Complete national overview - Portugal

Legal System

Historical Overview

As the education system has evolved in Portugal over the years, government initiatives have been taken to deal with individuals and/or groups identified as requiring special education. Some initiatives, no less important from the chronological point of view, will be omitted because they involved no specific, organised social or educational intervention. But an important landmark, was the creation in 1946 of the first special classes in primary schools. Initially these were for children with a physical or mental handicap, but later children with learning difficulties and minor disabilities were included. The António Aurélio da Costa Ferreira Institute was the state institute responsible for giving guidance to these classes and for training the teachers involved.

In the sixties, under the Ministry of Health and Assistance, the Institute for providing Assistance for Minors was created and centres for special education, as well as centres for observation and assessment, were set up. They adopted a medical pedagogic approach and were responsible for detecting, observing and channelling children to schools providing special education or similar provision. The first courses were also organised to give specialist training to teachers.

With the revolution in 1974, which replaced dictatorship with democracy, the parent associations’ movement, aided by specialists and teaching staff, was important in developing many socio-educational activities and in organising and creating schools for handicapped children, particularly the mentally handicapped. At the time, the state already provided some organised response to other types of disability (sensory), although this was neither sufficient nor effective from an educational and social point of view. Therefore it was through these associations and co-operatives being created that the first schools for mentally handicapped children were introduced throughout the country. The most important centres were the Cooperatives for the Education and Rehabilitation of Children with Learning Difficulties, which are still an important partner today in finding solutions for the disabled and, in some cases, a specialised resource serving the educational community.

In the early seventies, the Ministry of Education began to pass legislation that specifically addressed educational structures for ''the handicapped and those with learning difficulties''. To this end it created, within the Ministry itself, the Department for Special Education  to cover Compulsory Education (Basic Education) and the Department of Special and Vocational Education for upper secondary education. Among other attributions and duties, the Ministry decided to give its support to the above mentioned schools and to assume responsibility for providing specialised teacher training for those working with handicapped children, and the courses administered by the António Aurélio da Costa Ferreira Institute were restructured accordingly. Similarly, in the mid-seventies, regional support structures were organised, Special Education Teams were only recognised in 1988 with the publication of Joint Order No. 36/SEAM/SERE/88, which aimed to develop integrated teaching for handicapped children and adolescents with sight, hearing or physical impairment. Some time later this was also approved for the mentally handicapped.

Education for all, based on the protection of individual rights by applying the principle of equal opportunity to education and the criteria of pedagogic and social justice, is expressed clearly through the full participation and co-operation among all those involved in education.

Special Education is guided by the principles enshrined in legislation, which is the Education Act, Law No. 46/86, 14th October, Decree-Law No. 35/90, 25th January; Decree-Law No. 3/2008, 7th January – and the underlying philosophy is based on several international resolutions such as the Salamanca Declaration for Special Education Needs.

These principles can be summarised under three fundamental rights:

• The right to education: all children with special education needs, even as the result of a problem (or problems) in a particular area of development, have the right to education. At compulsory school age, education for children and adolescents with special educational needs, no matter how complex they are, should be provided within the education system.
• The right to equality: the inalienable right of all children to equal opportunity in gaining access to and achieving success in education, without any type of discrimination, and with educational resources and support adequate to the individual needs of each one.
• The right to be part of society: it is a principle that they have the right to attend mainstream schools of education, which from the perspective of school for all, find the right solutions for the needs of each individual. The rule is that preferably these handicapped children should be included in the mainstream teaching system, with the solution of special schools being the exception, only when all means for keeping pupils in the normal school alongside their peers have been exhausted.

For this attempt to enshrine the right, duty and responsibility of the state and civic society in dealing with persons who are handicapped and/or have special learning needs, the development of ideas and scientific and pedagogic research, at national and international level, related to special education was crucial. No less important was the contribution of reformist attitudes that brought about change to the education system from the end of the eighties and expressed in the Education Act. Also important were recommendations made by international bodies on access for handicapped pupils to the mainstream system of education and the experience gleaned over a number of years in which pupils with disabilities have attended mainstream schooling.

Financing

Financial Support for Pupils’ Families

The criteria for financial support for pupils with special educational needs, which indirectly benefits their families, ensure the attendance and the conclusion of compulsory education.

The attribution of funds for the acquisition and/or the maintenance of technical assistance necessary to ensure the right conditions for access to the curriculum are also considered.

Specific legislation establishes the maximum amounts and the regulations of the monthly payments by co-operatives and education and special teaching associations, as well as for-profit-education and special teaching establishments, overseen by the Ministry of Education, whose fees are reviewed annually (Ordinance No. 171/07 and Ordinance No. 172/07, 6th February). The financial contribution that families make to special education for children and young people, to determine the special education subsidies from social security, is also established annually via specific legislation.

Identification of special educational needs

Definition of the Target Group and eligibility process

The target groups for special education are the following:
Pupils with significant limitations in terms of activity and participation in one or more areas in life due to permanent functional and structural issues, which result in continued difficulty in terms of communication, learning, mobility, autonomy, interpersonal relationships and social involvement.

The transfer of children and young people that need special educational support is done by school and school cluster administration and management. After referral, the executive council requests the special education department’s assessment of the referred children and young people. The objective of the assessment is to collect information that permits:

1. verification that it is a permanent special educational needs situation
2. guidance for the drawing up of an Individual Educational Programme.

Special needs education within the education system

Special Provision within Mainstream Education

The principle of permeability between the mainstream and special channels is guaranteed by the Education Act proclaiming that special education should be organised according to various models of integration in mainstream schools. It can be instituted in specific institutions when children and young people with special educational needs require specialised and differentiated support that mean significant adjustments to the educational or teaching and learning process that are demonstrably unachievable in mainstream education with the correct integration or when this integration proves demonstrably insufficient.

Specific Legislative Framework

The Education Act (Decree-Law No. 46/86, 14th October), assumes special education as a specific type of education that facilitates the socio-educational recuperation and integration of individuals with special educational needs caused by physical or mental disability:

• Including such pupils in the mainstream schooling system, as the educational strategy adopted for pupils with special educational needs, was enshrined in Law No. 9/89, 2nd May, Law on the Prevention, Rehabilitation and Integration of Disabled Persons
• Decree-Law No. 35/90, 25th January, stipulates that students with special educational needs, resulting from physical or mental disabilities, are obliged to attend compulsory schooling 
• Decree-Law No. 3/2008, 7th January, which defines the specialised support provided in state, private and co-operative pre-school, compulsory and upper-secondary education with the aim of creating the conditions to adjust the educational process to the special educational needs of pupils with major limitations in terms of activity and participation in one or more areas
• Decree-Law No. 301/93, 31st August, consecrates the compulsory attendance of  basic education by students with special educational needs
• Decree-Law No. 95/97, 23rd April, was amended by the Joint Order No. 198/99, 3rd March, defines the legal basis of specialised training for nursery, primary and secondary teachers
• Joint Order No. 495/02, 7th May, identifies the organisation of the teaching component for teachers in special education and teaching, as well as teachers working in other areas of educational support at the pre-school and  basic education levels
• Decree-Law No. 20/06, 31st January, defines the procedures regarding the teacher placement application system, creating the special education recruitment group for the first time. It repeals the Decree-Law No. 35/03, 7th February.

General Objectives

As stipulated in the Education Act (Decree-Law No. 46/86, 14th October), special education aims at facilitating the socio-educational recuperation and integration for individuals with special educational needs caused by physical or mental handicap. The following objectives, which are part of the general education system, are particularly important in special education:

• The development of physical and intellectual potential 
• Assistance in acquiring emotional stability 
• Developing communication possibilities 
• Reducing limitations caused by handicap 
• Support for family, school and social integration 
• Developing independence at all levels 
• Preparing for adequate vocational training and integration into working life

Educational Measures within Special Education

Decree-Law No. 3/2008, 7th January defines the specialised support given to pupils with permanent special educational needs and is implemented via the following measures:

• Personalised pedagogical support
• Individual curriculum adjustment
• Adjustment to the enrolment process
• Adjustment to the assessment process
• Individual specific curriculum
• Support technology

In the area of early intervention (support for children from 0 to 6 years old, preferably from 0 to 3) regulating guidelines for integrated support for disabled children or children and their families at high risk of backwardness were defined via the Joint Order No. 891/99, 19th October. Early intervention is an integrated support measure that focuses on the child and the family and involves a variety of services in the areas of education, health, social and other community services.

Specialised support provided in state, private and co-operative pre-school, basic education and upper secondary education aims to create the conditions for the adjustment of the educational process to pupils’ special educational needs. The goals of special education are educational and social inclusion, educational access and success, autonomy, emotional stability, as well as the promotion of equal opportunities, preparation for further study or post-school or professional life. 

Teachers from the special education recruitment group with specialised training in specific areas are placed in schools to promote support activities for students with permanent special educational needs.

Special Education Staff

In 2006, a specific recruitment group was created for Special Education teachers, which was made operational by Decree-Law No. 20/06, 31st January.

The organisation of educational provision in the area should focus on a limited group of students whose needs demand a specialisation of material and human resources and it is the responsibility of the school to manage those resources in such a way that it meets the needs of all students.

The school is involved in a set of activities based around the curriculum and curriculum enhancement, aiming to create the conditions for the expression and development of exceptional capacities and the resolution of any problems. This development plan is applicable to those students who demonstrate exceptional learning capacities and can include the following methods:

1. differentiated pedagogy in the classroom
2. tutoring programmes for study strategies, guidance and advice for the student
3. enhancement activities at any point in the academic year or at the beginning of a cycle (Implementing Order No. 50/05, 9th November)

Special education approaches are also organised with the aim of integrating handicapped adolescents into the world of work.
To this end, within the Ministry of Work and Social Solidarity, which is also an authority in social and socio-professional integration, there are official schools, residences and centres for occupational support. Similarly, this Ministry funds individuals through subsidies, and also finances private institutes for social solidarity with socio-educational schools. The major group in this sector is the Portuguese Associations of Parents of Pupils who are Mentally Handicapped, and to which the Ministry of Education contributes significantly through the provision of teachers, support for school social action and co-funding with families.

Via support given to the vocational training units of the institutions, the Employment and Vocational Training Institute has incentives for practical vocational training courses in industry and for job adaptation. The Institute also gives support for self-employment and protected job centres.

Institute of Employment and Vocational Training
Ministry of Work and Social Solidarity
Decree-Law No. 115-A/98
Decree-Law No. 20/06
Decree-Law No. 3/2008
Implementing Order No. 50/05

Separate Special Provision

In the Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 120/06, 21st September and Decree-Law No. 3/2008, 7th January, the specific types of education for the blind, partially sighted, deaf and those with multiple disabilities and problems of autism include:

• Special schools for bilingual education of deaf students and for the education of blind and partially sighted pupils
• Structured teaching units for teaching pupils with autism and specialised support units for pupils with multi-disability and congenital deafness and blindness

Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 120/06
Decree-Law No. 3/2008

Specific Legislative Framework

Decree-Law No. 3/2008, 7th January, establishes, regarding the reference units and schools: the implementation conditions, the objectives, the human and material resources and the organisation and running of the above mentioned units and schools.
Ordinance 1102/97 and 1103/97 define the access conditions for pupils going to special education schools and requirements in order for schools to function.

Special education schools have already begun a process of reorientation for Inclusion Resource Centres (IRC). In partnership with the community, these resource centres support the inclusion of children and young people with disabilities through facilitating access to education, training, work, leisure, social participation and an autonomous life, while promoting the full potential of the individual. The IRCs work in partnership with school clusters.

General Objectives

The general objectives to be fulfilled are those legally consecrated for all pupils with no discrimination against pupils with special educational needs.

Geographical Accessibility

Special schools and specialised support units are created whenever the number of pupils in a school or adjacent school cluster and the nature of the response, the specific facilities and professional specialisation justify their presence.
A significant number of local authorities provide school transport for pupils, as do many special education schools.

Admission Requirements and Choice of School

Children and young people with permanent special educational needs benefit from special access and attendance conditions:

• They have priority in terms of enrolment and can attend nursery schools or mainstream schools regardless of their area of residence
• In exceptional and duly justified circumstances, they can postpone enrolment for the 1st year of compulsory education for one year (this is non-renewable)
• They can sign up for individual subjects in the 2nd and 3rd cycle of basic education and upper-secondary education, as long as the sequence of mainstream education is maintained

In the cases where the application of measures foreseen in Decree-Law No. 3/2008 are proven to be insufficient, due to the type and degree of the pupil’s disability, those involved in the assessment can suggest that the pupil attend a special school.

Age Levels and Grouping of Pupils

The number of pupils supported in each unit (teaching units structured for teaching pupils with autism and specialised support units for pupils with multi-disabilities or congenital deafness and blindness) should not exceed 6.
In special schools, classes may have no more than 15 pupils and must be set up depending on the teaching needs of the pupils.

Organisation of the School Year

The school year is defined annually by ministerial order and takes into account all the pupils that attend the mainstream school system, including the pupils with special educational needs. In the same way for pupils with special educational needs that attend private special education establishments, a school year is defined.

Curriculum, Subjects

An Individual Educational Programme is defined for pupils with permanent special educational needs. The IEP documents the specific needs of each pupil and stipulates and justifies the educational response and the respective form of assessment. The application of any form of adjustment to the teaching and learning process is not permitted without one.

The IEP is drawn up by the teacher responsible for the group or class or class tutor, depending on the teaching or education level that the pupil attends, by the special education teacher and parents or guardians, which means by whoever knows the pupil best and whoever works directly with them. For it to be implemented, it has to be approved by the pedagogical council and have the express agreement from parents or guardians.

With regard to changes in the curriculum, pupils can benefit from individual curriculum adjustment or a specific individual curriculum.
The individual curriculum adjustments mean not compromising the common curriculum or the pre-school curriculum guidelines. To this end, subjects or specific curriculum areas can be introduced, such as Portuguese Sign Language (L1) and Portuguese Language/Second Language Portuguese for deaf pupils (LP2), reading and writing in Braille, orientation and mobility, vision training and adapted motor activity, among others, allowing access to the common curriculum, as well as greater autonomy. These adjustments can also mean the introduction of objectives and intermediate content or the dispensation of activities where the pupil’s functional level means it is extremely difficult or impossible to achieve the respective task. Dispensation should happen only when support technologies are insufficient to help achieve the task in question.

The specific individual curriculum presupposes significant changes in the common curriculum, which may mean: (i) the prioritisation of curriculum areas or certain content over others; (ii) the elimination of objectives and content; (iii) the introduction of complementary content and objectives regarding very specific aspects (i.e. non-verbal communication, the use of support technology in communication, mobility, accessibility) or (iv) the elimination of curriculum areas.

Teaching Methods and Materials

For the teaching of specific areas of the curriculum, such as Portuguese Sign Language, Braille or the use of Support Technologies, special education teachers and other professionals with specific training in schools, such as Portuguese Sign Language trainers and interpreters, are placed in schools by the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Education resource centres produce school books in Braille, in large font and in digital Daisy format. 
Currently, a national network of ICT Resource Centres for Special Education is being created. The goal of these resource centres is to assess pupils to identify the support technologies appropriate for the specific needs and give information to teachers and other professionals, as well as families, regarding the issues associated with the different areas of disability or incapacity.

Progression of Pupils

In the field of internal summative assessment in, the Implementing Order No. 50/05, 9th November, defines a set of measures that promotes students’ educational success: the recovery plan, applicable to students that demonstrate learning difficulties in any subject, curriculum subject or non-subject area, which can include specific teaching of Portuguese for foreign students; the monitoring plan, applicable to students that have been held back; the development plan, applicable to students who demonstrate exceptional learning capacities.

According to Decree-Law No. 3/2008, 7th January, pupils with permanent special educational needs can benefit from changes to the assessment process that can consist of a change in the types of test, the assessment and certification mechanisms, as well as assessment conditions regarding, amongst other aspects, the ways and means of communication and how often they occur, their duration and location.

With the exception of pupils with specific individual curriculums, all pupils with special educational needs are subject to the system of transition of year common in mainstream education, as defined in Implementing Order 1/05, 5th January. Pupils with specific individual curriculums are subject to specific assessment criteria defined in the respective individual educational programme.

Decree-Law No. 3/2008
Implementing Order No. 1/05
Implementing Order No. 50/05

Educational/ Vocational Guidance, Education/Employment Links

Whenever pupils have permanent special educational needs which prevent them from acquiring the learning and competencies defined in the common curriculum, three years before they reach the age limit for compulsory education, the school should complement the Individual Educational Programme with an Individual Transition Plan (ITP).

The first phase of the ITP is to discover the wishes, interests, aspirations and competencies of the respective young person. Based on this data, and in relation to the pupil's capacity to exercise a professional activity, this phase includes an assessment of the needs of the job market in the young person’s community and the seeking of training opportunities or real work experience.

Once the possibilities of training or internships are registered, it is important to identify the competencies (academic, personal and social), adjustments and special equipment required. After this assessment, it is necessary to establish protocols with the services and institutions where the young person will train or be an intern, to define the tasks they will do, the competencies required and the support needed to achieve these tasks, if and when necessary.

With regard to young people whose disabilities do not allow them to work, research should focus on finding occupational activity centres that can provide activities that interest them and are appropriate for their individual competencies.

Certification

Those legally stipulated formulations and norms commonly used for the educational system are the same for school certification in special education.

Certification mechanisms should be adjusted to the special needs of pupils that have an individual education programme, identifying the adjustments to the teaching and learning process that have been applied.

Private Education

After the political change in 1974 and the appearance of the new Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, which enshrined some general principles of education, covering State and private schooling, there was an upsurge in private and co-operative education.
The number of co-operative schools increased, particularly in the area of special education and the Ministry of Education began to give them funding.

In line with the Education Act, special education is preferably organised according to various models, taking into account specific service needs in mainstream schools, with special education initiatives belonging to central, regional and local authorities.  
Other collective bodies, namely parents and residents associations, civic and religious groups, trade union and company organisations, as well as social groups can also be involved in creating special teaching and education initiatives.

In 1993, the criteria was established for financial support of private special education establishments, those that were supplementary in nature in line with the principles of school integration, and the following year the family allowances of children and young people with disabilities attending special education establishments were stipulated.

The principle of free education was extended to private special education establishments in 1995, establishing the type of funding given by the Ministry of Education, as well as the techno-pedagogical measures used for pupils with special educational needs that attend such establishments. The consolidation of the principles and the updating of options and measures in this field were regulated in 1997, with the amount of financial support for pupils and their families being reviewed annually.

Ordinance 1102/97 establishes the access conditions for pupils in special education, the requirements in order for those institutions to function and the funding given by the Ministry of Education.

Ministry of Education
Ordinance No. 613/93
Ordinance No. 1102/97

Teacher Training - basic and specialist training

Teacher training covers initial, specialized and lifelong training.

Initial Training

Kindergarten/pre-school and primary education teachers’ initial training lasts for four years, including a professional training in state or private Colleges of Higher Education leading a degree. Teachers also can graduate from a public or private University and be permitted to teach a specific subject or group of subjects. Secondary education teachers’ training also takes four years at a state or private University and also includes a professional training, leading to a degree. These teachers are awarded qualifications to teach specific areas.

Specialized Training

Kindergarten/pre-school, primary and secondary education teachers can specialize in some areas (e.g. special education, counselling, pedagogical supervising, school administration, curriculum development, and so on).

This type of training lasts for one or two years and takes place at public or private Colleges of Higher Education, it is equivalent to a post-graduation and awards teachers professional qualifications allowing them to work in specialized areas.

Lifelong Training

Kindergarten/pre-school, primary and secondary education teachers may apply to additional different training modalities to update and broaden their knowledge as well as their skills – training courses, action programmes, workshops, studies circle, conferences, among others. The duration depends on the type of training modality chosen.

Lifelong training can be implemented by higher education institutions, by school clusters in training centres, by training centres of scientific or professional associations, by central or local administration centres, all of them accredited by the Scientific Pedagogical Council for Lifelong Training. Training boards are either of public or of private nature and teachers or others, with relevant curriculum vitae concerning a particular area and suitably accredited, can be chosen as trainers. Lifelong training modalities entitle those who attend them to a certificate and to some credits vital to the progress in their career as teachers.  

Development of inclusion

Since 1990s Portugal has been improving best conditions for SEN pupils to access mainstream education and also to benefit from quality learning.

Nowadays inclusive school basic principles – based upon humanistic beliefs concerned with people’s rights, equity and social justice – are unquestionable. Teachers, parents and politicians recognize that traditional, formal models can lead to segregation and discrimination making social and educational integration difficult for disabled people. However, in order to maintain and develop quality education for these pupils it is important not only to preserve the availability of specialized human resources and specific tools but also to implement severe changes in the schools organization and in pedagogical practice.

This is not a direct process and although inclusive education principles are considered unquestionable, there are some weaknesses in the way they are put into practice. The concept of special educational needs apply to every child or young person showing any learning difficulty any time during their academic life. Due to its very comprehensive nature, it has created some problems in schools during detection of needs and in the process of evaluation. In effect, lying on value principles, it can assume different meanings in different contexts, allowing some pupils to be considered as SEN pupils even if they don’t show any considerable problem. Others pupils that really have special needs sometimes are not being conveniently cared of.

These aspects have raised some voices who argue about the lack of conditions in mainstream schools to meet the needs of these learners, highlighting the difficulty in getting specialized resources and the lack of specialized mainstream teachers’ training as effective obstacles to inclusive practice.

This division of opinions does not aim at bringing back the traditional models, but to improve the quality of education offered to SEN pupils in mainstream school settings.

Quality indicators for SNE

General Supervision of Education, a central service of the Ministry of Education, bears the responsibility for monitoring the quality in education as far as every school is concerned, independently from its nature and educational level. This is carried out by means of methods of systematic monitoring and by examining educational practices, teachers’ professional attitude and integration of the school in the local community.

General Directory of Innovation and Curriculum Development, another central service of the Ministry of Education, has a permanent observatory for educational support which yearly collects data that permit to characterize and to monitor the education system in the field of special education.

Regional education services of the Ministry of Education also have the responsibility for follow up and monitoring led by teams of co-ordination of educational support.

For more information about the education system in Portugal you can access the new Eurydice database