Switching school in the middle of the year

Terms used

• Vacante — A vacante is a free place in a school for a specific level and year group.
• Baremo — The baremo is the points system used to rank applicants when a school has more applications than places.
• Comisión de escolarización — The comisión de escolarización is the local admissions body that assigns school places in many regions.
• Matrícula — The matrícula is the formal enrolment of your child at a school once a place is assigned.
• Historial académico — The historial académico is your child's academic record, issued by the old school and sent to the new one.
• Informe personal por traslado — The informe personal por traslado is a personal report on your child that travels with the records when they change school.
• Baja — The baja is the formal withdrawal of your child from the old school.

Key rules

• Vacancy: A mid-year place exists only if the school has a vacante in your child's exact level and year group.
• Who decides: In most regions an admissions body or education delegation assigns the place, and the school then handles enrolment.
• Current school: Keep your child attending the old school until the new place is assigned.
• Records: The old school must issue the records, and the historial académico and informe personal por traslado travel with your child.

You need a free place and an approval first

A mid-year change only works if the school you want has a vacante in your child's level and year group, and the right authority approves the place. Only then do the records move. Do not take your child out of the current school until the place is confirmed.

A vacante is a place left over once the school's authorised number of pupils is reached. The education authority sets that maximum per class. It is usually 25 pupils in primary and 30 in ESO. Pupils who are already enrolled and continuing count against it. Mid-year, many classes are already full, so ask about your child's exact year group, not just the school. Some regions also reserve places, for example for children with special educational needs, so the number of free places can be lower than it looks.

If more families apply than there are places, a points system called the baremo decides who gets them.

Find out who decides

Timing is only realistic if you know who decides. This varies by region, so ask your regional education department first.

In most regions the decision is made by an admissions body, not by the school. It is usually one of these:

• The comisión de escolarización (in some regions called the comisión de garantías de admisión), at town or district level.
• The provincial education delegation or directorate. Madrid's Servicio de Apoyo a la Escolarización and Andalucía's delegaciones territoriales are examples.
• The education inspectorate, which often assigns the place on behalf of those bodies.

The school itself usually handles only the enrolment (matrícula) once a place is assigned. In some regions a school with vacancies can admit pupils directly. Ask which applies where you live, so you know who to chase if you hear nothing.

Move the records

Once the place is confirmed, the records move. You do not have to send the file yourself, but you do have to start the process.

1. Ask the old school for the certificate of transfer and the historial académico. The old school must issue them.
2. Check that the informe personal por traslado is sent too. Under the current education law it travels with your child.
3. Ask the new school how it requests the file. In primary and ESO this is often done through the regional digital platform, such as Séneca, Racima or ITACA, or directly between the schools.

The platform and process differ by region, so ask the new school which route it uses. This applies to both public and concertada schools.

Keep your child in school meanwhile

Keep your child enrolled and attending the current school while you wait for the decision. Ask for the baja only once the new place is assigned and enrolment is complete.

The process, the documents and the checklist below take you through it in order. The questions further down cover who decides and class sizes.

Requesting a school transfer, step by step

From request to records

• Check your region's rules and the grounds for a mid-year change: Before you start

• Find out which body decides mid-year places in your region: usually the admissions commission (comisión de escolarización) or the provincial education delegation, not the school: Before you apply

• Gather your papers: parents' DNI or NIE, child's passport or NIE, libro de familia or birth certificate, certificate of empadronamiento (registration at your home address), latest school report, and proof of income, work address or special needs if you claim points: Before you apply

• Submit your region's application form with the documents, online or at the chosen school or education delegation: In the ordinary window, or mid-year to the admissions commission or delegation

• Keep your child enrolled at the current school and attending while you wait for the decision assigning a school and a vacancy: Until the new place is confirmed in writing

• Complete the enrolment (matrícula) at the new school: Within the period stated in the resolution

• Ask the old school for the baja and for the transfer of the academic record (historial académico and informe personal por traslado); the old school must issue them and the new school normally requests the file through the regional platform: Only once the new place is confirmed in writing

• Start classes at the new school: On the date agreed with the school

• If the request is refused or no vacancy is assigned, ask the commission or delegation for the reason and for other schools with places, and keep your child at the current school meanwhile: If the decision is negative

Documents you need

• Certificate of transfer from the old school, which the old school must issue on request.

• Historial académico, your child's academic record, issued by the old school and sent to the new school.

• Informe personal por traslado, a personal report that travels with your child under the current education law, issued by the old school.

Checklist

• Ask the regional education department which body decides mid-year places where you live.

• Confirm that the requested school has a vacancy in your child's level and year group.

• Find out whether that body or the school itself assigns the place, so you know who to chase.

• Ask the new school which regional platform or route it uses to request the records.

• Request the transfer certificate and the historial académico from the old school once the place is confirmed.

Frequently asked questions

Who decides whether my child gets a mid-year place?

The regional admissions body usually decides, and it differs by region. It is often the comisión de escolarización at municipal or district level, or the provincial education delegation, sometimes with the education inspectorate assigning places. The school itself mostly handles enrolment once the place is assigned, though in some regions it can admit pupils directly where it has vacancies.

How many pupils fit in a class, and why does that matter mid-year?

Classes usually hold up to 25 pupils in primary and 30 in ESO, the lower secondary stage. A mid-year place exists only if the group has a vacancy under that limit after the pupils who continue are counted.

Do I have to send the school records myself?

No, the new school normally asks the old school for the records, often through the regional digital platform. You can also request the transfer certificate or the historial académico yourself, and the old school must issue them. The informe personal por traslado, a personal report for the move, travels with your child.