Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The official entrance age to pre-primary education was 3 years old in 2024, and the number of years of free pre-primary education granted in legal frameworks was 3. The number of years of compulsory pre-primary education granted in legal frameworks is not available. For 2023, the net enrolment rate for pre-primary for both sexes was 97.60%.
Governance
In Spain, the education system is highly decentralised, with responsibilities divided among several actors: the General State Administration (GSA), which includes the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, and Sports (MEFD) and the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (MCNU), as well as the autonomous communities, which have their own regional ministries and departments of education or universities. The financing system for the autonomous communities is governed by a multilateral agreement between them and the State, designed to ensure inter-territorial solidarity and maintain a consistent level of education spending as a fundamental public service across Spain. The autonomous communities enjoy significant management autonomy, including the authority to approve their own annual budgets and determine the allocation of resources.
Tuition-free status
Pre-primary education is tuition-free, according to laws and policies.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Each year, the state determines the amounts allocated to education in the General State Budget (PGE), including extraordinary funding under European fund plans and programmes to expand the provision of early childhood services and promote equity, and their distribution across various education stages. It directly manages public funds for Ceuta, Melilla, and overseas centres.
Autonomous communities manage public funds within their territories, deciding on allocation and distribution among different educational types, programs, and services, which they detail annually in their budgets. These funds come from transfers from the State based on parameters like population, tax revenues and other income available to the communities.
Though local authorities are not educational authorities, they collaborate with central and regional authoritieson educational policy and the creation, construction, and maintenance of public educational buildings. Their funds are sourced from tax revenues, other income, and transfers from the State and the respective autonomous community.
2. Education resources to institutions
Schools have pedagogical, organisational, and managerial autonomy within current legislation. By developing management plans, public schools determine the allocation and use of their resources. Educational authorities oversee these functions and can allocate more resources to specific public or private subsidised schools based on project needs or the special needs of the populations they serve.
The economic module per school unit is established annually in the General State Budget as a State reference, with autonomous community budgets required to meet or exceed the State reference.
The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, and Sports (MEFD) creates and manages a series of Territorial Cooperation Programmes which provide financing to the autonomous communities, contributing to inter-territorial solidarity and the compensation of inequalities. These are designed by the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports with the agreement of the autonomous communities. Their development and management are carried out, under the terms of the agreement signed by the competent educational administrations, which receive funding from the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, in accordance with the annual distribution criteria agreed for each specific programme. Programmes cover multiple sectors of education: remedial interventions, textbooks, inclusive education, and students’ mental health, amongst others.
Territorial cooperation programmes such as the programme for educational guidance, advancement, and enrichment (PROA+) target schools with high levels of educational complexity, including those located in rural areas, by providing resources to adapt educational projects to the specific needs of pupils. PROA+ promotes open and engaging learning environments and encourages personalised teaching approaches that foster inclusion, reduce underachievement, and prevent early school leaving. Consistent with the earlier PROA initiative, priority is given to schools serving a high proportion of pupils in situations of educational vulnerability.
Additionally, the inclusive education programme aims to strengthen inclusive education in early childhood education and the first two cycles of primary education (publicly funded schools) by increasing and better organising specialised resources, promoting early detection and intervention, and strengthening the role of families. In its implementation, priority is given to schools that incorporate measures such as co-teaching and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to reduce barriers and inequalities
3. Education resources to students and families
The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports annually provides direct financial support for families with students who have needs arising from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disabilities, severe behavioural disorders, or significant communication and language disorders related to special educational needs, autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This assistance covers the costs of registration fees, transportation, meals, accommodation, textbooks, school supplies, and pedagogical or language re-education.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
State, regional, and local administrations promote assistance programmes for families with children under 18, regardless of school age. They offer three types of assistance: direct, tax-related, and specific.
Social Security provides direct assistance through the child support supplement for those earning the minimum living wage for each minor household member, based on age as of January 1 of the fiscal year. Families with an income under €14,952/year (2024) for one child receive additional benefits, which increase with more dependents. This is a temporary measure, with no new applications accepted. Current beneficiaries will continue receiving support until they no longer qualify. It is incompatible with previous birth or adoption supplements aimed at large families, single-parent families, and parents with disabilities. Financial benefits are also available for multiple births or adoptions and for families with children with disabilities, regardless of income level, based on the child's degree of disability.
There are two types of tax benefits in the Personal Income Tax settlement, based on the number of children, the increase in the individual minimum income level for calculating the taxable base, and social security contribution deductions. Additionally, women with dependent children under three, whether self-employed or employed, are entitled to a deduction for each child in this age group. An extra aid will be added to this deduction if the worker incurs childcare costs in nursery schools during the fiscal year, and this aid is not limited by income. Specific financial support is also available for single-parent families, chronically ill parents, large families (three or more children), victims of gender-based violence, and their children under 25. Large families receive the most significant support, including transport discounts, preferential status for grants, fee reductions or exemptions, housing benefits, and certain tax benefits.
This profile was reviewed by Martha Villabona Villabona García, Deputy vice-director for Territorial cooperation and innovation in education, and by Marisa Hidalgo Hidalgo, Dr. and associate Professor at Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Seville).
