In June 2024, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation introduced the Plan + Classes + Success  (Plano + Aulas + Sucesso), with the aim of preventing students from missing out on classes for prolonged periods of time throughout the next school year.

This plan is crucial because missing classes for extended periods can lead to irreversible damage to students' educational journeys and learning processes. Furthermore, students from socio-economically disadvantaged areas are more likely to experience these extended absences from class.

The plan comes into action in the upcoming school year, and it prioritises those schools that have the highest number of students absent from classes for prolonged periods of time, aiming to reduce this number until the end of the first trimester by 90%.  The Plan has three intervention areas, further divided into 15 measures: 

• More support, with a special focus on improving teachers' working conditions through measures to simplify administrative work and paying for overtime.

• Better management, by providing schools and heads of schools with the tools that allow for a more efficient management of teachers to reduce the number of absent students.

• Retaining and attracting teachers, by creating appropriate incentives to attract teachers to those schools with a highest rates of students absent from classes.

For more information: Plan + Classes + Success

Source: Eurydice Unit Portugal