€2,600 per child: Andalusia makes nursery free for one-year-olds

Andalusia has 92,406 children under three in its nursery system this year, and 95 per cent of them now pay nothing for their place. The regional government announced it on 17 September 2026. One-year-olds are the new group. For a family, that is roughly €2,600 a year.

What was decided

Free places in the first cycle of educación infantil now cover one-year-olds as well. One age group more. According to the official statement of 17 September, 95 per cent of the 92,406 enrolled children pay nothing for the educational care service. Under-ones still rely on a means-tested bonificación: about 2,000 of the 6,481 babies in that age group.

Supply runs ahead of demand here. 2,226 centres, 29 more than last year, offer 125,682 places, while the region expects just over 106,000 children by the end of the year, Teleprensa reports, citing the Junta. Participation climbs to 60.14 per cent, up from 44.14 per cent in 2018.

Nursery stage in Andalusia, 2026/27 (source: Junta de Andalucía)

The jump sits with the one-year-olds: 37,552 children. Twelve months earlier the same place still carried a bill.

What this means for you as an expat

1. What is free, and what still lands on the bill

Free means the teaching place itself. Extras are not automatically included. The region puts the cost of that service at €240.53 per child per month, rising to €250.15 in January 2027, and it now carries that bill. Ask your centre what remains on the invoice, then feed that number into your cost of living in Andalusia plan.

2. The place exists. The paperwork still does too.

125,682 places for around 106,000 expected children: on paper, capacity is not the bottleneck. Getting the centre on your own street is. If you have just arrived, sort the empadronamiento first, because almost nothing in Spanish administration moves without it. For what comes after nursery, compare the Spanish school system with what you know from home.

3. Two years of language immersion, at no charge

For a family arriving from Germany, Austria or Switzerland, the money is the smaller half of this. A child who starts at one walks into primary school speaking Spanish. Parents do not get that for free, which is what language apps are for. The rest of the paperwork sits in our guide to moving to Spain with children.

Put childcare into your own budget

The ExpatAndalucia budget calculator shows within minutes what a free nursery place does to a family budget in Andalusia. Use the €2,600 per child as a starting figure, not a promise.