Nearly 1,750 children and teenagers participated in Benidorm City Council's educational and leisure programs this summer

A total of 1,748 children and teenagers from Benidorm participated in the educational, sports, and leisure programs, courses, and activities promoted by the City Council during the summer months of July and August, according to data released this Tuesday by the city's mayor, Toni Pérez. This municipal program targeted the population aged 3 to 16 and was held in various municipal spaces, including schools and sports facilities.

The mayor stated that "with these programs, courses, and activities, we have once again facilitated the work-life balance for hundreds of households in our town during the school holidays, with a varied and professional offering provided by municipal staff in some cases and by specialized companies in others." Likewise, the mayor emphasized that all activities are "adapted to the needs of children," with an offering that also includes places for children with special needs. In addition to being "an educational, sports, cultural, or leisure alternative, they also provide a meeting place where children and young people of similar ages, who may not meet during the rest of the year because they attend different schools, can meet and share experiences and interests."

The participation figures, he added, "confirm not only the significant demand for these types of services in our city, but also the trust that Benidorm families place in the initiatives that the City Council designs and implements with its youngest residents in mind." Toni Pérez concluded by emphasizing that all of these programs, "in addition to being of the highest quality, are offered at very affordable prices and are accompanied by scholarships, special rates, or grants to encourage participation even in low-income households." He therefore reaffirmed the "commitment of this government team to continue promoting more of these types of programs for families."

As an example, the mayor noted that this year, through the Departments of Education and Social Welfare, seven children with severe specific needs from the city were subsidised for the first time to attend summer school. Thanks to this municipal aid, they were able to participate in the El Secanet public special education school, located in La Vila Joiosa, where they all attend the rest of the year. To fund this activity, the City Council has invested 12,600 euros.

Sports courses

The municipal sports schools organised by the Department of Sports, which run mainly from June 23rd to August 14th and are taught by City Council sports technicians, are the most in-demand during the summer period, with a total of 977 registered throughout the summer.

The courses offered at these municipal schools include aquagym, swimming (for different age groups and for people with functional and corrective disabilities), a multi-sport school, and sea kayaking. These courses are complemented by the summer courses offered by local basketball, handball, beach volleyball, cable ski, tennis, soccer, and sailing clubs, among others, in collaboration with the Department of Sports, managed by Councillor Javier Jordá.

Academic Support and Activities for Young People

Aside from the purely sports offerings, as in previous years, the Department of Education has been working on two initiatives aimed at children: the Summer Educational Support Program (PAEV) and the Summer School, organised by the FAMPA Marina Baixa Parent-Teacher Association (AMPA) in collaboration with Benidorm City Council.

The former is an educational reinforcement program for students in grades one through six of Primary Education, taught by municipal staff and held during July and August at the Leonor Canalejas public school. This year, 70 students participated, receiving classes in curricular subjects such as Mathematics, Spanish, Valencian, and English, in addition to learning study techniques and attention-defining games and verbal and mathematical reasoning, to improve their performance for the new school year.

In the case of the Summer School, which took place this year at the Miguel Hernández Primary School, the number of participants reached 498 children between the ages of 3 and 14. Of these, 292 attended during July and 206 in August, and a similarly high number used the cafeteria service or extended school hours. The City Council, through the Department of Social Welfare coordinated by Councillor Ángela Zaragozí, has offered two integration classrooms for children with special needs at this school, which have served 25 children. One hundred per cent of the school's attendance has been granted scholarships to children from vulnerable families, both in regular classrooms and in integration classrooms. Most of these also include cafeteria scholarships to support families with greater socioeconomic needs.

Likewise, the Department of Education has also allocated another 18,000 euros to cover up to 50% of the cost of this Summer School for the remaining participants whose household is registered in Benidorm, added Councillor Maite Moreno.

Finally, the Department of Youth also developed two other activities this summer that have garnered high participation rates: the Summer Program and the Summer Camp. A total of 144 young people between the ages of 10 and 16 participated in the former, as part of a project that ran fortnightly and combined numerous activities such as cultural outings, trips to the beach or the sports center; workshops; emotional intelligence work; sports; games; hiking; cooking; environmental activities; board games; and a film forum, among others.

This Friday marked the end of the last two weeks of this Summer Program, with participants and instructors bidding farewell with a trip to the town of Busot to visit the Canelobre Caves and the Ethnic Music Museum.

The councillor for the department, Ana Soliveres, attended to bid farewell to these children and young people and thank them for their participation in this activity.

Likewise, the department coordinated by Councillor Ana Soliveres organises one of the few summer camps for young people offered by the municipal initiative throughout the province, with a total of 52 participants between the ages of 8 and 16.

This summer camp took place from June 29 to July 13 at the Navalón-Enguera youth camp, part of the Valencian Youth Institute (IVAJ) hostel network and located in a pine forest in Sierra de Enguera.

More offers to help with work-family balance

After reviewing these activities, Mayor Toni Pérez expressed the "commitment of this government team" to "continue promoting more of these types of activities to help families and provide solutions for balancing work, family, and personal life during the school holidays."

The first of these activities will kick off next Monday, September 1st, with the second edition of the "September School," an initiative promoted by the FAMPA Marina Baixa in collaboration with the Department of Education to "cover a few days when families traditionally cannot find public or private school options for their children before the start of the school year," Pérez emphasized.

This school, which has enrolled 14 students, is aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 12 and will run from September 1st to 5th at the Miguel Hernández school. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., although a lunch service and lunchroom with lunch boxes are also available.