The Canary Islands Government has officially granted provisional authorization for the opening of three new first-cycle Early Childhood Education Centers in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana. The official order gives the green light to the operation of the municipally owned centers named "Fraguel Rock," "Los Diminutos," and "Los Pequeñecos." This decision ends a bureaucratic delay that had persisted since October 28, 2019, the date on which the southern municipality formally submitted its initial request to establish these centers for this educational stage.
The activation of these public services is supported by capital injections from European recovery funds. The San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council received three direct grants financed through the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the Next Generation EU program, a plan managed at the national level by the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport. These budget allocations covered the necessary infrastructure work for the centers to obtain the required favorable technical reports from the Technical Construction Unit and the Education Inspectorate, which were definitively issued this May 2026. Given the substantial similarity of the applications, the General Directorate of School Administration decided to consolidate the three provisional authorization procedures through a resolution issued on April 29, 2026.
The geographical distribution of the new educational centers will cover the childcare needs of three of the main residential areas in the tourist municipality. The "Fraguel Rock" school will operate on Hermanos Pinzón Street in Castillo del Romeral, offering one unit for children under one year old with 8 places, two units for children aged one to two with 26 places, and two more units for children aged two to three with 36 places, totaling 70 school places. Meanwhile, the "Los Diminutos" nursery (code 35016090) will serve the El Tablero area from Manuel Pestana Street, while "Los Pequeñecos" (code 35016107) will be located on Avenida de Tunte in San Fernando de Maspalomas. Both facilities will have an identical capacity of seven units prepared to accommodate up to 101 school places each, divided into one unit for children under one year old (8 places), three units for children aged one to two years (39 places) and three units for children aged two to three years (54 places).
The provisional authorization from the regional government imposes strict conditions on the local council before the classrooms can actually open. The San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council is required to submit to the Education Inspectorate a detailed list and the professional qualifications of all assigned teaching staff before the start of classes, guaranteeing compliance with the competency requirements established by Canary Islands Decree 201/2008 and Spanish Royal Decree 132/2010. Furthermore, the legal text includes a specific requirement exclusive to the "Fraguel Rock" school in Castillo del Romeral, expressly stipulating that the council must acquire and certify the suitability of all furniture and teaching equipment before allowing its classrooms to operate.
The release of these 272 public places for children under three years of age relieves the pressure of schooling on families residing in the south of the island, consolidating a network of public centers under the proposal of the local corporations of the Canary Islands.
