Construction of a kindergarten in Via Australia, Ragusa, Sicily

Plan for nurseries and preschools and early childhood education and care services (Mission 4 – Component 1 - Investment 1.1)
Italy’s Recovery and Resilience Plan includes an investment plan for the 0-6 age group, aimed at increasing the supply of childcare facilities by building, renovating and ensuring the safety of nurseries and preschools, to ensure an increase in the educational offer and the available slots for the 0-6 age group, and thus improve teaching quality. The measure is expected to encourage women’s participation in the labour market and support caregivers in reconciling family and professional life.

The investment is financed by Italy’s Recovery and Resilience plan by EUR 3.2 billion.

As part of this investment, the objective of this project is is to build a new kindergarten in Ragusa capable of accommodating 42 children, in a suburban area of the city of Ragusa with a high settlement of young families. The design premise of the building was to construct a "children's place" easily recognizable by its "cottage" shape as a new spatial and symbolic landmark for the neighborhood in order to foster an inclusive and highly communicative settlement. The "cottage" volumes are arranged in a regular manner along a connecting axis and aim to create an environment supportive of children's cognitive and growth processes, allowing the "little guests" to be accompanied and encouraged in their cognitive explorations through common spaces both inside the nursery and in the outdoor areas. The measures taken to achieve the goal, in line with the latest school policies, are the use of eco-sustainable techniques and materials with low environmental impact, in order to allow energy savings and containment of water consumption. The amount of NRRP funds is 1,250,000.00 euros and the construction site is currently open.