77 Primary School students participate in the Summer Educational Support Program in Benidorm

A total of 77 Primary Education students are attending the Summer Educational Support Programme (PAEV) during July and August, which is organised year after year by the Education Department of Benidorm City Council to offer reinforcement classes to students who have not obtained the expected academic results during the previous academic year. The mayor of the city, Toni Pérez, and the Councillor for Education, Maite Moreno, have visited the Leonor Canalejas public school, where this programme is being run, to find out how it is being developed and to find out the impressions of students and teaching staff.

The mayor has recalled that “with the PAEV we aim for the participating students between 6 and 12 years of age to be able to start the next school year in the best conditions, having worked during the summer on the subjects or aspects in which they may have had the greatest difficulties during the previous academic year”. In this sense, Pérez has delved into the fact that this service offered by the Department of Education with municipal staff “has once again had a very good reception among the families of Benidorm”, while pointing out that “in addition to being a very useful and necessary pedagogical resource to help students who need educational reinforcement, the PAEV also favours the family, social and work conciliation of the families of these minors” during the summer holidays.

As in previous editions, the programme takes place from Monday to Friday, in two daily shifts, depending on the age ranges. Thus, in the first shift, from 09.00 to 11.00 hours, students from the 2nd, 4th and 6th grades of Primary school participate; while from 11.30 to 13.30 hours it is the turn of students from the 1st, 3rd and 5th grades. During these two hours of daily classes, students reinforce curricular subjects – such as Mathematics, Spanish, Valencian and English – and work on study techniques as well as attention games and verbal and mathematical reasoning.

Toni Pérez explained that “to facilitate the attendance of the maximum number of schoolchildren, the Department of Education has granted 22 scholarships, individualised aid aimed at minors registered in Benidorm, which has covered 100% of the cost of the programme for the beneficiaries”. In addition to these scholarships, minors from large families, single-parent families, families with functional diversity, foster families, or with parents or guardians with a Carné Jove, retired or pensioners have had a reduced price; while attendance has also been completely free for large families or special single-parent families, as well as for families with people with functional diversity due to a disability of more than 33%.

For her part, the Councillor for Education, Maite Moreno, has emphasised that the aim of this programme is “not only to improve academic results but also to help participants acquire organisational habits and perseverance in their work, reinforce their mastery of basic instrumental techniques and increase their academic expectations”. The Councillor also went on to explain that the programme “offers linguistic help to students who, due to their background, have difficulties integrating into the school environment and facilitates access to educational support and reinforcement for students from low-income families”.

The PAEV continues every day this month, from Monday to Friday, until 27 August.