The Xunta delegate in A Coruña, Belén do Campo, visited the 'casa niño' O Pícaros in Vilasantar today, accompanied by mayor Fernando Pérez. She announced the creation of a new service, "A Casiña dos Esquíos", which will expand early childhood care and facilitate work-life balance in the rural municipality.
This new Xunta call will enable the launch of five new 'casas niño' in Galicia, adding 25 free places for children aged 0 to 3. Two of these facilities will be in A Coruña province, specifically in Vilasantar and Vilarmaior, with support of nearly 121,000 euros for operating costs and investments.
The Xunta is allocating 300,000 euros in this call to expand the Galician network of 'casas niño', which already exceeds one hundred resources and 530 free places. It also includes a complementary aid of 150 euros per week to ensure service continuity during parental leave for the service manager.
'Casas niño' offer free care for eight hours a day, eleven months a year, in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, allowing children to receive care in their own environment. Galicia pioneered this service eight years ago, serving as a model for other regions.
In A Coruña province, the network will comprise 19 'casas niño' after this call, with 17 already operational and an investment from the Xunta exceeding 1.6 million euros for the 2025-2028 period. The Betanzos region will have seven 'casas niño' with the two new ones in Vilasantar and Vilarmaior.
Belén do Campo emphasized that these facilities contribute to work-life balance, job creation, and enable families to live in rural municipalities, making these small towns more attractive and creating employment.
