with the child), the child's identity document and, if requested, birth certificates.

Catalan and Spanish are both official in Catalonia. Catalan is the main language of instruction, and by the end of compulsory schooling pupils are expected to be fully proficient in both. No prior knowledge of either language is needed to start school, and schools have welcome measures for newly arrived children, including language support. Foreign languages, especially English, are introduced from the early years.

In the 2026–27 school year Barcelona's municipal network has 106 nursery schools with places for 8,993 children aged 4 months to 3 years, plus 316 places in five Generalitat nursery schools; the city council says it can meet about 60% of demand. Pre-registration is online; you can list up to five nursery schools in a single application, and only one application per child is allowed. Applications are ranked by priority criteria and, if needed, a public draw. Vacancies during the year are published on the municipal nursery schools website.

• Each working parent is entitled to 19 weeks of birth and childcare leave under article 48 of the Workers' Statute, with a Social Security benefit of 100% of the contribution base if contribution conditions are met.
• Register a newborn as a beneficiary of a parent's health care with the INSS and in the padrón, then request the child's health card (see Your health card in Barcelona).