Glossary of Portuguese school terms
The Portuguese words you will meet in letters, protocols and exam notices, explained in plain English.
- 1.ª fase e 2.ª fase
- The first and second rounds of tests. Missing a 1.ª fase test without a serious, documented reason bars the pupil from that test in the 2.ª fase. Guide: Exams for homeschooled pupils in Portugal (2025/26 to 2027/28)
- adaptações curriculares significativas
- An additional measure under DL 54/2018. Since DL 8/2025, homeschooled pupils with it do not take PEF, provas finais or exames for approval. Guide: Homeschooling a child with special educational needs
- agrupamento de escolas
- A cluster of state schools under one director and management. Requests usually go to the agrupamento that serves your home address and offers the relevant year. Guide: How to start home education in Portugal, step by step
- AGSE
- AGSE, I.P., the public institute created by DL 99/2025 that took over part of the former DGEstE's functions from 1 September 2025. Guide: When things go wrong with the school or the exams
- apreciação
- The written appraisal of the work done, prepared by the responsável educativo, that goes with the portfolio. Guide: The portfolio, what the law asks and how to build one that works
- apreciação síntese
- The professor-tutor's summary appraisal after each portfolio meeting, possibly with recommendations. Sent to the guardian within 10 working days. Guide: The portfolio, what the law asks and how to build one that works
- Aprendizagens Essenciais
- The national curriculum reference: what pupils should know and be able to do in each subject and year. The reference for homeschool plans and for the tests. Guide: The Portuguese curriculum for homeschooling families
- audiência prévia
- The prior hearing: before refusing a request or cancelling an authorisation, the school must let the guardian respond, with at least 10 working days. Guide: When things go wrong with the school or the exams
- autoavaliação
- The child's own assessment of their learning. It must accompany the portfolio (art. 18.º DL 70/2021). Guide: The portfolio, what the law asks and how to build one that works
- autoproposto
- External candidate: a pupil who sits tests without attending classes. Homeschooled children register as autopropostos. Guide: Exams for homeschooled pupils in Portugal (2025/26 to 2027/28)
- CCDR
- Comissões de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional, I.P. Since September 2025 they carry out regional school-support functions of the former DGEstE. Guide: When things go wrong with the school or the exams
- certificado de registo criminal
- Criminal record certificate. Required for the teacher in ensino individual and attached to the enrolment request. Guide: Who can teach a homeschooled child in Portugal
- ciclo
- A stage of ensino básico: 1.º ciclo (1.º to 4.º ano), 2.º ciclo (5.º and 6.º) and 3.º ciclo (7.º to 9.º). Certification tests happen at the end of each cycle. Guide: The Portuguese curriculum for homeschooling families
- Cidadania e Desenvolvimento
- The citizenship subject. Since 2025/26 it has its own Aprendizagens Essenciais, and it is an oral PEF at the end of 4.º, 6.º and 9.º ano. Guide: The Portuguese curriculum for homeschooling families
- conselho de turma
- The class council of teachers that meets at the end of each term to assess pupils. Some protocolos set portfolio deadlines about 10 days before these meetings. Guide: The portfolio, what the law asks and how to build one that works
- cursos científico-humanísticos
- The general academic courses of secondary school (10.º to 12.º ano). They are the only secondary route covered by DL 70/2021. Guide: Homeschooling in secondary school and applying to university
- DGEEC
- Direção-Geral de Estatísticas da Educação e Ciência, which publishes the official numbers of pupils in ensino doméstico and individual.
- DGEstE
- The former Direção-Geral dos Estabelecimentos Escolares, abolished on 1 September 2025. It decided ensino individual requests and appeals; DL 70/2021 still names it. Guide: When things go wrong with the school or the exams
- dias úteis
- Working days: Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. All deadlines in DL 70/2021 are counted in working days. Guide: How to start home education in Portugal, step by step
- DL 54/2018 (educação inclusiva)
- The inclusive education law. It applies to homeschoolers where relevant and sets support measures in three levels: universal, selective and additional. Guide: Homeschooling a child with special educational needs
- EduQA
- Instituto de Educação, Qualidade e Avaliação, I.P. Since 1 October 2025 it replaced DGE and IAVE: it holds the curriculum documents and prepares ModA, provas finais and exames. Guide: The Portuguese curriculum for homeschooling families
- EMAEI
- Equipa multidisciplinar de apoio à educação inclusiva: the school's inclusion team. The protocolo can include its advice. Guide: Homeschooling a child with special educational needs
- encarregado de educação
- The child's legal guardian for school purposes, usually a parent. Signs the request and the protocolo. May or may not be the responsável educativo. Guide: How to start home education in Portugal, step by step
- ENEC
- Estratégia Nacional de Educação para a Cidadania. The 2025 version (RCM 127/2025) sets 8 mandatory dimensions, 4 of them for every school year. Guide: The Portuguese curriculum for homeschooling families
- ensino a distância
- The Portuguese distance-learning modality (Portaria 359/2019), reserved for specific groups such as children of itinerant workers. It is not the same as a foreign online school. Guide: Foreign online schools and umbrella schools in Portugal
- ensino doméstico
- Home education: the curriculum is taught at the child's home by a relative or someone who lives with the child, who must hold at least a licenciatura (DL 70/2021). Guide: Ensino doméstico or ensino individual, the two legal ways to educate at home
- ensino individual
- Individual tuition: a teacher legally qualified to teach instructs a single pupil outside a school. The teacher also runs formative and summative assessment. Guide: Ensino doméstico or ensino individual, the two legal ways to educate at home
- entrevista
- The interview with the child and the guardian that the school calls after the request, to get to know the child and the educational plan (art. 9.º n.º 5). Guide: How to start home education in Portugal, step by step
- escola de matrícula
- The school where the child is enrolled. It monitors, assesses and certifies the child, names the professor-tutor and runs the tests. Guide: How to start home education in Portugal, step by step
- escolaridade obrigatória
- Compulsory schooling, from age 6 to 18 or until the secondary diploma. Home education is a way of meeting it, not an exemption: the child must still be enrolled. Guide: Ensino doméstico or ensino individual, the two legal ways to educate at home
- exames finais nacionais
- National secondary exams, taken in the terminal year of each subject. Where no national exam exists, homeschoolers take a PEF instead. Guide: Secundário exams for homeschooled pupils
- Informação-Prova
- The document published for each test (by the school for a PEF, nationally for provas finais and exames): structure, content, duration, materials and marking. Read it early for every PEF. Guide: Exams for homeschooled pupils in Portugal (2025/26 to 2027/28)
- JNE
- Júri Nacional de Exames: organises provas and exames, including adaptations for pupils with specific needs. Guide: Exams for homeschooled pupils in Portugal (2025/26 to 2027/28)
- licenciatura
- A bachelor's degree, in any field. It is the minimum qualification for the responsável educativo in ensino doméstico. Guide: Who can teach a homeschooled child in Portugal
- matrícula
- Enrolment. A homeschooled child is enrolled at a school like any other pupil; the enrolment becomes effective only when the protocolo is signed. Guide: How to start home education in Portugal, step by step
- matriz curricular
- The list of subjects and weekly teaching time for each cycle, set by DL 55/2018. Homeschoolers follow the subjects, not the hours. Guide: The Portuguese curriculum for homeschooling families
- medidas universais, seletivas e adicionais
- The three levels of learning support under DL 54/2018, from general measures for all pupils to additional measures for significant needs. Guide: Homeschooling a child with special educational needs
- NIF
- Número de Identificação Fiscal, the Portuguese tax number. The request must include the NIF of the guardian and of the responsável educativo. Guide: How to start home education in Portugal, step by step
- PASEO
- Short for Perfil dos Alunos à Saída da Escolaridade Obrigatória. Plans and portfolios refer to its competence areas by letter. Guide: The Portuguese curriculum for homeschooling families
- PEF (prova de equivalência à frequência)
- A school-set test that certifies a subject for pupils who did not attend classes. Homeschoolers take PEF in every subject of the cycle at the end of 4.º, 6.º and 9.º ano. Guide: Exams for homeschooled pupils in Portugal (2025/26 to 2027/28)
- Perfil dos Alunos à Saída da Escolaridade Obrigatória
- The 2017 national profile of what young people should achieve by the end of compulsory schooling: principles, values and ten competence areas (A to J). Often shortened to PASEO. Guide: The Portuguese curriculum for homeschooling families
- período
- A school term. By default the year has three períodos; in 2026/27 the first ends on 15 December 2026 and the second on 19 March 2027. Guide: The annual plan, what the law requires and what schools usually ask for
- PIEPE
- The online platform for registering for provas and exames. Registration is free within compulsory schooling if done on time. Guide: Exams for homeschooled pupils in Portugal (2025/26 to 2027/28)
- planificação
- A teaching plan, usually annual, by subject and domain. Schools use them internally; DL 70/2021 does not use the word or require a set format from families. Guide: The annual plan, what the law requires and what schools usually ask for
- PLNM
- Português Língua Não Materna: Portuguese as a non-native language. Replaces Português for eligible pupils, with PLNM versions of ModA, PEF, provas finais and exams. Guide: Moving to Portugal with children and homeschooling
- portefólio
- The portfolio: an organised record of the child's learning with evidence in varied formats, plus the child's self-assessment and the responsável educativo's appraisal. The main monitoring tool. Guide: The portfolio, what the law asks and how to build one that works
- posicionamento
- Placement of a child with foreign schooling in the right school year, without formal equivalence, under DL 7/2025 (ensino básico only). Guide: Moving to Portugal with children and homeschooling
- processo individual
- The child's school file kept by the escola de matrícula: protocolo, ModA reports, relevant reports and certificates. It follows the child to another school. Guide: Returning to school after homeschooling
- professor-tutor
- The teacher named by the school to follow the child. Reviews the portfolio with the family and writes the apreciação síntese. Guide: The protocolo de colaboração, what it must say and how to agree fair terms
- projeto educativo do aluno
- The child's education plan. The law asks the protocolo to explain how the curriculum will be managed; the ministry's model protocolo calls this document the projeto educativo. Guide: The annual plan, what the law requires and what schools usually ask for
- protocolo de colaboração
- The collaboration agreement negotiated between the guardian and the school. It sets responsibilities, how the curriculum is managed, monitoring, tests and duration. Normally one school year. Guide: The protocolo de colaboração, what it must say and how to agree fair terms
- provas de ingresso
- The national exams a university course requires for entry. Chosen from the exames finais nacionais. Guide: Homeschooling in secondary school and applying to university
- provas finais do ensino básico
- National tests in Português (or PLNM) and Matemática at the end of 9.º ano. Homeschoolers take them together with PEF in the other subjects. Guide: 9.º ano tests for homeschooled pupils (end of ensino básico)
- provas ModA
- Provas de Monitorização da Aprendizagem, national monitoring tests at the end of 4.º and 6.º ano. Since 2025/26 homeschoolers are enrolled automatically; results do not decide approval. Guide: 4.º ano tests for homeschooled children (end of 1.º ciclo)
- reconhecimento de graus estrangeiros
- Recognition of a foreign degree by DGES. DL 70/2021 does not say whether a foreign degree must be recognised first; many families do it to avoid questions. It can take from 30 days to several months. Guide: Who can teach a homeschooled child in Portugal
- recurso hierárquico
- An administrative appeal to a higher authority against a decision, within 10 working days under DL 70/2021. Guide: When things go wrong with the school or the exams
- requerimento
- The formal written request to the school director to enrol a child in ensino doméstico or individual, with identification, grounds and attachments (art. 9.º DL 70/2021). Guide: How to start home education in Portugal, step by step
- responsável educativo
- The person who delivers the curriculum. In ensino doméstico, a relative or co-resident with at least a licenciatura; in ensino individual, the qualified teacher named by the guardian. Guide: Who can teach a homeschooled child in Portugal
- semestre
- A half-year. Schools may organise the year in two semesters instead of three terms, so portfolio dates depend on your school's choice. Guide: The annual plan, what the law requires and what schools usually ask for
- sessão presencial
- The in-person meeting at the school with the child and the responsável educativo. At least one is compulsory, at the end of the school year; videoconference only in justified exceptional cases. Guide: The protocolo de colaboração, what it must say and how to agree fair terms