Strengthening Equal Access to Socio-Educational Services
The municipality of Benalmádena is implementing the Corresponsables Project, a socio-educational initiative designed to support minors and young people, particularly those in vulnerable situations or facing difficulties in school integration. By combining targeted educational support with reintegration mechanisms such as the Expelled Students Classroom, the project ensures that no student becomes disconnected from the education system.
The project is grounded in a strong human rights approach, focusing on equality, non-discrimination, and equitable access to educational and social services. Through its participation in DeCiDE, the municipality aims to better identify inequalities, measure the impact of its interventions, and strengthen evidence-based decision-making to improve inclusion and expand support where it is most needed.
A key development has been the introduction of the Standardised Monitoring System (SMS), which enables the municipality to systematically identify gaps in access to services and track progress over time. This has already strengthened internal coordination and provided clearer evidence of which interventions are most effective. Early findings suggest improved school engagement among participants and increased access to socio-educational support, indicating progress in addressing structural inequalities.
The data collected is beginning to inform concrete policy priorities, including strengthening early intervention, improving coordination between social services and education, increasing parental involvement, and providing targeted support for students with specific needs. At the same time, the municipality faces challenges such as limited staff capacity, fragmented data systems, and coordination constraints, particularly when working across departments and handling sensitive data related to minors.
Overall, Benalmádena’s experience demonstrates how introducing structured, indicator-based monitoring can transform local governance. By making inequalities more visible and actionable, the municipality is moving toward a more coordinated, transparent, and data-driven approach to ensuring equal access to socio-educational services—an approach that can be replicated in other cities with similar ambitions.
