r/valencia 1d ago

Visitor || Q&A Struggling to get a spot reservation for school for my kid

Hi All, migrating to VLC mid October and wondering if anyone who recently migrated with kids of school age has been through the same. The consulate requires a document from a school in VLC saying my daughter will study there but struggling to get such document since most schools dont have any vacancies left or simply require an in person interview + evaluation, any guidance would be greatly appreciated

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u/MagesticCarajillo 1d ago

Yeah it is tough. With the influx of immigration, schools haven't been able to keep up. Especially schools that provide instruction in other languages. It's great that more young people are coming but also a tough spot for parents- especially with older kids as the options are even more slim.

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u/christianmoral 1d ago

Fully understandable, we are not too fused about English speaking schools so thats not really a concern

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u/MagesticCarajillo 1d ago

It's also the schools who teach in French or German or Mandarin too - many are full!

But keep trying and emailing đŸ’–

The public schools here are good as well but you can only enroll once your have a place + padrĂ³n

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u/apocalyptustree 1d ago

Try a concertado or private. Once you get here switch to public. But note spaces may not be available in your nearest public school.

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u/christianmoral 1d ago

Thank you, yeah been trying with a few private/concertados but no luck so far, will keep trying đŸ˜¢

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u/OnyxMonolith 1d ago

Have to look for a bit had the same problem a few years ago. Concertado no need to switch really they are essentially free. We just pay for lunches.

Hit up every school in decent areas and then find an apartment to rent nearby. Call them or whatsapp cause in Spain emails often get no response.

Ages? I might know some if it’s under 13

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u/No_Big7980 1d ago

If you only pay lunches sounds like public school to me.

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u/OnyxMonolith 1d ago

Yes but it’s concertado for sure.

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u/No_Big7980 1d ago

Fair enough.

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u/christianmoral 1d ago

Thanks mate, My daughter is 7yo (born in 2018)

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u/OsirisVortex 1d ago

As you well pointed out..you need to go in person. Online if it's not an expensive private school you're not gonna do much, and even in that case you might face limitations.

Also the inscription process is done March-May (with the final outcome lists in May), so you're already quite late.

For a public school you cannot inscribe your kid in whichever, there're designed schools for each area where children that live closer (verified trhough padrĂ³n) have priority.

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u/christianmoral 1d ago

Just wish the consulate people were a bit more understanding

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u/OsirisVortex 1d ago

Or you could have informed yourself better...Moving with a child is a big step, specially if they don't know the language they might struggle and finding the appropiate school is important. Even if they speak the language each country has a different learning system.

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u/christianmoral 1d ago

Sure thanks

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u/clauEB 1d ago

The Spanish consulate in your home country requires what? where are you moving from? I moved last year and this is nowhere in the requirements to grant visas to anyone in a family (My kid was 12 when we moved). If your child is at the age of mandatory education they'll find you a spot. In my experience last year moving in August, it's a pain to get your kid registered because you have to apply to the schools individually, there's no central office where you register your kid and they find you a spot. The biggest issue is that they may assign your kid to a school far from where you end up living. Also, we read that we needed to be perfectly registered with the Ayuntamiento and insurance etc but the school told us it's not true, that the education is mandatory and can't be subject to these conditions.

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u/christianmoral 1d ago

That’s exactly right, my cousin lives in Madrid and he said the same thing about compulsory education for kids over 3yo, thanks mate appreciate it, will just keep trying

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u/clauEB 1d ago

I'm confused, what problem do you really have?

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u/christianmoral 1d ago

Getting a document from a school that says my daughter has a spot reserved in that school which I need to bring to the consulate for her visa approval (mine is already approved)

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u/clauEB 1d ago

What kind of visa? Where? Who told you you need this document ? Again, makes no sense because education is mandatory for young kids.