The Spanish Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Pilar Alegría, and the President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, joined by the President of the Government, have introduced a mandatory educational programme to teach emergency preparedness across all non-university educational stages. This initiative, presented at IES Fernando Zóbel in Cuenca, will begin in the academic year 2025-2026.

The new plan aims to equip educational institutions with a comprehensive strategy to incorporate vital knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values necessary for effectively and safely responding to emergencies caused by natural events or human activities. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, emphasised the urgency of this initiative, citing ongoing crises and the need for enhanced civic culture and human security among the population.

More than eight million students and nearly eight hundred thousand teachers across twenty-five thousand educational centres will have access to resources including videos, infographics, and teaching guides, which will be available in several languages – including Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician, and Valencian. The curriculum will start with young children learning basic safety principles and recognising alarm signals, progressing to more complex emergency response strategies as they advance through their education.

Training will be tailored to address specific regional risks identified by local hazard maps, with minimum instruction hours specified: two hours for early years and primary education and four hours for other non-university stages. Community emergency services, alongside local volunteers and school staff, will deliver the training, with particular emphasis on equipping volunteers through essential preparatory courses. The Ministry has allocated 240,000 euros for the development of the necessary educational materials.