Enrolling your child in a Madrid school when you arrive mid-year

The three Spanish school systems

Before anything else, you need to understand a distinction that may not exist in this form where you come from, and which shapes everything that follows.

State (público)

Publicly run schools, free of charge. You don't simply pick your school: you apply, and a place is allocated according to a points system.

Concertado

Private schools with a funding agreement with the state. They go through the same admission process as state schools, using the same single application and the same points system. Tuition is officially free, but almost all of them charge a monthly contribution for supplementary activities — often presented as optional, in practice hard to avoid.

Fully private

Outside the platform, outside the points system, outside the calendar. You contact the school directly, visit, and enrol. This is the only route where you genuinely choose — and the only one you can start from abroad, before you even have somewhere to live. It is also where you will find the international options, from British and American schools to the Lycée français and other national curricula.

The calendar, and why it catches people out

The ordinary admission round for state and concertado schools takes place in spring, for a September start. That is when places are handed out, notably those for the main entry year — the first year of the second cycle of early years education (educación infantil), at age three.

If you move in October, January or April, you arrive outside that window. The good schools in the neighbourhood allocated their places six months earlier. It is not a disaster, but it changes the nature of the process entirely.

Extraordinary admission

For arrivals outside the admission round, there is an extraordinary admission procedure, run by the school enrolment support services. The principle is simple: they identify the places left vacant after the ordinary round and allocate them to newcomers.

In practice, this means:

• your choice is limited to whatever is still available;
• the most sought-after schools are usually full;
• you may get a place a few streets away, or considerably further;
• nothing stops you reapplying in the next ordinary round to aim for the school you actually want.

The order of steps when you arrive

This is where many families lose weeks, simply because they don't know the sequence.

1. Housing. Nothing can start without an address and a proper tenancy agreement.
2. Empadronamiento. It sets your reference address and, with it, the nearby schools you can apply to. It takes days, not months — provided your paperwork is in order. Our empadronamiento guide explains how.
3. The extraordinary admission application. Once you have your padrón, you ask the enrolment services which places are vacant in your area and submit your application.

In other words: every week without a padrón is a week in which your child cannot be enrolled in a state or concertado school. That is why the empadronamiento must be treated as an absolute priority as soon as the lease is signed.

The belt-and-braces strategy

For a mid-year arrival, the approach that works is to run two tracks in parallel.

Before you leave, from abroad: shortlist and contact private schools, visit them in person or by video call, and reserve a place. This does not depend on any calendar or on the padrón. Your child has a school waiting on the day you arrive.

When you arrive: housing, padrón as a matter of urgency, then an extraordinary application for state and concertado schools. If a good place comes up, you switch; if not, you already have a solution and can prepare calmly for the next ordinary round.

It costs more than a single track, but it avoids the scenario every family dreads: a child with no school while the parents are house-hunting, opening a bank account and starting a new job.

Documents to prepare now

Don't leave them until the last minute: some take weeks.

• Your child's birth certificate. French families should request an extrait plurilingue (multilingual extract): issued under the CIEC convention, it is exempt from translation and apostille in Spain. It is the key document. If you hold another nationality, ask your civil registry whether a multilingual version exists.
• Family record book (such as the French livret de famille) or the parents' multilingual extracts.
• Valid passports or national ID cards.
• Up-to-date vaccination record.
• School reports or a certificate of attendance from the previous school, if your child was already at school.
• For documents issued outside the European Union: allow time for an apostille and sworn translation, both of which take a while.

Frequently asked questions

My child doesn't speak Spanish. Is that a problem?

At three or four, no: children pick it up very quickly and schools are used to it. The older the child, the more seriously the question deserves to be considered, and the more relevant bilingual or international schools become.

Can I apply to a school outside my neighbourhood?

In Madrid, yes: the single-zone system lets you apply anywhere in the city. But living or working close to the school earns points. In practice, your address remains your strongest card, especially for a first child with no siblings already at the school.

How much does a concertado school really cost?

Tuition is state-funded, but the monthly activities contribution, school meals and materials add up to a significant sum. Always ask for a written, itemised breakdown before committing: costs vary considerably from one school to another.

What if no place comes up?

The right to schooling is guaranteed: your child will be allocated a place. The question is not whether your child will go to school, but where. That is exactly what the parallel strategy lets you control.

Guide updated on 21 October 2026 — Spanish administrative rules change; check the critical points before acting.