The update to the support allocated to preschool education has a retroactive effect to September 2025, according to a decree published and signed by the Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, and the Minister of Solidarity and Social Security, Rosário Palma Ramalho.

The 4.7% increase in financial support means that the State will pay €119.06 per child per month for the educational component and €98.76 per child per month for the socio-educational component.

The national preschool education network includes public schools and a solidarity network that offers two components: the educational component, guaranteed by early childhood educators who handle the pedagogical aspects, and the socio-educational component, which supports families through activities such as extended hours or other recreational activities.

This school year, an extra €49.68 will go to institutions with children from families with fewer resources. This is set out under the Socioeconomic Compensation Fund's Regulations, according to the decree in the Official Gazette.

The decree recalls that financial support for private social solidarity institutions or equivalent entities for the preschool education expansion and capacity-building program was agreed upon in 1998, and that the amounts have been updated since then.

At the start of the school year, the Government approved a budget of €42.5 million to strengthen preschool education through collaboration agreements with municipalities to expand the availability of preschool places.

The measure also covers partnership agreements with private, cooperative, and solidarity-based establishments. The idea was to create extra preschool places to accommodate an additional 5,000 children aged three, prioritising the most disadvantaged families.

To implement this plan, which includes opening 200 new preschool classrooms or adapting existing ones, €42.5 million has been allocated for the next three years. The Minister of Education guaranteed that this financial limit could be exceeded if institutions became available to increase the offer in disadvantaged areas.

The most disadvantaged families will have priority, and the aim is to strengthen the offer in the most disadvantaged municipalities, which are mostly located in the Lisbon area.