Málaga activates Farola Project: 40 teachers face an emotional challenge

San Juan de Dios de Málaga will train more than 40 teachers to detect and address emotional well-being issues in the classroom. The Farola Project begins in three schools of Fundación Victoria and will reach nearly 700 secondary education students. The initiative combines training, professional support, and future external consultations to assist cases requiring psychosocial referral.

A plan that starts in three schools in Málaga

For families and educational centers in Málaga, the news has a very concrete consequence: students’ emotional problems can be detected earlier and with more tools within the school environment itself. It is not just about delivering an isolated session, but about creating a course of prevention, guidance, and support that connects teachers, homes, and specialized professionals.

Which centers participate in the Farola Project?

The pilot experience has started in three educational centers of Fundación Victoria: La Presentación, Espíritu Santo, and Divina Pastora. The selection aims to test the initiative in different educational environments and obtain a broad view of its application, with special attention to the stages of Secondary Education and Baccalaureate.

The Farola Project team is coordinated by the medical management of the San Juan de Dios healthcare center in Málaga. Their work will train more than 40 teachers and benefit nearly 700 compulsory secondary education students. This figure gives an idea of the initial reach: it is not an action limited to a small guidance group, but an intervention that covers a significant part of the educational community in the three centers.

Who is behind the agreement?

San Juan de Dios de Málaga and Fundación Victoria launched the project through a collaboration agreement linked to World Mental Health Day, celebrated this Saturday, October 10. The event was attended by the Bishop of Málaga, José Antonio Satué; the president of Fundación Victoria, Miguel Ángel Criado; and its general director, María Jesús Floriano.

Also participating were the Superior Brother of the Order of San Juan de Dios in Málaga, Manuel Armenteros, and the managing director of the Hospital Order in Málaga, José Luis Fuentes, as well as members of the management teams of both institutions. The agreement stems from a shared vision regarding the care of minors and the need for schools to have clear resources when signs of emotional distress appear.

Practical training to detect signals in the classroom

For those who have a son or daughter in Secondary school, the value of the program lies in teachers receiving tools to recognize situations that may go unnoticed in the daily school routine. Early detection does not replace specialized care but can help identify when support needs to be requested and how to accompany the student while that response arrives.

What will teachers learn?

The program specifically trains guidance teams and emotional well-being references in diocesan schools. In addition, it offers general training to the schools’ faculty so that the knowledge is not concentrated in a single person or department.

The psychologist leading the training is Victoria Castro. During the sessions, she uses practical cases and provides teachers with tools aimed at enabling them to detect emotional well-being issues. The approach is especially useful in the classroom, where signs may appear in behavior changes, relationship difficulties, or alterations in daily participation (without turning every change into a diagnosis, of course).

The medical director of San Juan de Dios de Málaga, Diego Arenas, has explained that the Farola Project was born in response to the “worrying increase of emotional difficulties among minors and youth.” According to him, the proposal offers a social-health and educational response oriented toward early prevention, specialized training, and professional support in the school and family environment.

How will the Project develop during the school year?

The plan is organized in several interconnected phases. First, training is provided to guidance professionals, emotional well-being references, and the whole teaching staff. Then, Victoria Castro will conduct mentoring and support in the three participating centers to address cases requiring intervention.

• Initial training: specific sessions for guidance and emotional well-being references, along with content directed to faculty.
• Mentoring in schools: expert accompaniment in La Presentación, Espíritu Santo, and Divina Pastora.
• Results analysis: data review to draw conclusions about the project’s application.

This third step will allow understanding which tools work, what needs arise in the centers, and what lessons can be transferred to Fundación Victoria’s educational project. Therefore, the pilot experience does not end with training: it will also serve to review and continue adjusting the model.

The next step: face-to-face care near avenida Moliere

For Málaga families, the most tangible part will come with the incorporation of external consultations near avenida Moliere throughout the school year. The project thus connects prevention at school with possible face-to-face individual care when a case requires psychosocial referral, a bridge that usually marks the difference between detecting a difficulty and knowing where to turn.

What care will the external consultations offer?

The consultations will allow for in-person and individual care for cases requiring psychosocial referral. The initiative will be linked to the San Juan de Dios Hospital Order and will expand the available response for students needing assessment or more specific professional support.

The premises will be provided by the Junta, while the Málaga City Council will collaborate in launching this resource. The source does not specify the exact opening date nor the number of consultations but places the service near avenida Moliere and indicates it will be incorporated during the school year.

A network among school, family, and professionals

Fundación Victoria’s Pedagogical Directorate holds that participation in the Farola Project responds to the will to strengthen care and support for students, especially in the area of emotional well-being and child and youth mental health. It also links the agreement to the need to advance training, specialization, and advice for educational professionals.

The project aims to provide useful resources for families and reinforce joint work among home, school, and specialists. Fundación Victoria has pointed out that the collaboration with the San Juan de Dios Málaga Center responds to its experience in mental health and the existence of a shared vision about personal care.

The role of teaching teams will be decisive, especially that of guidance professionals. They will transfer the knowledge acquired to the daily support of students and their families, while the final analysis will allow assessment of the initiative’s application in the participating centers. The Farola Project turns emotional prevention into a coordinated task: more than 40 teachers trained, nearly 700 students benefited, and a face-to-face resource planned on avenida Moliere. The first experience will serve to measure what works and strengthen care from school to family and the San Juan de Dios professionals.