---
title: "Personalised learning in primary school: what it means and how to spot it"
description: Descubre cómo la educación personalizada en primaria adapta el aprendizaje a cada niño, respetando sus ritmos y promoviendo el bienestar emocional.
image: https://blog.terraec.es/hubfs/Terra%20educacion%20personalizada.png
---

[Skip to content](https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/educacion-personalizada-en-primaria-qué-significa-y-como-reconocerla#main-content)

[![240614 LOGO TERRA COLOR tz](https://blog.terraec.es/hs-fs/hubfs/240614%20LOGO%20TERRA%20COLOR%20tz.png?width=87&height=49&name=240614%20LOGO%20TERRA%20COLOR%20tz.png "240614 LOGO TERRA COLOR tz")](https://www.terraec.es)

- THE TERRA SCHOOL 
    - [About Terra School](https://terraec.es/escuela-consciente/)
    - [Innovative educational methodology](https://terraec.es/metodologia-educativa-innovadora/)
    - [The Terra team](https://terraec.es/equipo-terra/)
- EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS 
    - [Early Childhood Education (Seeds)](https://terraec.es/oferta-educativa-infantil/)
    - [Primary education (outbreaks)](https://terraec.es/educacion-primaria/)
    - [Secondary and High School (leaves and fruits)](https://terraec.es/bachillerato/)
- [CONSCIOUS EDUCATION](https://terraec.es/educacion-consciente/)
- [BLOG](https://blog.terraec.es/blog)
- [ADMISSIONS](https://terraec.es/matricula/)

English

- [Català - Català](https://blog.terraec.es/ca-es/blog/educacion-personalizada-en-primaria-que-significa-y-como-reconocerla)
- [Español - España](https://blog.terraec.es/blog/educacion-personalizada-en-primaria-qu%C3%A9-significa-y-como-reconocerla)
- [English](https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/educacion-personalizada-en-primaria-qu%C3%A9-significa-y-como-reconocerla)

 Nov 1, 2026, 8:15:00 AM

# Personalised learning in primary school: what it means and how to spot it

![Picture of Borja Vilaseca](https://blog.terraec.es/hs-fs/hubfs/Borja%20Vilaseca.jpeg?width=50&name=Borja%20Vilaseca.jpeg) [Borja Vilaseca](https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/author/borja-vilaseca)

Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/educacion-personalizada-en-primaria-qué-significa-y-como-reconocerla) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/educacion-personalizada-en-primaria-qué-significa-y-como-reconocerla) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/educacion-personalizada-en-primaria-qué-significa-y-como-reconocerla) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/educacion-personalizada-en-primaria-qué-significa-y-como-reconocerla) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/educacion-personalizada-en-primaria-qué-significa-y-como-reconocerla)

A primary school offers personalised learning when it systematically adapts pace, challenges and support to each child while still following the official curriculum. Emotional respect shows in how conflicts, mistakes and changes are handled.

### **What does personalised learning mean in primary school?**

Personalising means adjusting how and when each child learns, not lowering what they need to learn. It does not mean everyone does as they please: it means organising the school so that different paces fit within one group.

In Catalonia, primary schools follow a curriculum set by the regional government, and personalised learning is one of its teaching principles: schools must use methods that take into account pupils' different paces, learning variability and cognitive styles ([Decree 175/2022, article 3](https://portaljuridic.gencat.cat/eli/es-ct/d/2022/09/27/175), in Catalan). At Terra Conscious School, in Valldoreix (Sant Cugat del Vallès), personalised attention is one of the pillars of our approach: there are at most ten children per learning coach ([frequently asked questions about Terra](https://terraec.es/en/faqs/)), and our spaces are designed for independent learning.

### **How does it fit with the official curriculum?**

It fits because personalisation is a way of teaching the curriculum, not an alternative. Public and private schools in Catalonia must align their teaching with the [current primary curriculum](https://xtec.gencat.cat/ca/curriculum/primaria/curriculum-175-2022/), published in Catalan by the Catalan government's education department, and are free to decide how (Decree 175/2022, article 1.6).

At Terra we follow the official curriculum and enrich it with the 11 dimensions of Conscious Education, our own pedagogy: technological, ecological, entrepreneurial, financial, artistic, scientific, social, communicative, emotional, corporal and spiritual. Our progress rubrics link the competences of each curriculum area to those dimensions, as explained in [how primary works at Terra](https://terraec.es/en/primary-education-offer/).

### **What role does emotional wellbeing play?**

Emotional wellbeing is part of primary education itself: Spanish education law asks schools to pay special attention to emotional education ([Organic Law of Education, article 19.2](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2006-7899), in Spanish). You can recognise it in everyday school life: whether a conflict is worked through rather than only punished, whether mistakes are treated as part of learning and whether changes are handled with care.

In primary we hold emotional circles every week and see mistakes as a sign of learning. We support children through conflicts, frustration and transitions, as we describe in [how we support emotional development](https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/emotional-intelligence-children-respectful-education?hsLang=en).

### **How is each child's progress followed?**

Through global, continuous and formative assessment, as the regulations require ([Royal Decree 157/2022, article 14](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2022-3296), in Spanish, and Decree 175/2022, article 23). Research on formative assessment in general, not on Terra, links frequent feedback with substantial learning gains ([Black and Wiliam, 1998](https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102)).

At Terra we speak of monitoring rather than assessment: each child reflects on their progress with their learning coach's support, there is peer feedback, and a mentor learning coach proposes a personalised pathway in one-to-one mentoring sessions. **\[Pendiente de validar por Terra: qué se registra del progreso de cada niño o niña y con qué frecuencia\]**

### **Do mixed-age groups help or hold children back?**

Classic reviews, now dated, show no clear effect of mixing ages. One synthesis found no difference in achievement between mixed-age and single-age classes ([Veenman, 1995](https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543065004319)). A later critique concluded that classes combining year groups because of low numbers or other organisational needs have at least a small negative effect ([Mason and Burns, 1996](https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543066003307)); it does not cover classes that mix ages by pedagogical choice. The Catalan curriculum allows multi-level classes (Decree 175/2022, article 2).

Terra's primary stage is organised in two age bands: 6 to 9 (now open) and 9 to 11, planned to open in September 2027. Depending on the moment, children learn in same-age or mixed-age groups; in the first band, ages 6 to 9, this combination helps with reading, writing and mathematical thinking.

### **What should you ask on a school visit?**

On your visit, ask for examples of how progress is recorded, how learning is adapted for children who need more time and how families are kept informed. You may also find our guide to choosing an active early years school useful.

What to ask on the visit and what answer to look for

| Sign | What to ask | What to look for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Individual monitoring | What is recorded about each child's progress, and how often? | Examples of rubrics or records and their frequency |
| Fit with the curriculum | How does your approach relate to the official curriculum? | Which areas are covered and how |
| Reading, writing and maths | How do you adjust for children who need more time? | Groups by level and extra support time |
| Keeping families informed | Which reports and meetings are there each school year? | A calendar with dates |

### **Frequently asked questions**

#### **How many years does primary school last, and at what ages?**

Six school years, normally between the ages of 6 and 12 (Organic Law of Education, article 16).

#### **What happens if a child is ahead of or behind their group?**

The regulations require support measures as soon as a difficulty is detected and provide for flexible arrangements (Royal Decree 157/2022, article 14.2, and Organic Law of Education, article 19.1). At Terra, materials allow children to learn at different paces and the mentor learning coach adapts each child's pathway. **\[Pendiente de validar por Terra: un ejemplo concreto de adaptación\]**

#### **How do families know how their child is doing?**

In Catalonia, after each assessment period the school must inform families through written reports, one-to-one meetings or group meetings, with at least one one-to-one meeting each school year and a group meeting at the start of each year (Decree 175/2022, article 24.18). Results are reported on a four-level scale: excellent, very good (notable), satisfactory achievement, or not achieved (article 29.2). At Terra, the child, the family and the learning coaches all take part in monitoring. **\[Pendiente de validar por Terra: formato y frecuencia de las entrevistas o informes a las familias\]**

To ask us these questions in person, you can [schedule a visit to Terra](https://terraec.es/en/contact/).

[Conscious Education](https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/tag/conscious-education)

[![240614 LOGO TERRA COLOR tz](https://blog.terraec.es/hs-fs/hubfs/240614%20LOGO%20TERRA%20COLOR%20tz.png?width=100&height=57&name=240614%20LOGO%20TERRA%20COLOR%20tz.png "240614 LOGO TERRA COLOR tz")](http://terraec.es)

Copyright © 2026, Revolutionary School SLU

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Borja Vilaseca",
    "url" : "https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/author/borja-vilaseca"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-11-01T07:15:00.528Z",
  "datePublished" : "2026-11-01T07:15:00.000Z",
  "headline" : "Personalised learning in primary school: what it means and how to spot it",
  "image" : [ "https://blog.terraec.es/hubfs/Terra%20educacion%20personalizada.png" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://blog.terraec.es/en/blog/educacion-personalizada-en-primaria-qué-significa-y-como-reconocerla",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://blog.terraec.es/hubfs/240614%20LOGO%20TERRA%20COLOR%20tz.png"
    },
    "name" : "Revolutionary School SLU"
  }
}
```