All institutions in the social sector can apply for State support for the opening of preschool classrooms, regardless of whether they have a cooperation agreement for this type of service, according to a regulation published today.
On April 14, the Government issued a regulation that defined the financial support to be allocated to private institutions of social solidarity (IPSS) for opening preschool education classrooms, and today it publishes an amendment to that regulation to extend financial support to more institutions.
Now, any institutions in the social and solidarity sector that meet the applicable legal requirements can apply for State financial support, regardless of whether they have a cooperation agreement for the Preschool Education Establishment at the time of the application, the regulation states.
“This amendment aims to expand the universe of potential partners of the State, promoting a more effective and equitable coverage of the preschool education offer,” justifies the Government.
In the eligibility conditions for IPSS, entities are no longer required to have a cooperation agreement at the time of application; they can formalize or review it later.
The Government explains that the “application of the regime [of financial support allocation] revealed the need to reinforce its scope, in order to allow a broader and faster response to the identified needs in the preschool network.”
The Executive’s plan is that with these regulations, starting this new academic year, vacancies in preschool will begin to open to accommodate more than five thousand children from the age of three, prioritizing the most needy families.
For the implementation of this plan, which includes opening 200 new preschool classrooms or adapting existing ones, 42.5 million euros are allocated for the next three years. The Minister of Education has stated that the financial limit may be exceeded for institutions that propose to increase the offer in needy areas.
The most needy families will have priority, and the idea is to reinforce the offer in the most deprived municipalities, mainly located in the Lisbon area.
A direct State support of 208.05 euros per month per child and an incentive of 15,000 euros for each new classroom opened is planned, with this incentive being available only in the year the new classroom opens.
The entire application process for vacancies and the opening of new classrooms, including the analysis and selection of entities, will be managed by the Directorate-General of School Administration and the Institute of Social Security.
