Alicante Schools to Provide Emergency Training Next Academic Year

The tragic storm that hit Valencia highlighted the need to improve emergency response capabilities. However, the implementation of plans is of little use if the public is not prepared to know how to act. Therefore, the Department of Education will provide civil protection emergency training starting from the next academic year 2025/26.

This training will be delivered for at least two hours in Early Childhood and Primary Education, and four hours in Secondary and Baccalaureate, distributed throughout the academic year during the time allocated for tutoring. According to Education, this training will preferably be delivered by tutors within the framework of tutorial action.

For this subject, schools will have the advice and guidance of CEFIRE advisors, who will ensure training activities for the centre and the CEFIRE network related to civil protection emergency training.

Schools that choose not to provide the training in the next academic year must begin planning for the 2026/2027 academic year through possible participation in teacher training activities and/or the collection of teaching materials.

This measure is among the new features that the department led by José Antonio Rovira has conveyed to the unions in the Sectorial Board for the organisation and functioning of educational centres.

Among the new features for the next academic year, it stands out that for the formation of student groups, the base language chosen by families in the consultation or admission period must be taken into account.

In accordance with the Educational Freedom Law, the vehicular language programme establishes the specification of the proportion of vehicular languages carried out in an educational centre and must be incorporated into the annual general programming. The Plurilingual Education Service has made available to educational centres a document with a guiding model.

The instructions refer to the Valencian Mental Health and Addictions Plan 2024-2027, which aims to promote positive mental health and prevent mental illness, addictive disorders, and suicide.

In this regard, the Department of Education, together with the Department of Health, is regulating the collaboration of early detection units in the educational field related to student mental health. These units of healthcare professionals complement and support the actions carried out by educational centres.