Your children will find it very difficult to fit in to the Spanish state school system. They won't be fluent in Spanish, they won't make friends very easily, they will always be the foreigners in the class, they will feel isolated and alone. They will struggle with their studies which will most likely be entirely in Spanish. Their grades will be crap. The teachers won't care. They'll just be left to sink or swim.
If, instead, you put them into an International school then they will have a chance. They still won't have any friends outside of the International school, they won't be able to socialise with the Spanish teenagers in the village/town that they live. It will also cost you around 10 grand a year in fees (per child). Depending on where you live there may well be a huge teenage unemployment problem. Teenagers get bored and look to take out their frustrations on the easiest target. Foreign kids that don't fit in are an easy target for bullying.
It will be difficult for your children. Teenagers need a life outside of the home. They will regret moving to Spain and want to return to the UK where they can at least converse with other kids. Even going out to the cinema will require Spanish fluency.

Not saying that the above applies to every teenager but I have teenage children and speak from years of experience living here in Spain. And my eldest was only six when we moved here. Now they are all fluent, but they will always be known as the foreign kids.

Think carefully before bringing older children to Spain.

Agree, that's why I said good advice, but most can handle the summers, it's the winters that seem to come as a bit of a rude awakening for many.

I appreciate that there maybe better time slots. My reason for suggesting the summer was based on the fact that the OP has two/three kids still in full time education. I doubt any responsible parent would want to take their kids out of school for such a long time during term times.

... which is precisely why I suggested she comes on her own, so that she can concentrate on looking into the Administrative side of things (Autonomo, Tax Residency, healthcare coverage, schooling...) without being distracted by her family. And in the winter months so that she experiences the worst, before they decide on moving permanently....

Problem with "experiencing some weeks of winter" is that you can have a spell of fairly benign weather - even in England. Cooler nights don't seem so bad if it's sunny and pleasant during the day.
It's the really wet spells (which Spain needs to top up its reservoirs) that are depressing - and when it rains in Spain, it really rains.

It might help, provided the OP and her family rented a house similar to one they could afford to buy, did all their own housework, cooking and food shopping instead of eating out (which would help give them an idea of prices) and most importantly, enrolled the 3 school age children in intensive Spanish lessons for the duration of their stay (and by that I mean 4 or 5 hours of lessons every day). That might help them understand that life in Spain is not one long beach holiday, and the Spanish learned would at least stand them in better stead for starting school here. In fact the Spanish lessons would be a good idea for all of them, although it wouldn't be cheap.

When Graham and I came house hunting it was January, it was wonderfully warm but seemed hot in comparrison with the weather that we had left in the UK. We found a house and when we came back in February to sign all of the papers the rain never stopped in the four days that we were here and we joked about swimming to the restaurant for our meal in the evening. Totally different weather and only four weeks apart.

Rosemary

we are going to begin spanish lessons for us and the children soon, just sorting out back to school stuff and then will get started with it.

I don't know why you bothered coming to this forum. You've been given good advice, and it's all just washing over you!

and how do you know what has washed over me? Just because we still want to go there doesn't mean i am not looking into everything that has been mentioned.

Can we please give this lady a break. She has a dream. Nothing wrong with that. She asked originally for advice about legalities and has been bombarded with just about everything else.

She has received a lot of information regarding the pitfalls. It's up to her now as to what she does with the advice and suggestions.

Thank you

It maybe worth looking for some spanish speaking clubs and activities in your area to help you use what you learn with lessons, I found two childrens clubs in our area that I could take the children to. Also go to your teacher with a list of some of the most important situations that you want to practice, for me it was going to the Dr with the children and all of us being able to say what was wrong and understand what was said.

True, but what most people seem to be saying is that a dream can turn, rapidly, into a nightmare.

Time to open the Brandy and have a top-up methinks.
Almost everyones glass seems to be only half full tonight.