The school year begins with a new measure that has been long demanded by many families in recent years: a complete ban on cell phones and smartwatches throughout all stages of compulsory education, even when used for educational purposes. It was announced by the Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, at the end of last year.. Likewise, the use of digital tablets is also expected to be gradually limited in early childhood education (ages three to five), although "sufficient availability" of these devices will be guaranteed for specific uses in the other educational stages. Niubó also announced a "progressive restriction" on the use of digital whiteboards in preschool classrooms, while these would remain in place in the upper stages. This restriction, however, would not apply to the laptops given to secondary school students. But how does the educational community view this?

The new school year begins, and the challenge remains improving academic performance. After the disaster of the latest proficiency tests and, above all, the 2023 PISA tests, the government's objective is to take steps to strengthen the education system so that results ultimately improve. This is undoubtedly a national project that everyone agrees on, although there is not the same consensus regarding how to achieve it. In fact, educational centers do not have it easy.

On August 29 and 30 – just a few days before teachers in Catalonia returned to their schools to prepare for the arrival of students this Monday–, more than 50 countries from around the world gathered in Chile to sign the Santiago Consensus, a historic agreement promoted by UNESCO.

As teacher And as a mother, I confess that September is my favorite month of the year. We're back at it again. I love choosing a new planner and starting the school year with the excitement of doing everything right. It's like when I was little, I'd open a new notebook, write a pretty title, and write the first two pages in beautiful handwriting. September is like that; it's the month of good intentions, blank pages, and long days that still smell of summer. Even our children are thinking, "This year I'll definitely do everything right and get great grades." We'll talk again in June.

There are families who have had September 8th marked on their calendars for days. And there are also children who are already looking forward to returning to school to see their friends and resume routines. However, there may be someone who is return becomes heavy for him, who finds it hard to get up early again, or who find moving to a different school or college a mountain to climb. That's why we're giving you some easy-to-follow tips to make returning to your routine more enjoyable.

The start of classes in Catalonia is fast approaching. We review the key dates for the 2025-2026 school year, which is marked by a significant drop in student numbers in the region's schools and secondary schools and a complete ban on cell phones in classrooms.

The 2025/26 school year will start normally. This was confirmed by the Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, in an interview on Catalunya Ràdio. The head of the department stated that after the error that has invalidated the allocation of 57,000 places The teaching staff is concerned about "the intervention of a person who made a unilateral decision" that "violated regulations." Someone ignored the department's resolutions and caused "serious incidents": 800 positions that should have been filled by civil servants were instead reserved for temporary teachers. Following complaints from some teachers, the Education Department halted the process and will announce the new assignments early next week after working all weekend to resolve the situation. In total, some 3,000 teachers out of 57,000 candidates will see their assignments change. However, according to Niubó, it will be for the better: "Given the exclusion of these 800 positions, it will improve."

The fifth wave, even if it is slowly going downhill, will have left us with a bittersweet summer and augurs a return to work and to the classroom in September that will once again be marked by health security. With the covid-19 pandemic we have learned that, just when you think you can see the end of the tunnel, there is a new twist and uncertainty returns. The mutations of the virus do not give respite. Now we have the delta variant, but coming from Peru (and expanding to other Latin American countries) the lambda variant is also beginning to appear in the Iberian Peninsula, on which there are still few studies and data. In addition, we have also seen the limits of vaccination, which despite being absolutely necessary and demonstrating its effectiveness, on the one hand it is not infallible - and on the other hand it is hard to reach the entire population: right now it has slowed the good pace of vaccination that had been achieved.