Early childhood and school education 

In the Portuguese education system, inclusive education is the guiding principle underpinning the organisation of educational provision, and it is the responsibility of schools to implement various measures and resources to address the diverse needs of pupils in both pre-school and mainstream primary and secondary education. 

The principles and standards that guarantee an inclusive education for all pupils are enshrined in the Legal Framework for Inclusive Education, established by Decree Law No 54/2018, 6 July (in its current wording, conferred by Law No 116/2019, 13 September and by Decree-Law No 62/2023, 25 July). This framework applies to school clusters and non-clustered schools in the state sector, to vocational schools, and to pre-school, primary and secondary education establishments in the private, cooperative and solidarity-based sectors. This legal framework marked a break with the previous categorical model, which was based on a narrow conception of support measures aimed at pupils with special educational needs – that is, pupils with significant limitations in terms of activity and participation in one or more areas of life resulting from permanent functional and structural impairments. The current legislation sets out a more comprehensive vision of educational provision, which involves viewing the school as a whole, taking into account the diversity of its dimensions and the interaction between them. In this context, it is the responsibility of schools to identify barriers to learning and participation for any pupil and to mobilise the necessary responses and resources.

Decree-Law No. 54/2018, in conjunction with Decree-Law No. 55/2018, 6 July and the Exit Profile of Pupils Leaving Compulsory Education (Despatch No. 6478/2017, 26 July), provides a coherent framework for education policy that simultaneously values educational standards, the diversity of pathways, pupils’ characteristics,  the principle of curricular flexibility, collaborative work between teachers and other professionals, and the mechanisms necessary to ensure that learning opportunities are expanded and the full potential of each pupil is promoted, guaranteeing effective access to the curriculum and learning. In this context, Decree-Law No. 54/2018 serves to implement, at an organisational and pedagogical level, the principles set out in Decree-Law No. 55/2018 and in the Exit Profile of Pupils Leaving Compulsory Education. Whilst these define, respectively, the curriculum framework and the competences that all pupils must develop throughout compulsory schooling, the legal framework for inclusive education establishes the conditions, intervention mechanisms and organisational arrangements that ensure access to the curriculum and the full participation of pupils.
Decree-Law No. 54/2018 also defines a set of measures to support learning and inclusion, the specific curricular areas and the resources to be mobilised by schools to meet the educational needs of all children and young people throughout their school career, across the various education and training provision.

Pupils’ skills and interests, curricular flexibility and differentiated teaching take centre stage in the way schools are structured, with a view to ensuring access to the curriculum for each and every pupil. This is understood within a comprehensive framework that includes, in addition to the syllabus, issues relating to the organisation of space and time, equipment, strategies, activities and assessment, amongst others. 
Within this framework, the organisation of educational responses is based on a multi-level approach, understood as a comprehensive model of action/intervention, which translates into the progressive organisation and mobilisation of a set of measures to support learning and inclusion and the adoption of the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
Universal design for learning is an approach that addresses the need to organise universal measures tailored to all learners. Defined as a framework and guide for creating accessible and effective learning environments for all learners, it is an essential tool for classroom planning and practice.

In this context, the promotion of accessible and diverse learning environments requires coordination between the teaching strategies developed in the classroom and a broader set of public policies aimed at improving learning and preventing school failure. Creating conditions that encourage all pupils to participate in the curriculum also involves preventive and support measures throughout their school career. It is within this context that educational policy initiatives aimed at strengthening support for pupils and promoting more successful educational pathways are situated. Among these, the ‘Learn More Now’ Plan stands out, approved by Council of Ministers Resolution No. 140/2024, 17 October, which introduces a set of measures aimed at improving learning and strengthening inclusion in the education system.
The rules on enrolment and attendance, as set out in Decree-Law No. 176/2012, 2 August, regulates enrolment and attendance within the framework of compulsory schooling for children and young people aged between 6 and 18, and also establishes measures to be adopted throughout pupils’ school careers with the aim of preventing school failure and dropout. 
This legislation also states that it is the duty of the State to provide psychological and educational and career guidance services, enabling vocational counselling for young people, namely, referral to an educational provision suited to the pupil’s profile, whilst also allowing for the reorientation of their educational pathway through systems of permeability or equivalences.
Regulatory Decree No. 10-B/2018, 6 July, as currently worded, lays down the rules governing the organisation of the school year in public pre-school, primary and secondary schools, as well as in primary and secondary education, providing for a set of measures to strengthen autonomy and flexibility in curriculum development, aimed at improving pupils’ learning and ensuring that all achieve the competences set out in the Exit Profile of Pupils Leaving Compulsory Education. It also provides for additional teaching hours to enable specific tutorial support to be provided to pupils in the 2nd and 3rd cycles of Basic Education (ages 10-14) who have repeated a year two or more times during their school path.

Together with these measures to promote educational success, Order No. 6954/2019, 6 August, sets out the guidelines for an intervention programme aimed at young people who have left the education system and are at risk of social exclusion, known as ‘Second Chances’, constituting a socio-educational response designed and developed by schools in collaboration with other bodies and institutions.
In accordance with Decree-Law No. 55/2018, in its current wording, and with a view to ensuring compliance with compulsory schooling and promoting social inclusion, an integrated education and training programme may be adopted, once other measures to promote school integration have been exhausted. This programme operates within the framework of various training provision and constitutes a socio-educational and training measure for inclusion, of a temporary and exceptional nature.
Under Ordinance No. 181/2019, 11 June, in its current wording, schools may design alternative curriculum pathways.

Higher Education

The school-based social support system promotes access to higher education and successful completion of studies, with a focus on economically disadvantaged students who demonstrate adequate academic performance.
Higher education institutions (HEI) have the autonomy to decide on the provision of academic and career guidance to their students, as well as the provision of psychological support, and the majority of HEIs provide support services in these areas.

Information and guidance for young people’s qualifications

Within the Portuguese education system, information and guidance on vocational training for young people is delivered directly in schools through educational and technical frameworks coordinated by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI), with the aim of supporting pupils in shaping their educational and career paths. This is achieved primarily through the Psychology and Guidance Services (SPO) operating within school clusters and non-clustered schools, staffed by school psychologists who carry out vocational guidance processes, assessments of interests and skills, information sessions on training pathways, and individual support for pupils, particularly during periods of educational transition (for example, at the end of lower secondary education and upper secondary education). At the same time, teachers, class tutors and teaching teams collaborate in implementing vocational exploration activities, publicising training opportunities – including scientific-humanities, vocational and dual-certification courses – and guiding students towards suitable pathways.

The implementation is also linked to the National Qualifications Framework (Quadro Nacional de Qualificações - QNQ) coordinated by the current Institute for Education, Quality and Assessment (EDuQA, I.P.), notably through the dissemination of the National Qualifications Catalogue and school and career guidance initiatives, ensuring that information about training and employment opportunities reaches students directly in schools and supports informed decisions about their academic and professional future.