Toy
Box Consulting
The Opportunity
Spain currently has more than a quarter of a million registered
British residents, and, as more and more British families are taking
the decision to emigrate to the sunshine and the good life, that
number is rising fast. Many of these new residents have children,
and those children need bi-lingual pre-schools and primary schools.
This fact, coupled with the ever-increasing interest of the Spanish
middle classes in educating their children in English, makes for
formidable business opportunities in the field of bi-lingual education
in this country.
The
Challenges
Given the daunting Spanish educational bureaucracy, it is not
easy to set up an international school in Spain. The system demands
certifications, projects and guarantees at every step of the process,
and all in Spanish, of course. There are dozens of issues to be
dealt with, from zoning and building permits, and accreditation
questions to the school lunch menu. Any one of these factors,
if not properly foreseen and brought under control from the beginning
can put a school project in jeopardy.
The
Consultant
In 1994, Julie Salmon initiated her career as an infant educator
in Granada for the simple reason that she couldn't find an adequate
infant school for her two-year-old
son. She had worked in Spain for 13
years as a British travel rep, so she had a fair knowledege of
the country and its people. But she was not expecting the complicated
and time-consuming process required to put in motion an English
infant school project. "I had no idea what I was getting
into," says Julie, "and I was completely on my own.
I would have given anything at the time to have been able to count
on the guidance of a person with some years of experience who
had already been through the process."
But
there was no one, and Julie "went through the process"
on her own, improvising as she went along. "I finally got
through it, but wouldn't wish it on anybody," she remarks
candidly. "That's why it has occurred to me to offer my services
to people who are about to embark upon foreign-language education
projects for the first time in Spain. "So, if you are considering
starting up an English nursery school, playgroup or academy in
Spain, you might first want to sit down and have a cup of tea
with Julie. She can be contacted here: enquiries@toyboxgranada.com.
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