Spain - British Expat Forum

My husband and I along with our two daughters (currently 1 & 4) are looking at moving to the Costa Blanca next year. We are currently searching areas and school's and nurseries are a main priority for us and would like both our children to attend a state school.
In the UK we have Ofsted who go around schools accessing them then writing reports on how good or bad a school is which is then available online for parents to see. Is there anything like this in Spain? I am strugling on how to find out if state schools are any good and this would then help on locating to an specific area. We are looking at South Costa Blanca somewhere between Torrevieja and Elche (I knw this is a big scale!!)
Can anyone advise of any websites or good state schools where I can find out if it is any good. My husband and I are coming out in November to have a look around but if I could pinpoint some areas before we go it would save us driving around and around.
Thanks you in advance

There are no rankings or similar for Spanish primary schools, at least not for Valencia or Murcia, the regions you are interested in. You might be able to get hold of the figures for children that have passed their term exams - but i doubt that would reflect much on the quality.
There really no internal structure in the Spanish school system - Headmasters are elected each year from the teaching pool and depending on the center this can be seen as a short straw. The headmaster has no power over firing or hiring of teachers (teachers can't be fired except in extreme cases). The individual school budgets are minimal and the system implemented is in large part, down to the region you live in rather than the institution and the quality and dedication of the individual teachers in the school.
Your best bet is to talk to parents. Perhaps look for smaller communities where the parents may take a more active part in the schools. There are some excellent council nurseries, but again this will vary a lot from town to town.

Good luck.