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SCHOOLS

How Spain plans to fix poor reading and math levels among pupils

After Spanish school children fell in the latest international PISA rankings, the Spanish government has unveiled plans to bolster maths and reading comprehension for millions of them across the country.

Published: 22 January 2024 13:10 CET
Spain education maths reading
In the PISA rankings released in 2023, Spain received its worst result in the report since 2000.(Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP)

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced a plan to bolster the country’s educational system.

Speaking at a Socialist (PSOE) event in A Coruña over the weekend, Sánchez stated that Spain’s Ministry of Education, headed by Pilar Alegría, is committing to a ‘reinforcement plan’ to improve maths skills and reading comprehension among Spanish students, subjects widely discussed among parents and teachers following a poor showing in the latest PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) report compiled by the OECD.

The plan will benefit 4.7 million students across Spain and be backed up by a budget of over €500 million spread across the duration of the current legislature, although the exact amount has not yet been finalised.

It will principally be aimed at eight school years, covering pupils from the third year of primary school up to 4th ESO, the fourth and final year of secondary school before students decide to study for university entrance (known as ‘bachillerato’) or take on more vocational training study type programmes (known as ‘formación profesional’ or FP).

READ ALSO: Is doing vocational training in Spain worth it?

“We are not going to stop, especially in education. In these times in which we find ourselves, it is important that we are aware, in the light of the OECD reports, that despite the efforts of students and teachers, there are subjects that are difficult to crack. And that’s why the government is going to make a plan for all the young people who are studying in our country today,” Sánchez said.

The Prime Minister added that the government would work “hand in hand with the educational community” to implement the plan.

In order to achieve this, the government aims to reduce the number of students per classroom in maths classes during school hours, from 25 to around 12 or 14 per class. Outside of school hours, extra teachers will be used to support students having difficulties, and a teacher training plan will be implemented to help teachers improve their maths lessons.

Spain’s opposition, the Partido Popular (PP), responded to the plans by criticising the “shortcomings” of the education system. PP sources told laSexta the party believes the struggles of Spanish students in maths and reading is “the responsibility of a socialist educational model that enshrines the law of minimum effort.”

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The PP also called for Sánchez to show to “willingness to discuss with the opposition and regions to ‘improve the system.'”

In the PISA rankings released in 2023, Spain received its worst result in the report since 2000. However, there was an overall global downward trend in scores in the 2023 edition, so despite falling in the rankings Spain was actually closer to both the OECD and EU averages than ever before. Education experts put the downward trend around the world down to a post-pandemic slump.

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PROPERTY

BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Though many people hang laundry, plants, and flags from their balcony, in Spain the rules on what you can and can't do on 'el balcón' are not well-known.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:13 CEST
Updated: 11 May 2024 08:31 CEST
BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Imagine the scene: you’ve just bought or signed the lease on your dream apartment. It’s bright and airy, with plenty of space, and even has a nice-sized balcony to get some fresh air on. You can do whatever you want there, right? 

Not exactly. In Spain the rules on what you can and can’t do on a balcony (even if it’s private) depend on a few factors, namely the regional and local rules, as well as getting the approval of the building’s homeowner’s association – known in Spain as la comunidad.

Some of them might just surprise you.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

There are four main things or activities on balconies that could potentially put you on the wrong side of the local rules and even get you fined: barbecues, plants, laundry, and flags.

In all cases (even if you don’t think you’re breaking any rules) you’ll generally need to consider two things: firstly, does this affect or change the building’s façade? And secondly: will la comunidad allow it?

Barbecues

In Spain there is no national law prohibiting barbecues on private property, so in principle it is legal as long as the barbecue is lit in a private space such as your own balcony, garden or terrace, and not a shared space.

Often in Spain, the roof (usually referred to as la terrazza) is a shared space people use for storage and hanging their laundry, so be sure to check with the comunidad.

In terms of your own balcony, however, although there’s no law saying outright you can’t have a barbecue, you’ll need to take into account the rules and regulations in force in each locality or region. There may also be specific rules within the building that long-term homeowners have developed over the years.

As we will see, many of these low-level regulations are delegated to local governments and town halls in Spain, so the answer to these sorts of questions is usually: it depends where you are.

However, according to Article 7 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, “the owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities.”

This basically gives your neighbours the right to complain about noise, smells, smoke and any possible fire risk in or around their building, which barbecues could plausibly fall under.

As with co-living anywhere in the world, regardless of the regional or local rules, employ some common sense: be reasonable, listen to neighbour’s concerns and take up any disputes with the President of la comunidad.

READ ALSO: What you need to know before having a barbecue in Spain

Plants

Again, with plants the responsibility falls on each local authority to set the rules. In Spain, most regions and town halls state that, as long as the architectural or structural elements of the building are not changed or weakened in any way, putting plants on your balcony is permitted.

However, note that many terraces and balconies do have maximum weight regulations that must be respected in order to guarantee their safety, which is 200kg per square metre. If this figure is exceeded (and it can be proved) you could theoretically be fined.

Laundry

Laundry lines criss-crossing the streets might be one of the more picturesque images of Spanish life, but the people doing it might actually be breaking the rules.

How do you know? You guessed it, it depends where you. You’ll need to check with your local authority on this one, though municipal regulations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia all regulate hanging laundry from your balcony, which is again outlined in the Horizontal Property Law.

This principally seems to be because it affects the façade of the building (a common theme when it comes to balcony rules in Spain).

In places with rules about hanging laundry from balconies, you could be fined up to 750 euros if you don’t comply with the rules.

However, according to Foto Casa, even if you live in an area where there are no bans or penalties against hanging laundry on the balcony, you’ll still likely need the permission of la comunidad.

READ MORE: Spain’s weirdest laws that foreigners should know about

What about flags?

Whether it be the Spanish flag, the Catalan, Valencian or Andalusian flags, or LGBT, trade union or football team flags, flags proudly hanging from balconies is another mainstay of Spanish life.

It’s also one of the more controversial ones too, especially within comunidad meetings. Hanging flags on the balcony, as well as allegedly altering the aesthetics and security of the building (the same concern as with laundry) often has ideological connotations that can cause conflict.

Again, as with laundry, hanging flags on the balcony will require the approval of all the owners within the community, something that must be agreed at a meeting, as per the Horizontal Property Law.

However, if the flag is placed inside the property, as it is a private property, fellow homeowners cannot oppose it, even if it is visible from the street, according to Foto Casa.

Nudity 

Article of 185 of Spain’s Penal Code only considers being naked at home to be obscene exhibitionism and sexual provocation if it affects minors, in which case it is punishable with a fine or up to a year in prison.

Therefore, you could technically sunbathe shirtless or naked on your balcony in most cases without getting into trouble, although it won’t necessarily go down well with your neighbours and/or flatmates and you be reprimanded for it.

READ ALSO: Can you go shirtless or wear a bikini in the street in Spain?

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