The mayor during the opening of the new municipal school for children María Moliner
The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, accompanied by the delegate of works and equipment, Paloma García Romero; The delegate of social, family, and equality policies, José Fernández, and the councillor of Tetuán, Paula Gómez-Pungi, inaugurated the children’s center María Moliner this morning, marking the fifth facility of its kind in Tetuán. The Center is named after the philologist, librarian, and lexicographer María Moliner, who was a resident of the Cuatro Caminos neighborhood, as decided by the district council in January. A decision that the mayor finds more than appropriate, as the name «connects to what the spirit of education should be.»
Almeida emphasized that this new center once again demonstrates «the commitment of the Municipal Council to promote reconciliation and create the best conditions for Madrid’s birth policies: in maternity and paternity, families in Madrid will have their local council accompanied by their support.» In the same vein, councillor Paula Gómez-Unghi emphasized the importance of family reconciliation.
The mayor highlighted the location of the Center, on Paseo de la Dirección, an area that was «strongly degraded,» where the local council has carried out significant urban regeneration work over the years. In this regard, other facilities have been opened, such as the summer group, the construction of 124 public housing units has recently begun, and investments of 3.5 million euros in urbanization works in the area are planned. These are examples of the «total commitment of the Municipal Council to the residents of Paseo de la Dirección and to complete this regeneration operation that has been carried out for 20 years.»
The fifth school in the district
The Center, located at Paseo de la Dirección 305, is part of the municipal network of children’s centers of the Madrid City Council and teaches the first cycle of early childhood education from 0 to 3 years old. It was built by the works and equipment department with an investment of 3.2 million euros, to which 177,000 euros from the social, family, and equality policies area were added for its equipment, and 1.3 million euros contributed by the Municipal Council.
The building has an area of 1,037 m2 distributed over two floors. On the ground floor, there are six educational classrooms, as well as a multifunctional library, office space, and a kitchen area, while the first floor is dedicated to changing rooms, teacher’s rooms, laundry, and facilities.
Out of the 82 places offered, eight are for babies from 0 to 1 year old; 26 for children between 1 and 2 years old, and 48 for children from 2 to 3 years old. Additionally, six places can be used for students with special needs. With its opening, Tetuán now has a total of 473 places in municipal nurseries.
The school offers services for 11 months a year, from September to July, between 9:00 and 16:00, although to facilitate family reconciliation, it also has an extended program between 7:30 and 9:00 in the morning and from 16:00 to 17:30 in the afternoon. It provides catering services for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, with healthy and varied menus adapted to allergies and intolerances.
More municipal nurseries
María Moliner joins the four existing municipal schools in Tetuán: Fresh, Bell, La Brisa, and Los Halcones, reflecting the municipal commitment to expanding facilities in Madrid’s districts. In addition to the one inaugurated today, seven playgrounds have been opened by the Almeida government since 2019: Antonio Mercero (Villaverde), Ensanche de Vallecas (Villa de Vallecas), El Cañaveral (Vicálvaro), and Los Golondrinos (San Blas-Canillejas). In this academic year, the municipal network of nursery schools comprises 75 centers with a total of 8,618 places.
Furthermore, two more schools are currently under construction: one in the multifunctional building on Calle de Fúcar (city center) and another on Francisco Remaro Street (Salamanca), with three new schools planned for this term. The ongoing intention is to continue strengthening the network within the plan for the promotion of birth and reconciliation in the city of Madrid 2024-2029, approved in December 2024 and endowed with 1.275 million euros to implement 50 inclusive measures. Among them, the goal is to reach 80 municipal nursery schools by 2029.
Supporting reconciliation
The Municipal Council is committed to further promoting access to early education and ensuring family reconciliation in Madrid. To this end, it complements the municipal nursery school network with the Children’s Plus Voucher, aimed at families with children under 3 years old enrolled in private centers to help cover registration, monthly fees, and meals. This academic year, the grant has increased to 4.2 million euros and will reach 5.1 million.
Also, this year, the social, family, and equality policies field has increased by over 10% the amount granted monthly to families, with contributions of 118, 220, and 385 euros depending on their income. To expand the number of beneficiaries, the income range has been extended so that, to be eligible, the annual per capita income of the family unit can reach up to 30,000 euros. The next academic year will bring a new improvement: the financial aid will be paid every two months and not at the end of the school year, as is currently the case. This new system will enable families to make monthly payments, avoiding the need to budget for the entire ten-month academic year at once.
