Primary Education Curriculum

The Administration, through the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFD), after consulting the autonomous communities, establishes the basic elements of the curriculum (by means of Royal Decree 157/2022, which establishes the organisation and minimum teaching requirements for Primary Education, which are compulsory throughout the State in terms of objectives, competences, content and assessment criteria) in order to ensure common education for all pupils. These minimum teachings make up 50 percent of the school timetables in the Autonomous Communities with a co-official language and 60 percent for those without it.

The curriculum is understood as the set of objectives, competences (key and specific), contents (stated in the form of basic knowledge), pedagogical methods (through learning situations) and assessment criteria.

Royal Decree 157/2022, establishes the organisation and minimum teaching requirements for Primary Education.

Key competences

Key competences refer to the fundamental skills that all students must acquire in order to make progress in their education, facing both global and local challenges. These competences are essential for educational progress and, therefore, their inclusion in the curriculum is crucial to ensure a comprehensive education.

Integrating key competences into the curriculum involves designing learning activities that address several competences at the same time, as many of them are interrelated. Moreover, there is no direct correspondence between specific areas or subjects and the development of specific competences. On the contrary, each area contributes to the development of several competences, and each competence is acquired through work in several subjects, reflecting the crosscurricular nature of learning.

The key competences in the Spanish education system are: 

• linguistic communication skills;
• multilingual skills;
• mathematical competence and scientific, technological and engineering skills;
• digital skills;
• personal, social and learning to learn skills;
• citizenship skills;
• entrepreneurial skills;
• cultural awareness and expression skills.

These competences are the adaptation of the key competences set out in the European Union Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018.

Each key competence includes operational descriptors that provide guidance on the level of performance expected at the end of the Primary Education stage. These descriptors constitute, together with the stage objectives, a reference framework for determining the specific competences in each area, field or subject.

The key competences and their operational descriptors appear in the student output profile at the end of the Basic Education stage. The output profile identifies and defines, in connection with the challenges of the 21st century, the key competences that students will need to acquire at the end of Basic Education, and introduces guidelines on the level of performance expected at the end of Primary Education.

Objectives

The Primary Education curriculum also includes some stage objectives which are the achievements that students are expected to reach by the end of the stage. Their achievement is linked to the acquisition of key competences and they are listed in  article 7  of Royal Decree 157/2022.

These objectives contribute to promoting values such as respect for human rights, empathy, democratic coexistence and the prevention of violence, promoting equal rights and non-discrimination on grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual identity. The document also highlights the importance of developing social and emotional skills, such as peaceful conflict resolution, self-esteem and critical thinking, fostering responsibility and teamwork both at school and in everyday life. In addition, it highlights the appreciation of one's body, hygiene, health and empathy towards animals.

The curriculum also clearly mentions the importance of mastering Spanish and the co-official language, the acquisition of competences in a foreign language, the development of basic mathematical and technological skills, as well as knowledge in natural sciences, social sciences and history. Additionally, creative development is encouraged through artistic expression and the critical use of technology, as well as road safety and physical education, for an integral development that includes healthy mobility and safety.

Areas

The educational content or basic knowledge of primary education is organised in the following areas:

• Natural, social and cultural environment knowledge, which may be divided into Natural Sciences and Social Sciences;
• Arts Education, which may be divided into Plastic and Visual Education, on the one hand, and Music and Dance, on the other;
• Physical Education;
• Spanish Language and Literature and, if applicable, the co-official Language and Literature;
• Foreign Language;
• Mathematics.

Education in Civic and Ethical Values is added in some of the courses of the third cycle. In turn, education authorities may add a second foreign language, a co-official language or a cross-curricular area. As for schools, they can establish groups of areas within knowledge domains.

The annual average of teaching hours in Primary Education in 2023 was 854 hours (Education at a Glance.  OECD Indicators 2024. Spanish report. Image 3.13 [from chart D4.1], p. 130).

School timetable, expressed in hours, corresponding to the minimum teaching for primary education

Source: Annex IV of Royal Decree 157/2022, which establishes the organisation and minimum teaching requirements for Primary Education.

The curriculum of each area is made up of:

• Specific competences: performance levels that students must be able to display in learning activities or situations which require the basic knowledge of each area or field in order to be approached. They constitute an element of connection between, on one hand, the output profile and, on the other hand, the basic knowledge;
• Assessment criteria: reference points indicating the levels of performance expected of students in learning activities or situations referred to in the specific competences for each area;
• Basic knowledge: knowledge, skills and attitudes that constitute the contents of an area or domain. All of it is necessary for the acquisition of specific competences.

Royal Decree 157/2022 establishes the specific competences and the assessment criteria for each area, which are common to all the cycles of the stage. The basic knowledge is established for each cycle in each of the areas. The Education Administrations are responsible for establishing the corresponding curriculum for their territorial area.

They also establish the linguistic models organising the teaching of the official languages in their regions. They may establish that part of the subjects of the curriculum might be taught in a foreign language, without altering the basic aspects of the curriculum. By the end of the stage, students must master the terminology of the subjects in both languages. However, schools that offer part of the subjects of the curriculum in a foreign language cannot include language requirements as admission criteria for students.

The annual average of teaching hours in Primary Education in 2023 was 792 hours (Education at a Glance.  OECD Indicators 2023. Spanish report. Image 3.1 [from chart D1.1], p. 107.

The education authorities contribute to the development of the curriculum by encouraging the development of open models for teaching programmes and teaching materials which meet the different needs of students and teachers, in accordance with the principles of Universal Design for Learning. They should also urge schools to establish measures to make the organisation of areas, teaching, spaces and times more flexible and to promote methodological alternatives in order to personalise and improve the learning capacity and results of all pupils.

They are also in charge of determining the percentage of the school timetables that educational institutions will count on in order to guarantee the integrated development of all the competences in the educational stage and the incorporation of contents of a cross-curricular nature in all areas. They must as well make recommendations on teaching methodology to the educational institutions under their jurisdiction on the basis of the aims and general and pedagogical principles of the stage as a whole, regulated for the whole country. Finally, they are responsible of periodically reviewing the curricula in order to adapt them to the advances in knowledge, as well as to the changes and new demands of their local area, of Spanish society and of the European and international contexts.

The curriculum of primary education is organised into successive levels of concretion, which  progressively adapt to the specificities of the school environment and the pupils being attended. Accordingly, schools also play an active role, developing, completing and adapting the curriculum to the pupils' needs and to their environment. All this is contained in a series of documents that articulate their pedagogic and curricular organisation:

• the school development plan, which includes the application of the established curricula by the Education Administration;
• the annual general programme, drawn up at the beginning of each academic year to cover all aspects relating to the organisation and running of the school, including the curriculum;
• the classroom programmes;
• the written report at the end of the school year, which reflects and evaluates the school activities and the running of the school.

The educational community takes part in the elaboration of these documents through the respective government and coordination teaching bodies of the school. The curricula established by the Education Administration are set and approved by the school staff, as well as the educational aspects of the yearly general

Teaching methods and materials

Teaching Methods

The teaching methodology is the set of strategies, procedures and actions consciously and thoughtfully organised and planned by teachers with the aim of guaranteeing student learning and the attainment of the stated objectives.

Article 6 of Royal Decree 157/2022 establishes the methodological principles that must guide the teaching practice in primary education.

These principles focus on guaranteeing the inclusion and personalised attention of students, attending to their learning needs. This involves encouraging participation and coexistence, preventing learning difficulties and applying reinforcement mechanisms, flexibilisation or alternative methodologies as soon as problems are identified. In addition, the aim is for each student to acquire the key competences, as foreseen in the exit profile, through a comprehensive approach that cuts across all areas of learning.

Throughout all subjects, students should work on reading comprehension, oral and written expression, and audiovisual and digital competence, as well as promoting creativity, a scientific approach and entrepreneurship. Learning that is essential for the acquisition of other competences is given special attention. Gender equality, education for peace, responsible consumption, sustainable development and health, including affective-sexual education, are also promoted in all areas. Special importance is placed on educational guidance, tutorial action and education in values, encouraging a meaningful way of learning that promotes autonomy and reflection. Likewise, time must be devoted daily to encouraging the habit of reading, and part of the timetable is devoted to carrying out meaningful projects that favour collaborative problem solving, reinforcing self-esteem and responsibility.

With regard to language teaching, official languages are used only as support in the foreign language learning process, giving priority to comprehension and oral expression. Each school, within its own area of autonomy, defines the teaching methods and chooses the curricular materials. Teachers, in turn, are free to make methodological decisions in accordance with what has been agreed at school level and what has been established by the education authorities.

Curricular materials and teaching resources

Textbooks and teaching materials do not require the prior authorisation of the educational authorities for their adoption and publication. In any case, they must be adapted to the scientific standards appropriate to the students' ages and to the curriculum approved by each educational administration, as well as reflect and promote respect for the principles, values, freedom, rights and constitutional duties, as well as the principles and values set out in current educational laws and in  Organic Law 1/2004  on Comprehensive Protection Measures against Gender Violence, with which all educational activity must comply.

In the exercise of pedagogical autonomy, it is up to the educational coordination bodies of each public educational institution to decide on the textbooks and other materials to be used in the development of the different areas.

The supervision of textbooks and other curricular materials is the responsibility of the Education Administrations and constitutes part of the ordinary process of inspection carried out by each Education Authority on all the elements composing the teaching and learning process. In any case, it is necessary to ensure respect for the principles and values contained in the Constitution and the provisions of all regulations in force.

Families pay for textbooks and school materials. However, the MEFD promotes, within the Sectoral Committee for Education, programmes that facilitate the availability of textbooks at no cost and other curricular materials through a system of loans or grants. This Sectoral Committee, through the General Education Commission (support body), agrees on the objective criteria for distribution, as well as the amounts to be transferred in favour of each autonomous community in each budget year.

At the same time, there are a number of state, regional and local aids for the purchase of textbooks and school materials for students attending publicly-funded schools.

Finally, although various initiatives have been carried out to regulate the homework that students must do outside school hours, in Spain there is no specific legislation at a national level regulating this aspect. Consequently, in this respect the organisation is subject to the judgment of each teacher or the agreements reached at each school.

Information and Communication Technologies

Educational authorities and management teams at public schools should promote the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the classroom as an appropriate and valuable educational medium for carrying out teaching and learning tasks. The educational authorities must establish the conditions that make it possible to eliminate risk situations arising from the inappropriate use of ICT in the school environment, with special attention to situations of on-line violence. In accordance with the law, confidence and safety in the use of technologies must be fostered, paying special attention to the elimination of gender stereotypes that hinder the acquisition of digital skills under equal conditions.

The Digital Spain 2026 agenda, which includes the National Digital Competences Plan, establishes a series of actions to promote digitalisation, especially in the field of education. The main lines of action include the provision of digital resources to educational centres, the creation and implementation of a Digital Centre Plan and the incorporation of digital skills and programming into the curriculum. In addition, the European Commission's Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027, together with the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, will allow for an investment of more than 1.3 billion euros to digitise non-university educational stages in Spain.

Within this framework, the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFD), has launched the Improvement Plan for Digital Competence in Education (#CompDigEdu), as part of the National Digital Competences Plan. This programme seeks to ensure that teachers and students acquire digital competences at all levels of education. To this end, it is intended to provide equipment for a minimum of 240 000 classrooms, train 700 000 teachers and prepare or revise the digital strategy of at least 22 000 educational centres. The plan also envisages providing schools with 300 000 connected digital devices and certifying the digital skills of at least 80 % of all teaching staff, thus promoting the digital transformation of education.

The open educational resource network Procomún is a network of open educational resources (OER) for educational and learning uses, primarily by the teaching community and students, but also by the general public. It is possible to search, view and download learning objects in standard formats and with open licences for pre-university education. It integrates a social network as a meeting point for the educational community, which facilitates interaction with other users. At the same time, it incorporates semantic technology linking it to other similar digital networks (Europeana, Redined, National Library, Prado Museum, Hispana and Dbpedia).

These OER are under open license (Creative Commons España), which allows free access, as well as their use, modification and redistribution by others without any restriction or with limited restrictions.

Meanwhile, the EDIA Project (Educational, Digital, Innovative and Open) of the National Centre for Curriculum Development in Non-Proprietary Systems (CEDEC) promotes and supports the creation of digital and methodological transformation dynamics in schools to improve student learning and promote new models for educational institutions. To this end, it offers a collection of open educational resources (OER) that are curriculum-referenced and offer proposals for active methodologies and the promotion of digital competence in the classroom. 

The OER are created with the eXeLearning, authoring tool, so that any teacher can access them to use them directly, but also download them and modify them according to their classroom context. The OER of the EDIA project have generated networks of teachers who discuss the use of resources and technology in the classroom. This virtual faculty constitutes a framework for experimentation to propose new educational content models that develop aspects such as accessibility and topics such as gender equality or digital citizenship.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that in 2022, the MEFD created the School Code 4.0 Plan to help develop the digital skills of early childhood, primary and secondary school pupils. It is particularly focused on computational thinking, programming and robotics and provides for an investment of 1 600 000 euros in the 2023 budget year.