Guidelines approved for subsidizing private nurseries for the 2026-2027 academic year

The Department of Education and Vocational Training has approved the guidelines that shall govern the subsidies intended for the schooling of children from zero to three years old in privately owned nursery schools during the 2026-2027 academic year. This is done through Order EDF/217/2026, of November 3, signed by Minister Esther Niubó Cidoncha and published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC) no. 9790, of November 9, 2026, under the Other provisions section and with the reference CVE-DOGC-A-26309039-2026. The grants are awarded on a non-competitive basis and must be fully applied to the fees paid by families.

The regulation implements the mandate of Agreement GOV/129/2022, of June 21, for the consolidation of funding for the third year of the first cycle of early childhood education and the promotion of funding for the first and second years, which requires guaranteeing a public call for subsidies to private nursery schools so that they may apply proportional discounts to families. Government Agreement GOV/162/2026, of July 7, which modifies the previous one, establishes a fixed amount of 1,000.00 euros per student per year, plus an additional 1,000.00 euros per student per year for vulnerable students, starting from the 2026-2027 academic year.

The measure is part of the Government Plan of the XV legislature (2024-2028), approved on December 23, 2024, which maintains the momentum toward the progressive gratuity of the zero-to-three stage as a means to expand access to early education, reduce social inequalities, and facilitate work-family balance. The aid line is identified with the code PES25-28_EDF0020 of the department’s Strategic Subsidy Plan 2025-2028.

Recipients and Granting Procedure

Privately owned centers authorized by the Department of Education and Vocational Training to provide first-cycle early childhood education may be beneficiaries. The procedure is resolved without comparing applications, granting the aid according to available funds, and the call as well as the instructing and resolving body are those determined in each call.

Centers must comply with the general requirements of Article 13 of Law 38/2003, of November 17, general subsidies law, and also:

• Respect the accessibility rights of people with disabilities.
• Declare if other grants have been requested or obtained for the same activity.
• Prove the consistency between the registered ownership in the Register of Centers and the actual ownership.
• Be up to date with tax obligations to the State and the Generalitat and with Social Security.
• Comply with the payment terms of Law 3/2004 when the grant exceeds 30,000 euros.
• Communicate the remuneration of management bodies when more than 10,000.00 euros are requested.
• Ensure that staff in regular contact with minors possess a negative certificate from the Central Register of Sexual Offenders.

Fees, imports and payment

The declared purpose is to collaborate in the financing of the nursery school so that the amount of the grant is fully passed on to the families’ fees. The guidelines refer to the call for the maximum amount allocated, the budget application, and the amount per beneficiary person; in no case can the grant exceed the cost of the activity or the amount requested.

The aid is compatible with other grants for the same purpose, but the sum cannot exceed the cost of the activity. Payment will be made in two installments: an advance of 90% once the call has been resolved and the remaining 10% after verifying the requirements and the justification, which is processed via the module modality. The beneficiary person cannot subcontract the subsidized activity.

Obligations and control

The central obligation is to fully pass the aid on to the fees and inform families before enrollment, differentiating between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries and indicating whether the discount applies from the start of the course or if the amount is returned once the granting resolution is published.

Centers are subject to verification actions by the instructing body, the General Intervention of the Generalitat, the Audit Office (Sindicatura de Comptes), and other competent bodies, and must keep expense receipts. Information on calls and grants is processed in the Register of Grants and Aid of Catalonia and in the national grants database.

Deadlines and appeals

The guidelines enter into force the day after publication in the DOGC, that is, November 10, 2026. Other planned deadlines:

• 10 business days to correct defects in the application or respond to requests.
• 15 business days to resolve requests for modification of the granting resolution.
• 12 months, extendable by up to 6 more, to conclude a reimbursement procedure.
• One month to file an appeal for reversal and two months for contentious-administrative proceedings before the High Court of Justice of Catalonia.

Once the maximum deadline of the call has expired without an express resolution, the application is understood to be rejected by administrative silence.

The regulation arrives while the course is already underway and sets the rules of the game for families who enroll their son or daughter in a private center of the first cycle: the discount on the fee is not automatic or universal, but rather depends on the call for applications issued by the order and the status of the beneficiary. For the centers, the order turns the full pass-through of the aid and transparency towards families into verifiable requirements, with possible reimbursement and sanctions in case of non-compliance.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya, no. 9790, November 9, 2026, Other provisions (official reference: CVE-DOGC-A-26309039-2026).