Free childcare for the under-twos

THE regional Ministry of Education has announced that it will fund 123 more early years classes for children under the age of two in the Valencia Region. Five of these will be in schools in the Marina Alta.

This government funded free childcare has been approved in response to demographic changes in geographical locations that require extending the service to kindergarten age children.

Two schools in Denia will benefit from the change. These are Pou de la Muntanya, where a new infant classroom is currently under construction, and La Xara, where the local mayor requested the service.

The other schools in the Marina Alta area that will welcome these small children for the first time are the Cavall Verd school in Vall de Laguar, La Rectoria in Ràfol d’Almunia and La Rectoria in Sanet i Ne­ grals, according to a press release from the regional ministry.

In the meantime, two more schools in the Marina Alta region ­ Cap d’Or in TeuladaMoraira and Joanot Martorell in Vall de Gallinera­Benialíhave decided to transition to a continuous school day.

A LOCAL POLICE officer from Benidorm who participated in rescue efforts in Turkey was invited to share his experiences with the town’s mayor, Toni Pérez. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred in southern Turkey near the northern border of Syria on February 6. Governments around the world were quick to respond to requests for international assistance, deploying rescue teams and offering aid.

Jaume Climent spent six days in the badly affected Gaziatep and Hatay provinces as part of a 15strong rescue team with two dogs from the GIRECAN firefighters. Climent said how important the dogs from the GIREcan (International Canine Rescue Group) had been to find survivors in rubble. According to the officer, on arrival at the scene of the disaster, the members of the multidisciplinary USAR Light team made themselves available to the Turkish emergency services.