On 29 October 2024, Spain suffered the impact of an Isolated Depression at High Levels (DANA) that caused severe human and material damage, affecting many people's lives. As has been demonstrated in contexts of natural disasters of similar magnitude, the impact on children requires sustained supportive interventions, with educational communities being key settings for providing protection and accompaniment. This article examines the co-creation process of educational actions in response to the floods caused by the DANA in Valencia, a region in eastern Spain, between teachers and researchers in the days immediately following the natural disaster.

The increasing severity of natural disasters is drawing growing attention internationally due to their profound impact on public health [1]. International organisations are increasingly highlighting the current and future effects of these disasters on children, particularly the most vulnerable groups, such as those with disabilities, pre-existing health conditions, or those living in poverty [2, 3].Despite their heightened vulnerability, these groups are often excluded from dialogue and research on disaster risk reduction [4]. In response, international policies and research emphasise the need for a more inclusive approach to disaster prevention and mitigation, aiming to eliminate the discrimination and invisibility of at-risk groups [5,6]. 

Natural disasters severely affect children by damaging protection systems, disrupting routines and weakening support networks [7]. UNICEF stresses the urgent need to prioritise children in disaster response [2]. Given that children's ability to cope depends on the well-being of their families and community support, schools can play a critical role in building community resilience, especially in socially vulnerable contexts [8,9]. Creating environments that prioritise emotional care and focus on resilience is key to this. Social relationships and mutual support are fundamental to regulating emotions, maintaining health and promoting personal wellbeing [10].

The impact of environmental and demographic changes on school-community relations highlights the emerging need to work on how schools can drive evidence-based action, aligning with needs highlighted internationally. Global analyses of recent costly crises suggest the need to connect what science tells us with the lived experiences of people and communities, promoting collaboration between researchers, stakeholders and policymakers to strengthen local research and generate inclusive and effective solutions in natural disaster contexts [11,12]. 

This research outlines the way forward for schools to lead actions that promote community resilience in emergency situations such as natural disasters with a focus on child protection, drawing on previous studies with similar contexts  [13]. This is achieved through an equal dialogue between researchers who provide the scientific evidence on disasters and teachers from affected schools. These spaces for co-creation reinforce the idea that the relationship between science, school and community must be collaborative, especially in times of crisis.

This is the first study in Spain focused on the co-creation of research-based educational actions to protect post-disaster educational communities impacted by floods. These actions were developed in collaboration between teachers and researchers from 18 educational centres in the province of Valencia, one of the areas most affected by the 2024 DANA floods. Based on the literature reviewed and in collaboration with the affected community, this study aims to answer the question of how schools can contribute to the recovery of communities after a natural disaster, with a focus on child protection.  To this end, the study aims to systematise the DANA Scientific Education Interventions (DANA-SEIs) and provide knowledge for replication. Dissemination of these actions could help prevent and mitigate the short-, medium- and long-term impacts of DANA, while building community resilience through schools and their communities.

This study is based on the Communicative Methodology (CM), a social research approach that goes beyond the diagnosis of inequalities to identify successful actions that effectively address social challenges. This methodology prioritises egalitarian dialogue, co-creation of knowledge and social transformation through the active participation of all stakeholders [14]. The co-creation process incorporates a dialogic approach, with researchers contributing existing scientific knowledge on the impact of natural disasters on children and possible preventive actions to be addressed at school [15]. The process described in this article analyses the co-creation of six evidence-based actions, which we refer to as DANA-SEIs, to mitigate the impact of DANA in childhood:.1) mapping educational communities; 2) dialogic gatherings; 3) solidarity networks; 4) optimal learning environments; 5) violence-free networks; and 6) specific attention to vulnerable groups. Participants The co-creation process involved 34 teachers and members of the educational community from 18 pre-school, primary and special schools, together with two institutions (an NGO and a university) and four researchers. The participants regularly applied Successful Educational Actions (SEA), evidence-based pedagogical strategies with social impact [16]. The schools already had experience with evidence-based practices and were collaborating with researchers. Inclusion criteria were: 1) willingness to engage in evidence-based interventions to mitigate the effects of the DANA, 2) previous implementation of SEAs and 3) location in the flood-affected region. Data collection and analysis. The research team's previous experience conducting fieldwork in crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 lockdowns [24], contributed to developing creative solutions for data collection in the post-DANA context. Data collection techniques included WhatsApp community message analysis (WC), communicative focus groups (CFG) (N=6), and a dialogic scientific meeting (DSG). Due to mobility constraints and severe flood damage to road infrastructure, most of the fieldwork was conducted online. Despite these difficulties, two researchers managed to reach one of the schools located at the epicenter of the disaster. For four days, they supported the teaching staff in crisis management. In addition, communication between the school staff and the investigators was maintained through the WCs. Data analysis followed CM principles, considering transformative and exclusionary dimensions in relation to the categories of analysis. Two researchers coded the narratives, and four validated their classification. Each narrative was labeled with a pseudonym, profile, impact level, source of information and date.

The results describe six key actions (DANA-SEIs) implemented in 18 schools and their early impacts: 1) Mapping of educational communities: All members of the school community were identified, ensuring safety, detecting urgent needs, and providing emotional support to families, with special emphasis on the protection of children, whose stability depends on family and community well-being [8]. 2) Optimal learning environments: Creating socio-educational spaces soon after a disaster helps focus children on the response [2]. Combining instrumental learning with emotional support is crucial. Virtual openness and phone follow-ups ensured educational continuity and emotional well-being in the hardest-hit areas [17]. 3) Dialogical gatherings: During the co-creation process this FSS was discussed and recreated. It provided a supportive space where children and adults shared their experiences without direct memories of the disaster, improving emotional and social well-being. 4) Solidarity networks: Bonds between school and community were strengthened, promoting school leadership and collective resilience through mutual care, improving the perception of self-efficacy in volunteering, and proving to be key factors for the health and well-being of the community[10]. 5) Violence-free networks: In the co-creation spaces, the rise in child violence after disasters was evidenced, leading to the creation of spaces for dialogue and preventive strategies, such as scientific infographics and educational programs against violence like the Zero Violence Brave Club. 6) Specific attention to vulnerable groups: In each action, priority was given to supporting these groups, based on scientific studies and addressing aspects such as racism and discrimination that hindered reconstruction in vulnerable neighborhoods. These interventions, systematised through dialogic co-creation, facilitated the rapid adaptation of the teachers to the post-disaster context, who already had previous experience in SEA and Schools as Learning Communities projects. This research provides an applied approach to strengthening school-community relationships in times of crisis and fostering resilient educational communities.

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