Public NurseriesBarcelona public nurseries or Guarderias are known as Escoles Bressol and offer a pre-school full-time learning environment to children aged 4 months to 3 years. Attendance must be for a minimum of 5 hours per day with limited entry and exit times. This is to ensure that places are taken by children whose parents need the advantages that state subsidised care offers. Hours are from 8am to 5pm and children may be taken home for lunch somewhere between 12.30pm and 2.30pm.
Unlike private guarderias, public nurseries close during holiday times so alternative care must be sought. Many parents prefer the Escoles Bressol to private guarderias as not only are they more economical, they also operate within a standardised system and hopefully therefore, under more public control. Others find the hours too restrictive and prefer to pay for more flexible options. It is also increasingly difficult to ensure a place as public guarderias are in popular demand. The Government is under constant pressure from parents demanding that more places be made available.
Public nurseries can often be attached to schools which means a bigger less manageable environment for some small children. Private Nurseries can be smaller and more intimate but, as a result, may lack the facilities and outdoor space offered by the public system.
Barcelona Escoles Bressol Website
Search for a Public Nursery by Barcelona district
The pre-inscription process takes place in May for the next September term. Earlier in the year, Open Days or Portes Obertes are organised to give parents a chance to visit the schools. As with school inscription, competition is fierce and your chances are improved or not depending on fixed criteria followed by a lottery system. See {ln:Applying for Schools}. |
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