The Governing Council creates a public nursery school in Noja

The Governing Council of Cantabria has approved Decree 72/2026, of October 9, which creates a Municipal Early Childhood Education School in Noja, intended for children aged 0 to 3 years. The regulation is published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria number 199, of October 16, 2026, with the official reference CVE-2026-8035 (pp. 52885-52887). The center, owned by the Noja City Council, will have two units of the first cycle of Early Childhood Education.

A municipal school with two first-cycle units

The decree provides for the creation of the teaching center with the following official data:

• Center Code: 39019942.
• Generic Name: Municipal Early Childhood Education School.
• Specific Name: “Doña Aguedita”.
• Owner: Noja City Council.
• Address: Av. Santander, 38, 39180 Noja.
• Authorized Teachings: first cycle of Early Childhood Education.
• Capacity: 2 units.

The maximum capacity of each unit may not exceed the number of school places established in Article 10 of Decree 144/2007, of October 31, which establishes the requirements for centers providing the first cycle of Early Childhood Education in Cantabria.

Prior agreement and European funding

The creation responds to the request of the Noja City Council, which had already signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Universities regulating the economic and operational regime of the school. That agreement was signed on September 30, 2026, and its publication was ordered by a resolution of October 2, appearing in the Official Gazette of Cantabria number 194, of October 8, 2026 (CVE-2026-7834, p. 51714).

The project is part of the program to promote schooling in the first cycle of Early Childhood Education, primarily for children aged 1 and 2 years, with new public-owned places. Funding comes from the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports and the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, NextGenerationEU, within component 21 “Modernization and digitalization of the educational system, including early education from 0 to 3 years”, investment 01 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

Royal Decree 2.671/1998, of December 11, transferred to the autonomous community the functions regarding the creation, classification, transfer, closure, and suppression of non-university teaching centers. The competence to create public centers corresponds to the Governing Council, according to Article 17 of Organic Law 8/1985, of July 3, and Article 2 of Decree 25/2010, of March 31.

Teaching staff, building, and entry into force

The decree also establishes the obligations assumed by the center:

• Teaching staff must meet the qualification requirements of Article 9 of Decree 144/2007.
• The owning entity shall submit the list of teaching staff and their qualifications to the Regional Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Universities.
• The Regional Ministry shall expressly approve this list, following a report from the Education Inspection Service.
• The school must comply with the Technical Building Code, approved by Royal Decree 314/2006, of March 17.
• The center must request a review of the decree whenever any of the recorded data is modified.

The agreement, for its part, assigns the Noja City Council the legal and economic responsibility as the owner, the maintenance of the facilities, the furniture and operating expenses, as well as the provision of teaching and non-teaching staff. Its validity is five years, extendable for up to five more as long as the school remains operational, and it provides for a monitoring commission with two representatives from each party.

The decree bears the signature of the president of the Governing Council, María José Sáenz de Buruaga Gómez, and the regional minister of Education, Vocational Training and Universities, Sergio Silva Fernández. The agreement was also signed by the mayor of Noja, Mireia Maza Somarriba. The regulation enters into force the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of Cantabria.

Impact for families in the municipality

The creation of this school expands the public offer of places for children under three years old in Noja, an educational stage with growing demand and limited coverage in many municipalities. The chosen formula—municipal ownership, agreement with the Regional Ministry, and European funding—allows the Noja City Council to assume the management of the center while the autonomous community authorizes the teaching and supervises the staff. For families, the decree represents the consolidation of a stable resource, with two units and an economic regime already agreed upon for five years.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 199, of October 16, 2026, section I (Governing Council), pp. 52885-52887 (official reference: CVE-2026-8035).