The annual plan, what the law requires and what schools usually ask for

Almost every school asks a new homeschooling family for some kind of plan for the year. What they call it, and how much detail they expect, varies a great deal. This guide separates what the law requires from what schools commonly ask, shows the columns most schools use, and gives a short example you can adapt.

What the law actually requires

DL 70/2021 never uses the words "annual plan", teaching plan (planificação) or "work plan".11. Decreto-Lei n.º 70/2021, de 3 de agostoDiário da República The legal hook is in the protocol. Article 12.º n.º 2 c) requires "an explanation of the curriculum management that will be adopted", so that the school can check:1

• the development of the Aprendizagens Essenciais, in line with the competence areas of the Perfil dos Alunos; and
• work on the themes of the national citizenship strategy.

Article 7.º adds what the curriculum follows: the principles, values and competence areas of the Students' Profile at the End of Compulsory Schooling (Perfil dos Alunos à Saída da Escolaridade Obrigatória), the Essential Learning (Aprendizagens Essenciais) of each subject for each cycle, and the mandatory Cidadania e Desenvolvimento themes.1

That is all the statute says. It sets no format, no number of pages, no weekly hours and no split by term.

What the model protocol and schools add

The ministry's 2021 model protocol calls this document the pupil's educational plan (projeto educativo) and says it is sent with the enrolment request.22. Protocolo de colaboração no âmbito do ensino individual e do ensino doméstico: nota explicativa e minuta (DGEstE, August 2021)DGEstE (copy hosted by Arlindovsky blog) It should show how the curriculum is organised according to article 7.º and cover the mandatory Cidadania e Desenvolvimento domains. Where support measures under the inclusive education law apply, they belong in the plan too.2

Schools then add their own expectations. One published protocol also asks the plan to list the projects to be recorded on the end-of-cycle certificate.33. Minuta de Protocolo de Colaboração, Ensino DomésticoAgrupamento de Escolas de Arganil The Movimento Educação Livre notes that the rules only require the plan to be discussed at the interview, and suggests that if the school asks for a written plan, you ask for clear guidance on its structure.44. Perguntas frequentesMovimento Educação Livre (MEL)

Families' associations have also reported schools asking for "excessively detailed" plans, with contents split by term and resources listed for the whole year.55. ANPED, submission to the Assembleia da República on constraints faced by homeschooling familiesAssembleia da República A plan does not need to be long to be useful. See The protocolo for how to reply politely when a request goes beyond the law.

The typical planificação columns

Schools write their own plans for each subject and year in a table. Knowing the columns helps, because a plan the school can read quickly makes the conversation easier. Published school plans typically use:99. Planificação anual, Matemática 3.º ano, 2026/27Agrupamento de Escolas da Nazaré

The Perfil dos Alunos has ten competence areas, labelled A to J, from A (languages and texts) to J (awareness and mastery of the body).1212. Perfil dos Alunos à Saída da Escolaridade ObrigatóriaDireção-Geral da Educação Schools may organise the year in three terms or two semesters, so match your calendar column to your school.1111. Despacho n.º 8368/2024, de 25 de julho (school calendar 2024-2025 to 2027-2028)Diário da República

How detailed should it be

There is no legal answer, so aim for enough detail that a teacher can see you know the curriculum and have a realistic way to cover it. In practice:

• One section per subject of your child's year, using the domains or themes of the Aprendizagens Essenciais.
• Outcomes grouped, not copied in full. Quote a few key outcomes per domain and refer to the official document for the rest.
• Activities and resources described generally, for example "daily reading aloud, a weekly writing project, a library visit each fortnight", rather than a lesson-by-lesson schedule.
• A calendar by term or semester, not by week.
• The tests of the year, if any, with registration windows. See Exams.

Hours are not required. As a reference, the national curriculum sets 25 hours a week for the 1.º ciclo, including 7 each for Português and Matemática and 3 for Estudo do Meio.88. Decreto-Lei n.º 55/2018, de 6 de julhoDiário da República Some families mention these proportions to show balance, but the law does not impose them on home education.1

Cidadania e Desenvolvimento: two frameworks

This is the part of the plan where the rules are currently out of step.

• The annex to DL 70/2021 still lists the 2017 citizenship domains. Six are mandatory in all cycles (human rights, gender equality, interculturality, sustainable development, environmental education, health); six more are mandatory in at least two cycles of ensino básico (sexuality, media, institutions and democratic participation, financial literacy and consumer education, road safety, risk); others are optional.1
• The 2025 national strategy replaces those domains with eight dimensions.66. Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 127/2025, de 29 de agosto (Estratégia Nacional de Educação para a Cidadania)Diário da República Four are worked on every school year: Direitos Humanos; Democracia e Instituições Políticas; Desenvolvimento Sustentável; Literacia Financeira e Empreendedorismo. Four more must be covered at least once in each span (1.º ciclo; 2.º and 3.º ciclos together; secundário): Saúde; Risco e Segurança Rodoviária; Pluralismo e Diversidade Cultural; Media.6
• New Aprendizagens Essenciais for Cidadania e Desenvolvimento apply from 2025/26 to all forms of schooling.77. Despacho n.º 10637-A/2025, de 9 de setembro (Aprendizagens Essenciais de Cidadania e Desenvolvimento)Diário da República

An example excerpt

Below is an illustrative row for Matemática in 3.º ano, laid out the way published school plans do it, followed by a homeschool version of the same row.9 Always check the wording against the current Aprendizagens Essenciais for your child's year.

In school format

A homeschool version

And a Cidadania e Desenvolvimento row for the same year:

Keep it current

The Aprendizagens Essenciais are being revised. EduQA held a public consultation in 2026, and the new documents are expected to phase in from 2027/28.1010. Revisão das Aprendizagens EssenciaisEduQA For 2026/27, the current Aprendizagens Essenciais remain the reference, so plan against those and check again next year.

If you want help turning this structure into a finished document, the site's annual plan builder can produce a first draft for your child's year (see pricing).