Parent / Kids Groups in La Laguna / Santa Cruz

[cowlingclan]

I'm moving to La Laguna with my family - three boys aged 2,4 and 6. We're home schooling them but we're keen for them to mix with other kids - British or Spanish.

Does anyone have any ideas for how we'd do this, ideally in La Laguna, but maybe Santa Cruz too? Are there any groups for parents and kids?

[bonitatime]

Are you legally allowed to home school
the eldest?
Easiest come september would be the cultural and sports centres for organised activities. These are subsidised by the local councils so work out reasonably cheap

[cowlingclan]

Thanks for that. Home schooling is legal in the UK - my eldest's school has consented to us taking him out of school for a year - so I would imagine it's the same in Spain. As it's only a temporary move I'd hope the Tenerife authorities won't come after us! We're not against the idea of our eldest going to a Spanish school but , I think, considering that we're only going to be in Tenerife for a year, it's perhaps not worth the hassle.

We'll check out cultural and sports centres for activities, where hopefully our boys can mix with other kids.

[bonitatime]

I am 99% sure it is not legal in Spain which is why I asked.
As foreigners here only for 1 year you might well fall through the system but be careful

[TenerifeTeddy]

I googled it - according to Wikipedia 'Spain Neither legal nor illegal, as Constitution recognises freedom of education, but national education law stipulates that compulsive education must be met through school attendance.'
As usual Spanish Law is as clear as mud!
We understand that home schooling is not legal. My wife and I have just spent 18 months setting up Callao Learning Centre and have successfully applied for and received our certificate from the British Council to grant us status as a British School. Next step is to apply to the authorities in Tenerife for a matriculation number to become recognised as an official place for education. If children could be registered as home schooled all this would not have been necessary!

[slodgedad]

Schooling is a sticky subject here. I was given to understand that it's compulsory for kids over 5 to attend school.

We arrived here when my daughter was 3 in 1994 and went through all the residency rigmarole and put her into an English school (we didn't know how long we'd be staying). When she was about 5 and a half we received a letter asking us where she was being schooled and had to supply proof.

If she had been in Spanish state school it would have shown up and we wouldn't have been asked.

My point is that I'm almost sure that children over 5 must attend a recognized education establishment

[cowlingclan]

Thanks for all those helpful hints. I think we'll wing it, and if the truant officers knock on the door we'll quite happily hand over our eldest over to the Spanish state system! He'll probably be ready for some time away from us by then, and sure he'd pick up the lingo no problem.