2025

Changes to the rules regarding Portuguese as a Foreign Language in basic education

Ordinance No 29/2025/1, 7 February updates the rules applicable to basic education, with a focus on Portuguese as a Foreign Language. The main measures introduced by this amendment are:

• Creation of language proficiency levels based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): a) Initiation: A1 and A2; b) Intermediate: B1 and B2; c)  Advanced: C1.
• Creation of Level Zero: Establishes an initial level for students who are completely unfamiliar with the Portuguese language and alphabet. It allows progressive integration into the school curriculum for students new to the national education system.
• Remaining in the same level: Students can stay for up to two school years in levels A1 or A2, as well as in Intermediate level B1.
• New tools and steering documents: a) Introduction of specific guides for level zero and placement tests; b) Availability of these materials by the Directorate-General for Education (DGE).

This ordinance aims to consolidate linguistic and educational inclusion, ensuring that foreign students or newcomers to the education system have access to curricular adaptation that is appropriate to their needs. It also promotes a structured approach to teaching Portuguese as a foreign language.

Helpline to report and receive support for bullied pupils 

The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, in conjunction with the Ministry of Youth and Modernisation, has decided to set up an anonymous hotline to report cases of bullying and provide support to pupils in public and public schools, via app, website or telephone. The main aim is to deal with the high number of unreported cases, motivated by fear of reprisals, mistrust in the effectiveness of institutional responses and lack of knowledge of existing support channels, which highlight the need to expand awareness-raising, protection and reporting strategies. This measure is one of the five recommendations in the report drawn up by the working group to combat bullying in public and private schools.

In addition to this measure, the other four are fundamental to consolidating a more effective public policy response:

1. Adoption of a national programme to prevent and combat bullying and cyberbullying, which ensures harmonisation of school policies and practices
2. Creation of specialised multidisciplinary teams within educational establishments, extending Student Support Offices to all schools, which can act to mediate conflicts and support victims
3. Consolidation of training of teachers, psychologists and operational assistants, ensuring training in early detection, intervention, mediation and response to bullying and cyberbullying situations
4. Development of socio-emotional and relational skills acquisition programmes for aggressors, victims and witnesses, in order to prevent aggressive and violent practices.

Digital Education Labs (LED) at national level

As defined of Component C20 of the Recovery and Resilience Plan - Investment ‘TD-C20-i01: Digital Transition in Education’, the Digital Education Labs are aimed at all students in the 2nd and 3rd cycles of basic education and upper secondary education.’

Recommendations regarding the use of mobile phones, screens and digital technology in schools

According to the Portuguese Parlament's Resolution No 45/2025, 25 February, it was suggested that measures be developed, based on concrete results, to guarantee a contextualised, clear, coherent and effective policy that supports autonomous decision-making regarding the use of mobile phones in schools, regulating the dynamics of classrooms, common spaces and playgrounds, through actions and awareness campaigns geared towards families and educators, to combat children and young people’s dependence on the use of screens and digital technology and promote healthy and responsible use of digital tools.

Learning recovery plan: Learn More Now Plan

Portugal experienced a sharp decline in its results in international evaluations (PISA, TIMSS), reversing much of the robust progress made until 2018. The latest results also highlight significant inequalities among students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. In light of these challenges, the education system must implement effective policies to regain the momentum of progress and reduce disparities.

To this end, the government has drawn up the ‘Learn More Now’ Plan (Council of Ministers Resolution 140/2024, 17 October), which constitute a set of measures aimed at improving learning, aligned with the ‘+Classes +Success’ plan - ensuring that all students have the lessons they were supposed to have - and with the new external assessment model, which is designed to give greater reliability and comparability to the monitoring of learning.

The first area ‘Improving Student Learning’ focusses on learning, student support and process improvement, with measures as diverse as:

i) strengthening pedagogical practices at the earliest levels of education (0-3 year-olds);

ii) early Interventions to prevent school failure and retention;

iii) reading skills assessment in the 2nd year;

iv) bringing retired teachers back to schools as tutors to provide additional support for students with significant learning difficulties; 

v) mediating in quality self-study; as well as 

vi) changes in external evaluation and redefinition of indicators for monitoring success and early school leaving. 

Additionally, Portugal has experienced a significant increase in its migrant student population, which has nearly tripled in less than five years, rising from 50,000 to 140,000 by 2024. About 25% of these students do not speak Portuguese, posing new challenges for schools that are often unprepared for this reality.

To address these issues, the second axis of 'Learn More Now' Plan (24|25)' - Integrating Migrant Students - promotes ‘Inclusion and Success of migrant students’ with measures such as:

(i) improving inclusion of migrant students who don’t know the Portuguese language, assigning linguistic and cultural mediators to schools to guide their integration and that of their families;

(ii) updating the Portuguese as a foreign language (PLNM) subject (diagnostic tools, assessment methods, and onboarding content) and creating a level 0 for different alphabets;

(iii) reducing bureaucracy for recognition of studies; and

iv) extending Portuguese language learning opportunities to parents, facilitating the integration of entire families into the educational system and broader society.

Guidelines for the Intervention of Psychologists in Schools (DGE, 2024)

Published by the Directorate-General for Education in April 2024, the Guidelines for the Intervention of Psychologists in School Contexts (DGE, 2024) ‘Referencial para a Intervenção dos Psicólogos em Contexto Escolar’ is a steering document that aims to consolidate psychologists’ practice in Portuguese schools. This is the normative technical framework for psychologists in schools, focussing their intervention on the areas that best meet the current needs of the education system, based on scientifically tested and validated intervention models.

New external learning assessment for students in 2024/2025

In February 2025, trial tests were undertaken to familiarise students with the digital medium used for assessment and help schools test the organisation of digital tests, identifying technical and organisational issues to be implemented by the minister’s services when administering the ModA tests and the final tests of basic education.

2024

Pedagogical Innovation Pilot Project (PIPP II)

A new version of the Pedagogical Innovation Pilot Project (PIPP II) aims to broaden student choice and diversify training programmes, focussing on upper secondary education. Involving seven educational establishments from the next school year, PIPP II is based on the conclusion that the science-humanities courses (SHC) and professional courses (PC), which are attended by the overwhelming majority of upper secondary school students, have certain limitations, such as curricular rigidity and little articulation between subjects. The aim of the pilot project is to enable students to expand their knowledge in different areas, providing them with a more comprehensive and enriching education. 

The creation of PIPP II is aligned with one of the Government Programme’s objectives, which foresees the diversification of the way upper secondary education is organised, broadening the subjects that students can take.

Students on science-humanities courses: In the PIPP, no core courses are proposed and the models must include a common component and a specific component. The common component includes Portuguese, foreign language I, II or III, philosophy, physical education, literacy and data (including financial literacy, commercial literacy, labour literacy and democratic participation, for example) and personal project. In the specific component, students can choose to take any of the subjects offered by the school, whereas currently this option was limited to one biennial subject and one annual subject. Choices can only be made in the 11th grade, allowing for greater reflection and solidity in students' decisions. The subjects can be completed in any of the years of upper secondary education, safeguarding the attendance of subjects that allow for the national final exams required to complete this level of education.

Students on vocational courses: The curriculum is based around four training components: socio-cultural, scientific, technological and work-based. Students can choose to take subjects from the science-humanities courses, from among those offered by the school. This is subject to the rules of the curricular model defined by the educational establishment, and students must pass all these subjects in any of the years of upper secondary education. The socio-cultural component includes a subject that also concentrates on various literacies (including financial literacy, commercial literacy, labour literacy and democratic participation, for example). 

Recommendations for smartphone use in schools

 In line with the government's commitment to digital transition, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) has taken the reins to train young people with regard to digital skills and preparing them for the social and professional challenges of adult life.

 Although digital technologies boast great potential for learning, the risks associated with individual and unregulated use of electronic devices are equally important.

With this in mind, a set of recommendations has been issued and sent to schools. The ministry requests that such guidelines be extended to teaching and non-teaching staff.

 As such, while the 1st and 2nd cycles of basic education recommend banning the use and/or entry of smartphones in school areas, in the 3rd cycle the recommendation is to implement measures to restrict and discourage the use of smartphones in school areas.

In upper secondary education, the recommendations focus on students being involved in the joint construction of rules for the responsible use of smartphones in school areas.

Exceptions include students with very poor levels of Portuguese who can use smartphones as a translation tool, as well as students who use smartphone features for health reasons.

For more information, visit the government’s website.

• employing language and cultural mediators
• updating the tools for diagnosing and guiding students, particularly in Portuguese as a foreign language (PFL), so students whose mother tongue is not Portuguese can be better placed, according to their language skills
• creating a zero level in Portuguese as a foreign language
• clarifying the assessment of migrant students: adapting retention criteria in basic education and assessment in upper secondary education for those studying PFL, extending the guarantee of differentiated conditions for students taking PFL in all tests and exams
• simplifying equivalences in basic education
• expanding the network of Portuguese language courses for foreigners (Portuguese as a host language), which aims to boost understanding of the language, social integration and the involvement of parents in their children's school life - a key factor of school success.

Decree-Law No 48-B/2024, which was published on 25 July, deals with the restoration of teachers' length of service. This legislation recognises an improved career position as of 1 September this year and consequent pay update.

This decree-law enshrines the special system for regaining length of service, which had been suspended, for pre-primary, primary and upper secondary school teachers in public schools. It also makes the first amendment to Decree-Law 74/2023, 25 August, which establishes the terms for implementing the mechanisms for accelerating career progression.

The legislation restores the peace of mind schools’ need to focus on their main mission, teaching, as well as meeting teachers’ legitimate expectations.

New external learning assessment for students in 2024/2025 – more monitoring for better learning 

In July 2024, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation launched a new external learning evaluation model, which will help improve how students' learning is monitored, thus facilitating tailored learning strategies and helping inform public policy. 

In line with the government’s programme, this new model will be implemented during the 2024/2025 school year and involves two types of assessment at the end of each basic education cycle. The first one is the learning monitoring test (Provas de Monitorização de Aprendizagem - Provas ModA), which is administered in grades 4 (end of the first cycle of basic education) and 6 (end of the second cycle of basic education). The assessed subjects are Portuguese, mathematics and one other, which changes every three years. The second one is final exams in grade 9 (end of the third cycle of basic education) in Portuguese (or Portuguese as a foreign language) and mathematics. 

Most of the exams will be in digital form (with one in a hybrid format). Also, they will no longer be made public, so they can be used for year-on-year comparisons. 

To ensure a smooth transition, several measure will be taken, including a test run for the exam in the middle of the school year.

For more information, consult the government’s website.

+Classes+Success Plan 

In June 2024, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation introduced the +Classes+Success Plan (Plano +Aulas +Sucesso), which aims to ensure that students do not spend prolonged periods without classes during the next school year. 

This plan is crucial as being without classes may cause irreversible damage to students’ education path and learning process. Also, those students most likely to experience this type of situation are from socio-economic disadvantaged areas.

The plan comes into effect during the next school year (2024/2025) and prioritises those schools with students who have the most classes untaught. It aims to reduce the number of students without classes from the beginning of the year until the end of the first term by 90%. 

The plan covers three intervention areas (divided into 15 measures): 

• improving teachers’  working conditions via measures to simplify administrative work and paying for overtime; 

• providing schools and heads of schools with the tools that allow for a more efficient management of teachers, in order to reduce the number of students without classes; 

• retaining and attracting teachers by creating appropriate incentives to attract teachers to those schools with pupils without classes. 

For more information, consult the Plan + Classes + Success.   

2023

Teaching career progression

As part of the strategy to improve public services and reduce inequalities, the government approved a decree - enacted in late August - that establishes the terms for implementing accelerated career progression mechanisms for pre-school, basic and upper secondary school teachers. Decree-Law No. 74/2023, 25 August, establishes a special system for remedying imbalances in career progression, introducing equity factors via positive discrimination for teachers whose career has been affected by pay and progression freezes between 2005 and 2007, and again between 2011 and 2017.

This legislation is expected to affect approximately 70,000 teachers, who can now reach one of the three highest scales (8th, 9th or 10th).

SIMPLEX: better practices in everyday life for schools and teachers

For the next school year (2023/24), the Portuguese Ministry of Education is introducing an initial set of measures that reduce and simplify school procedures, methodologies and administrative processes. This framework is in line with several commitments made to schools and teachers with regard to facilitating the management of internal administrative procedures, including those related to teaching and learning processes (e.g., the duration and format of meetings, preparation of pupil assessments and teacher responsibility and accountability).

Read here for more information.

Budget increase for inclusion resource centres

The Council of Ministers approved expenditure on cooperation contracts of up to €13,112,500 for inclusion resource centres for the 2023/2024 school year, a 25% increase on the earlier budget.

This figure was agreed with social partners, signalling more robust help for students with specific educational needs, who will be provided with more therapeutic support.

Read here for more information. 

New 23|24 Escola+ Plan

Having considered the monitoring and evaluation results of the 21|23 School+ Plan, as well as the knowledge, experience and lessons learned from its implementation, the 23|24 School+ Plan (approved by Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 80-B/2023, 18 July 2023) provides schools with a set of specific measures for the 2023/2024 school year. This involves the construction and implementation of schools’ own learning recovery plans, which aim to counter the learning deficits that remain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 23|24 School+ Plan is divided into the following areas:

a) Area 1 - Reading and writing.

b) Area 2 - Curricular autonomy.

c) Area 3 - Educational resources.

d) Area 4 - Family.

e) Area 5 - Assessment and diagnosis.

f) Area 6 - Inclusion and well-being.

g) Area 7 - Supporting educational communities.

These areas take the form of measures applied to education and training provision in basic and upper secondary education, including vocational schools, both public and private.

The abovementioned resolution also extends the mandate of the Mission Group for Promoting School Success (created by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers 23/2016, 11 April) for another two school years. This group is responsible for monitoring the plan, in tandem with representatives from all the Ministry of Education departments.

Students’ external assessment: new rules for completing upper secondary education

Following the reflection and public discussion held on this subject a few months ago, Decree-Law No 62/2023, 25 July, approves the new rules for completing upper secondary school and access to higher education. This involves the new regime of student assessment, which establishes a new examinations model in upper secondary education. The list of compulsory final exams has changed, with all students taking three national exams, thus consolidating the core nature of internal and continuous assessment. The Portuguese language exam remains compulsory for all, with each student being obliged to take two other exams of their choice, according to their individual learning path and further studies.

The same decree-law alters the legal framework for inclusive education, extending the special conditions of assessment tests all students with any specific language disorder, which was previously applied only to students with dyslexia.

These changes will only come into force for students enrolled the 12th year for the 2024/2025 school year.

For more information, see the Government website. 

Guidelines for combating gender discrimination in schools

In June 2023, guidelines were made available to all schools on preventing and combating discrimination and violence related to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sexual characteristics. The guide, entitled O direito a ser nas escolas (The right to be in schools), was presented on 17 May at the 'Right to Be in Schools' forum, which marked International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. It suggests measures to guarantee transgender students’ safety and well-being, ensuring their self-assigned name is respected in all school and non-school activities. The guidelines, which cover teacher training and other aspects, also aim to ensure that transgender students have safe access to toilets and changing rooms, as well as guaranteeing the privacy and dignity of their identity when communicating with their families.

21|23 Escola+ Plan: effectiveness and efficiency monitoring and assessment

With regard to the 21|23 Escola+ Plan, the Ministry of Education’s Directorate-General for Education and Science Statistics (DGEEC) published the third monitoring report (April 2023), which provides revised and updated data collected in January 2023 in over 92% of school clusters/non-clustered schools (SC/NCS) about 14 specific actions monitored.

Like previous reports (see subsection 2022), this document includes:

- the level of take-up of specific actions

- the resources and pupils involved

- the perception of each school cluster or non-clustered school about the specific actions implemented and the impact they had on the students' learning recovery process.

This third monitoring report adds two modules regarding the specific actions 1.3.6. Recovering with Art and Humanities and 1.6.6. Fourth Quarter - Cultural Backpack and a module on the impact of the action 1.6.3. Personal, Social and Community Development Plans, as well as on the degree of priority given to its implementation.

The data presented in this report gives us a picture of how schools mobilised the measures available in the 21|23 Escola+ Plan.

School sports on wheels

Initially set up in 2019, as part of the Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude – IPDJ (Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth) and Ministry of Education joint initiative, the pilot project "School Sports on Wheels" will be extended to all public schools with the 2nd cycle during the 2022/23 school year. This forms part of Area 1 of the Strategic School Sport Programme 2021-25 and the Learning Recovery Plan - 21|23 School+ Plan, consolidating another cycling initiative created by the cooperation protocol between the DGE and FPCiclismo (2017) with "Cycling Goes to School", a programme overseen by the National Cycling Programme for All (PNCpT)

Boasting a national pedagogical model, the project employs a manual for the teacher and qualified technician and focusses on three cornerstones: (1) teaching-learning ('Knowing how to ride a bicycle'); (2) rules of the road; (3) citizenship. The activities are also organised transversally in each school cluster/non-clustered school, in tandem with curricular autonomy and flexibility, as well as innovation plans. This way, they reach an increasing number of students, while developing dynamics between the school and local community.

These activities are designed for students in the 2nd and 3rd cycle of basic education and upper secondary schools, provided they are enrolled in the School Sport Module.  The project’s objectives are:

• To use bicycles in students’ education for sports, recreation and daily life
• To make the teaching of "how to ride a bicycle safely" widespread, preferably until the end of the 2nd cycle of basic education
• To make riding a bicycle safely and enjoyably more accessible and widespread, both as a form of leisure and as a means of transport
• To standardise the analysis and methodologies for teaching students "how to ride a bicycle safely", in a closed and open setting

The project requires investment so that the National Strategy for Active Cycling Mobility 2020-2030 (ENMAC) guidelines and meet the objectives defined for 2020-2030. Each school cluster/non-clustered school must create the right conditions for initial development. That said, some financial support is foreseen, as well as the supply of helmets and bicycles to all school clusters/non-clustered schools on the public network (international public tender, part of RRP), undertaken in phases until 2025.

During this school year (2022/23), the «School Sports on Wheels» project will provide bicycles for 259 public schools with the 2nd cycle of basic education. This joint initiative involves the  Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude – IPDJ (Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth), and the Ministry of Education, through the Direção-Geral da Educação (Directorate-General for Education).

By 2024, all public schools will have at least two (2) cycling kits consisting of 3 bicycles with 16" wheels, 3 bicycles with 20" wheels, 3 bicycles 24" wheels, 1 bicycle with 26" wheels and 10 helmets.

Monitoring of Level II activities is similar to the quarterly reports requested from school clusters/non-clustered schools.

Additional information can be found on the Direção-Geral da Educação website.

"Border schools project" memorandum

On 15 March 2023, in Lanzarote, Portugal and Spain signed the "Border Schools Project" Memorandum, boosting bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The initiative, which targets young people, reflects values like exercising full citizenship, solidarity through cultural diversity and democratic debate, among others.

In doing so, both countries have made a joint investment in the educational, social and economic development of border territories, providing the local populations with quality education. This includes knowledge and skills associated with bilingualism and interculturalism, which are relevant to citizenship, further studies and employability in both countries.

The project aims are:

1. to boost quality learning, with collaboration among teachers and students, the promotion of bilingualism, the exchange of knowledge, pedagogical practices and curriculum content
2. to shape citizens through intercultural understanding
3. to highlight certain territories as a means of promoting economic growth and combating depopulation
4. to promote mutual cultural and linguistic recognition, through school twinning.

The project involves five Portuguese school clusters, eight basic education schools and six Spanish Centres, with the main focus on the capacity building and continuous teacher training in plurilingual and intercultural competences. One key partner is the Organização dos Estados Ibero-Americanos para a Educação, Ciência e Cultura (OEI).

For more information about the Bilingual and Intercultural Schools Project "Border Schools" visit the DGE website.

External Assessment Dematerialisation Project - DAVE

The project (External Assessment Dematerialisation), which was launched by IAVE, foresees national tests and exams in digital format, having already started for this school year (2022/2023), encompassing standardised tests for the 2nd, 5th and 8th grades in digital format for all students, with the exception of artistic expression and physical education. During the following school year (2023/2024), students in the 9th grade of basic education will take the final cycle exams in digital format, while students in upper secondary education will take part in this new practice in 2024/2025.

This new system was tested in 2018 in an 8th-grade maths standardised test, which was taken in both digital and paper format with around 2,500 students completing it via computer. In 2019, another pilot project took place in some schools, where standardised tests were digitalised and grading took place electronically. In 2021, the "diagnostic study of learning for 3rd, 6th and 9th-grade students" also took place in digital format.

Essential learning for mathematics in upper secondary education

Dispatch No. 702/2023, 13 January, approves the new essential learning (EL) for mathematics in upper secondary education. These curriculum documents map a common set of knowledge to be acquired, which is identified as structured disciplinary knowledge. It is essential, conceptually linked, relevant and significant, including skills and attitudes that all students are expected to develop in each part of the curriculum or subject, usually denoted by school grade or year of training.

Alongside the exit profile of students leaving compulsory education, the mathematics EL for upper secondary education constitutes a framework for the decisions taken by the school regarding suitability and contextualisation in the different areas of curriculum development: the planning and implementation of maths teaching and learning, as well as students’ internal and external assessment.

To support maths teachers, the DGE has a project website, which contains a summary of the curriculum revision of mathematics EL, as well as useful resources.

INCLUD-ED learning communities project

Part of extending the INCLUD-ED learning communities project to new schools, from the 2022-2023 academic year onwards, training centres will undertake the teaching and monitoring of new teams of teachers implementing this project in their schools, using CREA certified trainers (35 were certified in 2019-2021). In 2022-2023, 16 training centres and 12 certified trainers are involved, with 18 training classes already planned, which are designed for teachers who will implement the project in 39 OUs (29 are part the project for the first time this academic year).

Digital textbooks

The digital textbooks pilot-project (PPMD), which started in the 2020/21 school year, is currently (2022/23 school year) in its third phase, involving a total of 68 school clusters. For additional information, see this topic in 2022.