Homeschooling or Home Schooling is legal in Portugal and is also regulated by the Education Board. Homeschooling is called “Ensino Doméstico” in Portuguese. There are certain steps you need to take in order to get Homeschooling right in Portugal.
Hello everyone, welcome to the Europetutor community. Today in this article, we will discuss everything there is to know about homeschooling in Portugal. I suggest you read the article till the end to have a better understanding of how homeschooling in Portugal is done.
Reasons parents choose homeschooling in Portugal
- Access to personalized education
- Children with special learning needs
- Non-Portuguese speaking families
- A solution for traveling families
Legal Requirement for homeschooling in Portugal
The following are the legal requirement for homeschooling in Portugal.
- School Enrollment is compulsory
- The Educator must have a University degree
- The Educator must have a license
- Children must attend exams at the school at the end of each school cycle
- If you are an expat, you must teach your kid Portuguese
Let’s talk about these points in detail.
School Enrollment is compulsory
Your kid must be registered with either a public school or a private school. Also, keep in mind that the school you have enrolled your kid to must allow homeschooling. If the school doesn’t allow it, you should find a new school.
Here are the documents you need to present at the school:
- Your degree, or your educator’s degree
- NIF Numbers (Your and your kid’s)
- Passport copies
- Resident permits
- Homeschooling form(filled)
- Documents showing your verified accommodation
- National Health System number
- Social Security number
Your kid must attend exams at School
As you have already registered your kid to a school, he/she must attend exams at the school at the end of each school cycle. If they don’t give the exam, they won’t be transferred to the next level.
If your kid fails, they can give the exam again the following year. If they fail the second time, the school could rule out the homeschooling option and your kid must join the school.
The Educator must have a University degree
Whether it’s you, your partner, or an external educator, one must have at least an undergraduate university degree to teach a homeschooling kid.
Schools require a university degree to be recognized in Portugal. If you are an expat, you have to verify your degree in Portugal.
You can verify your degree online too. You can click here to go to DSEG website (Foreign Degrees and Diploma Recognization) to verify your degree.
What documents are needed?
According to Article 4 (2) of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, applicants must present a document that unequivocally proves that the degree or diploma has been awarded.
Copy of the Diploma or document issued by the foreign higher education institution proving the title of the degree or diploma for which recognition is required, authenticated by the competent authorities for this purpose;
Simple copy of a document issued by a foreign higher education institution with a registration number of a degree or diploma in the case of foreign higher education institutions that have centralized registers that can be accessed through a unique identifier;
Diploma or certificate issued by the foreign higher education institution, in the original version, proving the title of the degree or diploma for which recognition is required.
The fee to be charged by the Directorate-General for Higher Education is 28 Euro. It will take a maximum of 30 days to verify your documents.
The Educator must have a license
If you or your partner don’t have a university degree, you have to hire an educator who has a degree. You have to make sure the educator is licensed to teach homeschooling.
If you are an expat, you must teach your kid Portuguese
The exams in schools are taken in the Portuguese language. If you don’t know Portuguese, you have to hire someone to teach your kid the Portuguese language so that they don’t fail in school.
If you have hired an educator from Portugal, then they can teach Portuguese to your kid. No need to hire a 3rd person.
The primary school system in Portugal
The ministry of education supervises all the policies regarding state schools, and this stage includes three main cycles (escolas básicas) as follows:
First cycle (primeiro ciclo or 1º ciclo): Grades 1 to 4
This cycle lasts for 4 years and one single teacher is responsible for teaching students.
Second cycle (segundo ciclo or 2º ciclo): Grades 5 to 6
This cycle lasts for 2 years and different teachers are responsible for teaching a wide range of subjects.
Third cycle (terceiro ciclo or 3º ciclo): Grades 7 to 9
This cycle lasts for 3 years and one teacher is responsible for teaching the given subject area. This cycle covers vocational studies also. At the end of this cycle, a diploma/certificate is awarded.
Online Schooling vs Homeschooling
People usually get confused between Homeschooling and Online Schooling.
Let me clear up your confusion.
Online schooling is when your kid learns from online platforms. This involves using an online learning program that connects students to a teacher during live classes, or where students can log on to software to complete coursework with worksheets, lessons, or other learning tools.
On the other hand, Homeschooling refers to a child learning in a home environment without the use of a formal schooling curriculum. This typically places all the responsibility on the parent or guardian. Parents who homeschool (without an online schooling platform) are responsible for creating the lesson content and monitoring the student’s progress and completion of the required coursework.
If you have any questions, you can contact MEL for free.
MEL is a non-profit association dedicated to promoting and developing new educational possibilities and paradigms. MEL also intervenes with the Portuguese government and national and international organizations in order to promote the right to education and freedom of education.
If you have any questions or suggestions for us, please let us know in the comment section below.
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