New legislation passed in February 2022 aims to ensure access to school inclusion for migrant students who have recently arrived in Portugal, through more flexible and inclusive curriculum design. Schools are given the autonomy to define support measures according to the needs of each learner. For example, students who have recently enrolled in the education system and have insufficient skills in the language of schooling participate in ‘Portuguese as a second language’ and other learning activities aimed at promoting linguistic immersion to help them access the curriculum. 

During this time students are not attending the other subjects foreseen in the curriculum structure of the respective school year. They instead join learning activities as part of Portuguese as a Second Language (PL2), according to the respective Essential Learning curriculum. The latter approaches the Portuguese language as a vehicular language that enables participation to the remaining school subjects. 

The legislation aims at making the curriculum more flexible and at integrating foreign pupils gradually. It concedes autonomy to schools when defining which support measures to mobilise for learning and inclusion, and the subjects to be studied, according to the specific situation of each pupil and the profile of teachers. In Portugal’s school context, this programme has been considered as one of the most successful measures adopted to promote equity and equal opportunities in early education. 

For more information: https://www.dge.mec.pt/portugues-lingua-nao-materna-plnm  

Source: Eurydice Unit Portugal 

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