CONFEDERACIÓN ESPAÑOLA
DE CENTROS DE ENSEÑANZA

C/ Marqués de Mondéjar, 29-31
28028 Madrid
Tel. ++34/917257909
Fax: ++34/917261117

The Spanish Confederation of Teaching Centres (CECE) is a non-profit employers´ organization founded in 1977 that represents an ample educational sector in Spain. It has branches all over the Autonomous Communities via Federations and Associations in numerous provinces of Spain. Each one of the federations represents teaching centres within regulated and non-regulated sectors.

One of the main objectives of the CECE is to put at reach of the member companies all the advantages of the association and thus:

· To coordinate and unite forces in an attempt to face common problems.
· To conceive and maintain its own service to the members.
· To encourage private initiative.
· To represent its members in the negotiation of pacts, agreements and collective agreements so as to establish relations with professional organizations that represent the teaching and other staff of the centres as well as with public entities.

Its primary vocation being to provide service, the CECE represents the priorities of its members among which are the following organizations:

· AECAM - State Association of Music Teaching Centres
· FEM - Federation of Music Schools and Non-Regulated Music Centres of the Spanish State.
· ANESTUR - The National Association of Schools of Tourism.
· ANCEPE - The National Association of Hairdressers and of Aesthetics.
· CECAP - The Spanish Confederation of Centres and Private Academies.
· OMAT - The World Organization of Arts and Mechanics.
· AEDIS - The Association of Companies of the Disabled.
· FECI-The Association of Child Education.

The following are the number of centres that belong to the CECE as for today:

Level	Number of Centres	Number of Teacher	Number of Students
Maternity	1.180	9.440	129.800
Academies	1.320	7.920	435.600
Primary School	1.160	16.240	290.000
Secondary Education	910	10.920	136.500
High-School	420	3.360	33.600
Professional Education	680	14.280	71.400
Special Education	750	12.000	71.250
Higher Education/University	3	450	7.500
TOTAL	6.423	74.610	1.175.650

- SERVICES -

INSTITUTIONAL SERVICES

· Representation of the sector in collegial bodies.
· Management of updating educational projects.
· Negotiation of collective agreements in the sector.
· Institutional presence in the Spanish Confederation of Employers´ Associations and in other national and international organizations of which it forms part.
· Relations with other organizations and institutions.
· Representation in the GENERAL COUNCIL OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION.
· Representation in the SCHOLAR STATE COUNCIL.
·Representation of the centres in the Quality of Spain Management Club where the CECE is present in the Government and Executive Commissions.

SPECIFIC SERVICES AND DIRECT-TO- CENTRE SERVICES

· Legal consulting in the following areas:

- fiscal
- employment
- administrative

· Technical consulting in the following areas:

- organizational
- educational
- economic

· Insurance management services to centres.

· Constant employment proposals for a better selection of the teaching staff.

· General information services on:

- The sector agreements
- Special legislation
- Additional services and/or activities
- Other

INSTITUTIONS-ASSOCIATES

CECE forms part of the following international associations:

· ESHA - European School Headmasters Association (www.esha.org). CECE holds the Spanish presidency of the association.
· EFVET - European Forum for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (www.efvet.org). The CECE holds the Spanish presidency of the association.
· ECNAIS - European Council of National Associations of Independent Schools (www.ecnais.org)
· OIDEL - organization in favour of the liberty of teaching.

THE EDUCATIONAL TECHNIQUES INSTITUTE OF CECE (ITE-CECE)

The ITE-CECE is an investigation and management institute. It comprises the following centres so as to respond to the necessities of the sector.

1. QUALITY EDUCATION

The QUALITY FOR EDUCATION PROGRAMME directed by The Educational Techniques Institute of the Spanish Confederation of Teaching Centres (ITE- CECE) has already many years of experience behind it and has achieved concrete results:

ITE is a member of the following associations:

· FUNDIBQ - the Latin America Foundation of Quality
· AEC - the Spanish Association of Quality
· CGC - Quality of Spain Management Club where CECE forms part of the Government and Executive Committees.

The CECE has applied and owns, together with the Quality of Spain Management Club, the application of the European Quality Model to the educational sector in Spain. By January 2004 the CECE has introduced the European Quality Model in 250 centres across Spain. Furthermore, 9.500 teacher of Spanish centres have been formed within the framework of the European Quality Model. It also has a network of consultants who intervene in facilitating the introduction of quality systems in the educational sector.

The CECE is implied in the projects of introduction and educational quality evaluation in five Southern American countries.

The network of consultants is active in all the Autonomous Communities of Spain.

The investigation projects undertaken by the CECE in order to improve the quality of educational centres are based on the following key points:

· To update and apply the European Quality Model to these companies.
· The introduction and the follow-up of the quality methods using the services of consultants.
· To maintain the network of quality evaluators in education.
· Study and information releases.
· To organize special events, etc.

Each year the CECE organises the European Quality Week in the non-university educational sector with massive presence in all the Spanish provinces.

2. TECHNOLOGY FOR EDUCATION

There are various activities within the Technology department of the ITE-CECE. Some of them are:

· To evaluate the quality of the teaching centres
· To conclude agreements with the providers of technology for schools
· Initiated the first integral project of introduction of technologies and information systems in schools using:

- Team evaluation
- Evaluation of the training needs
- Agreements with providers and publishing houses, etc.
- Creation of a network of consultants and evaluators in technology for educational centres
- Introduction of special services and applications targeted on educational centres

OTHER SERVICES IN TECHNOLOGY

· Internet connection of the centres (classrooms, departments, etc.) available for teachers and students.
· Instalment and configuration services of networks and classrooms
· Multimedia design (simulators, systems on-demand,…) / web (homepages, web gates, etc…)
· Services of animation and creation of systems of virtual training.
· Distribution of software licences of educational and professional nature.
· Hardware/software maintenance.

In order to be able to carry out these activities, the CECE maintains work agreements with its numerous providers of materials, equipments and many other products.

3. TRAINING

The main ambition of the training department of the ITE of the CECE is to provide continuous training to different levels of private education sector: Maternity, Primary, Secondary, Professional education and non regulated education. Among its functions the most important ones are as follows:

· Negotiation and evaluation of strategic lines and national projects of the continuous training, being member of Equal Commissions of FORCEM of educational sectors such as that for children, private education, special education, etc.
· National funds management (FORCEM, MECD, Education Advisory, and other organisms) to carry out training projects within the sector.
· Participation in national studies over the need in continuous training in the educational sector.
· Training projects design
· Elaboration, development and application of continuous training projects for teachers and executives of companies in educational sector and more specifically in Administration and Management of Education, Absolute Quality, New Technologies and scientific-didactical actualisation.

4. PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

The CECE is represented directly or indirectly in:

· The Spanish Council of Professional Training where it holds the vice presidency.
· The Consultative Committee of Professional Training of the European Union.

The ITE organises events, seminars and special days to improve the quality of the professional training. Also, the ITE belongs to the red REFER to diffuse themes in relation with professional training.

5. EUROPEAN PROJECTS

The European Educational Network created in 1995 by the ITE and integrated in the CECE, is an association of Spanish educational centres that bring into evidence their interest and willingness to integrate the policy and activities of the European Union.

These centres receive information on recent trends and programmes of the European Union, search associates, elaborate projects, effectuate exchanges, etc. with the help of institutional services developed by the institute.

Thus it coordinates and develops new projects together with its European associates of these associations.