The Legislation regulating Student Welfare in the Azores will be subject amendments.

The announcement was made by the Regional Secretariat for Education and Training at the opening of the new Francisco Ferreira Drummond Basic Education School.

Cláudia Cardoso announced that these amendments will strengthen “the solidarity effort of the Government in order to promote social justice and equality of opportunities.”

The Regional Secretary for Education and Training added that “a student welfare programme will be created in line with social policies, particularly with family support policies,” since “the criteria adopted for the allocation of socio-educational support will be the same used for granting family benefits, which will improve transparency in the allocation of such support measures and vertiginously expand the number of eligible beneficiaries.”
 
The Regional Secretariat will also ensure the provision of free schoolbooks and other educational resources formerly adopted by schools to needy families, promoting the standardisation of support awarded to children attending preschool as well to basic education students. In addition, the support to secondary school students will also be reinforced with the purpose of promoting schooling at this school level.

The new school year that started today will be also marked by the implementation of other aspects concerning the educational policies carried out in the Region, such as the introduction of the regional curriculum in regional schools.

This “ambitious project was developed by a team made up of 70 people as well as by the effort of teachers, who made possible its implementation in the current school year,” Cláudia Cardoso stated, urging teachers “to turn it into a tool for success in order to make learning more meaningful for our children.”

The Regional Reading Plan is another project to be implemented this school year which is intended to “encourage reading habits and promote books as a useful and essential tool for youngsters.”

Furthermore, the new student statute will soon come into force in regional schools, which “reinforces the authority of teachers and boosts the role of students by promoting their participation in school and reminding them of their duties. This document simplifies procedures and the accountability of parents,” said the Regional Secretary. 

According to Cláudia Cardoso, this statute “will also strengthen the authority of school management bodies, class tutors and of the reaming teachers, through the introduction of mechanisms to prevent situations that disrupt the normal functioning of the school.”

Moreover, a school health programme will be implemented during the current school year, through which several offices will be created to support school health. This initiative aims to strengthen “the role played by schools as a privileged space for the promotion of healthy habits at early ages,” stated the Regional Secretary for Education.