The Duendecillo Azul municipal creche has been in existence for 20 years, and work is now beginning on an extension to increase space and places for Adeje’s children. The announcement of the works was formally made public last Friday, June 14, at the ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the creche, where the work of all directors and staff who have worked in the centre was recognised and presided over by the Adeje mayor and councillors Adolfo Alonso Ferrera and Coraima Afonsop Navarro. In addition, a video was shown illustrating what the centre will look like when the work is completed.
Mayor José Miguel Rdoríguez Fraga said "we are celebrating two decades of work serving Adeje’s families and this would not have been possible without the involvement of all the members of staff, who, over the years, have allowed parents to work knowing that their children are in a healthy and safe environment.”
The mayor pointed out that "The extension will be carried out over the next ten months, although the period could be extended depending on the circumstances of the work itself. With this extension, this municipal infrastructure will increase its capacity from 90 to 180 children per year, in other words, it will double its capacity".
Adolfo Alonso and fellow councillor Afonso Navarro, also recalled that the school "offers educational services but also does very important work providing a canteen service, social skills work, music therapy, English classes, training for families and psychomotor skills". Students are usually with the centre for three years, from zero to three years old. The care provided to all students is adapted to their age, as are the classrooms and spaces of the school.
The objective of the expansion is to create more space to accommodate more students and improve the quality of the current spaces. The work will cost up to two million euros, funded by Adeje Council.
Improvement Works
The work is being implemented through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, funded by the European Union - Next Generation EU.
The project will make use of the current auditorium next to the nursery school to create a new two-story building (ground floor + semi-basement). Five new children's classrooms will be created on the ground floor, and a multi-purpose space below. There will be adapted toilets, a dining room, and a storage room. A roof will be built to cover the current outdoor patio, and the outdoor play area will be expanded.
The school will continue to operate as the works are being carried out"given that we could not continue to delay the work, and we have let families know that work would be starting. We understand that this may affect the children, but we could not leave the students without being able to finish their course", explained councillor responsible for the municipal works Epifanio Díaz Hernandez.
The plot has an area of 2244 m2. The total planned built area after the expansion will be 1448.49 m2. The project will comply with the guidelines established by the Government of the Canary Islands to ensure the new infrastructure adapts to climate change. For this purpose, green roofs, awnings, and natural shaded areas will be used. In line with this, the directive imposed by the (EU) 2018/844 on the energy efficiency of buildings will be respected, meaning the use of energy not coming from renewable sources will be minimised.
