The words of running a school in Spain, in two sentences, with the source.

Missing class without a note or without an acceptable reason, as defined by Catalan Law 14/2010 on the rights and opportunities of children and adolescents (art. 52). The Catalan protocol grades it by unexcused absences in the month: mild below 5 % of classes, moderate from 5 % to 25 % and severe above 25 %.

Source: Community protocol for preventing, detecting and acting on absenteeism, 2019 (Catalan) (Catalan Department of Education and Vocational Training) Guide: taking the register without signal

The academic and administrative system the Catalan Department of Education provides to its schools: pre-registration, enrolment, assessment, official reports, records and certificates. It is compulsory in the Department’s state schools and is gradually replacing the older SAGA.

Source: School organisation and management documents: economic, academic and administrative management (Catalan) (Catalan Department of Education and Vocational Training)

The note or message in which the family explains why the pupil was not in class. An absence without a note, or with a reason that is not accepted, counts as absenteeism, and each school’s rules must cover unexcused absence and lateness (Catalan Education Law 12/2009, art. 37.4).

Source: Law 12/2009 on Education (Catalonia), article 37 (Spanish) (BOE) How Auladia does it: attendance and absence notes

A pupil’s formal enrolment in a year group at a school, which the school records in the RALC register. According to the Department, to stay on at the school a pupil must have been enrolled and graded in the previous year’s final assessment reports.

Source: School organisation and management documents: economic, academic and administrative management (Catalan) (Catalan Department of Education and Vocational Training)

Pupils who need educational support for a recognised reason; NESE is the Catalan acronym and NEAE the Spanish one. The Department distinguishes special educational needs (NEE A, such as disability or autism spectrum disorder), needs arising from social or economic disadvantage (NEE B) and other NESE such as dyslexia, ADHD or high ability; they are recorded in the RALC.

Source: School organisation and management documents: inclusive education (Catalan) (Catalan Department of Education and Vocational Training)

The document in which the teaching team, coordinated by the form tutor, sets out the measures and support a particular pupil needs; it is governed by article 12 of Catalan Decree 150/2017 on inclusive schooling. The family and the pupil must be kept informed, and the originals go into the pupil’s academic file.

Source: School organisation and management documents: inclusive education (Catalan) (Catalan Department of Education and Vocational Training)

The application for a place at a publicly funded school for the following year, made in the window the Department sets each year. It is required for pupils who are not yet at school or who are changing stage and cannot stay at their current school.

Source: Pre-registration and enrolment (Catalan) (Government of Catalonia)

The single register of pupils in non-university regulated education in Catalonia, state and private: on first enrolment it gives each pupil an identifier that stays with them throughout their schooling. Pupils in adult, language, music, dance, higher arts, sports, distance or foreign education do not have one.

Source: Look up the pupil identifier (RALC) (Catalan) (Government of Catalonia, Tràmits gencat)

The official document that, at the end of each year, lists the pupils in the class, their grade in each subject and the decisions on moving up or repeating. It is closed at the end of the ordinary teaching period and the school must keep it available to the Inspectorate.

Source: School organisation and management documents: compulsory secondary education (Catalan) (Catalan Department of Education and Vocational Training) Guide: assessment records and academic history

The four grades used in primary and lower secondary in Catalonia, abbreviated in Catalan: not achieved (NA), satisfactory (AS), good (AN) and excellent (AE). These are the grades on the final report and in the information families receive.

Source: School organisation and management documents: primary education (Catalan) (Catalan Department of Education and Vocational Training) How Auladia does it: marks and school reports

The official document certifying a pupil’s studies: personal details, subjects taken each year, measures applied, results, promotion decisions and changes of school, approved by the head (Royal Decree 157/2022, art. 28). At the end of primary it is given to the family and a copy goes to the secondary school.

Source: Royal Decree 157/2022 on primary education, article 28 (Spanish) (BOE) Guide: assessment records and academic history

The written, qualitative report the teaching team issues to the family after each assessment meeting, with results, personal progress and, where relevant, support measures. Each school designs its own template.

Source: School organisation and management documents: primary education (Catalan) (Catalan Department of Education and Vocational Training) How Auladia does it: marks and school reports

Organic Law 3/2020 of 29 December, which amends the 2006 Education Act (LOE) through a single article. It is the national law on which the current curriculum and assessment decrees depend.

Source: Organic Law 3/2020 amending Organic Law 2/2006 on Education (Spanish) (BOE)

Supervision of children at school before lessons start. No general Catalan regulation governs it; it is an optional school service, and the Spanish VAT Act lists childcare outside school hours among exempt activities when provided by a public body or an authorised private one.

Source: Law 37/1992 on VAT, article 20.1.9 (Spanish) (BOE)

Activities the school plans as part of the curriculum, such as trips or residential stays, which may carry a charge. The LOE (art. 88) requires those needed for the curriculum to be organised so that no one is excluded for financial reasons, and in state-funded private schools any charge must be authorised by the education authority (LODE, art. 51).

Source: Organic Law 2/2006 on Education (LOE), article 88 (Spanish) (BOE)

Optional activities outside school hours, such as sport, languages or music. In state-funded private schools they may not be run for profit, may not form part of the school timetable and their fees must be approved by the school council (LODE, art. 51).

Source: Organic Law 8/1985 on the Right to Education (LODE), article 51 (Spanish) (BOE)

The association that families of a school’s pupils may set up; the Catalan Education Law calls it an association of pupils’ mothers and fathers. Its essential purpose is to help families take part in the school’s activities (Law 12/2009, art. 26).

Source: Law 12/2009 on Education (Catalonia), article 26 (Spanish) (BOE)

The substances causing allergies or intolerances that must be declared: the 14 listed in Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, such as gluten, egg, milk or tree nuts. Food served unpackaged to mass caterers, such as a school canteen, must also say which ones it contains.

Source: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, Annex II (EUR-Lex) How Auladia does it: school lunch, diets and allergies

The school’s optional lunch service. Since April 2026, Royal Decree 315/2025 requires schools to offer special menus for pupils with allergies or intolerances backed by a medical certificate, or the means to store and heat a meal brought from home (art. 10), and to share the monthly menu plan with families (art. 11).

Source: Royal Decree 315/2025 on healthy and sustainable food in schools, articles 10 and 11 (Spanish) (BOE) How Auladia does it: school lunch, diets and allergies

Transport of pupils between home and school, governed by Royal Decree 443/2001. An adult escort other than the driver must be on board whenever, on a coach, at least half the passengers are under twelve (art. 8), and under normal conditions a journey should not reach one hour each way (art. 11).

Source: Royal Decree 443/2001 on safety in school and child transport, articles 8 and 11 (Spanish) (BOE) How Auladia does it: school transport

The statement in which the maker of invoicing software certifies that it meets Spain’s invoicing software regulation. It is signed by the software producer, not the school, must be visible in each version and the customer may ask for it (Royal Decree 1007/2023, art. 13).

Source: Royal Decree 1007/2023 on invoicing software requirements, article 13 (Spanish) (BOE) Guide: VERI*FACTU for schools and academies

The payer’s right to ask their bank to reverse a direct debit. Under the SEPA Core scheme, for 8 weeks from the debit with no reason needed, and up to 13 months if the debit was not authorised (Royal Decree-law 19/2018).

Source: SEPA direct debits (Spanish) (Banco de España, SEPA España website) Guide: SEPA direct debit runs and returns

Education of children and young people, school and language teaching, and childcare at lunchtime or outside school hours are exempt from VAT when provided by a public body or an authorised private one (Law 37/1992, art. 20.1.9). Exempt does not mean no invoice.

Source: Law 37/1992 on VAT, article 20: exemptions (Spanish) (BOE) Guide: VERI*FACTU for schools and academies

The authorisation signed by the account holder allowing the school to collect by direct debit and the bank to pay. It can be on paper or electronic and lapses after 36 months without a debit.

Source: SEPA direct debits (Spanish) (Banco de España, SEPA España website) Guide: SEPA direct debit runs and returns

The notice the creditor sends the payer with the amount and date of the debit. It must go out at least 14 calendar days before collection unless the parties have agreed a different period, and one notice is enough for recurring debits.

Source: SEPA direct debits (Spanish) (Banco de España, SEPA España website) Guide: SEPA direct debit runs and returns

The charge a school makes to a family for a service or a fee, paid by the bank from the nominated account. Collecting it by direct debit needs the account holder’s prior, express and signed authorisation.

Source: Direct debits (Spanish) (Banco de España, Portal del Cliente Bancario) How Auladia does it: fees and SEPA direct debit

The file with all the debits for a period that the creditor sends to its bank for collection. It uses the ISO 20022 message format, which is the SEPA standard.

Source: SEPA direct debits (Spanish) (Banco de España, SEPA España website) Guide: SEPA direct debit runs and returns

The mode under Spain’s invoicing software regulation in which the software sends every invoicing record it creates to the Spanish Tax Agency, automatically and instantly (Royal Decree 1007/2023, art. 16). Invoices carry a QR code and the words «VERI*FACTU».

Source: Royal Decree 1007/2023 on invoicing software requirements, article 16 (Spanish) (BOE) Guide: VERI*FACTU for schools and academies

In Spain a child may consent to the processing of their own data from the age of fourteen; below that age, consent is given by those with parental authority or guardianship (LOPDGDD, art. 7).

Source: Organic Law 3/2018 on personal data protection, article 7 (Spanish) (BOE) Guide: GDPR, children and school photos

The person who oversees data protection compliance in an organisation. In Spain, schools offering regulated education must always appoint one (LOPDGDD, art. 34), publish the contact details and notify the supervisory authority within ten days.

Source: Organic Law 3/2018 on personal data protection, article 34 (Spanish) (BOE)

Each person’s right to decide whether their image is taken and published. A child consents personally if mature enough; otherwise the legal representative consents in writing (Organic Law 1/1982, art. 3).

Source: Organic Law 1/1982 on the right to honour, privacy and one’s own image, articles 3 and 7 (Spanish) (BOE) How Auladia does it: class photos and image consent

Anyone who processes personal data on behalf of the controller, such as the supplier of school management software (GDPR, art. 4(8)). The relationship must be governed by a contract setting out the subject matter, duration, purpose, type of data and each party’s obligations (GDPR, art. 28).

Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679, General Data Protection Regulation, articles 4 and 28 (EUR-Lex) Guide: choosing school management software

The information security framework set by Royal Decree 311/2022. It applies to the whole public sector and also to private companies that, under contract, provide services or solutions to public sector bodies (art. 2).

Source: Royal Decree 311/2022, National Security Framework (ENS), article 2 (Spanish) (BOE) Security at Auladia

Who the child lives with and how time is shared after a separation; it follows the parents’ agreed parenting plan or a court decision (Catalan Civil Code, art. 233-10). Separation does not change parental responsibilities, which remain shared (art. 233-8).

Source: Law 25/2010, Book Two of the Civil Code of Catalonia, on persons and the family: articles 233-8 and 233-10 (Spanish) (BOE) Guide: separated parents and the school

The duties and powers parents hold over their unemancipated minor children; the Catalan Civil Code calls it potestat parental (art. 236-1). Both parents exercise it jointly, but for ordinary acts each is presumed to act with the other’s consent (art. 236-8).

Source: Law 25/2010, Book Two of the Civil Code of Catalonia, on persons and the family: articles 236-1 and 236-8 (Spanish) (BOE) Guide: separated parents and the school

Whoever decides why and how personal data are processed (GDPR, art. 4(7)). At a school it is the school’s owner or governing body, even when it uses third-party software, whose suppliers act as processors.

Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679, General Data Protection Regulation, article 4 (EUR-Lex) Guide: GDPR, children and school photos