Safeguarding international schools in Portugal: country guide

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current law with local counsel.

The Ministry of Education approves new private schools and authorises them to open. It also supervises them, and the education inspectorate (IGEC) carries out inspections. These rules sit in the private and cooperative education statute annexed to Decree-Law 152/2013, and the article numbers below refer to that statute.

The statute does not cover schools run by a foreign state that do not use the Portuguese education system (Article 2). Ask your lawyer which rules apply to your school.

Many international schools also answer to an accreditor. The membership directory of the Council of International Schools (CIS) lists nine member schools in Portugal. The UK Department for Education's list of inspection reports for British Schools Overseas (BSO) includes a school in Portugal.

Other bodies, such as the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) or the International Baccalaureate, may apply to your school as well. Check your own accreditor's current standards.

Law 147/99 is the child protection law. Under Article 66(2), reporting is compulsory for any person who knows that a child's life, physical or mental integrity or liberty is at risk. That wording reaches teachers, drivers, nurses and volunteers.

Schools have a second duty. Article 5(d) defines the bodies working in childhood and youth to include private ones, so your school very likely counts. Under Article 65, it tells its local child protection commission (CPCJ) when it cannot protect the child alone in time.

If no commission is set up, or it lacks the power to apply the right measure, the school reports straight to the Public Prosecutor (Article 65(2)).

Crimes have their own route. The Code of Criminal Procedure (Article 242) makes reporting compulsory for the police, and for public officials on crimes they learn of in their duties. Ask counsel if your staff count as officials.

For a wider view, read mandatory reporting laws for international schools.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 112 first. Then follow your school's child protection procedure and tell your designated safeguarding lead (DSL) the same day. Keep these contacts where staff can find them.

• 112: the national emergency number. Portugal uses it as its only one.
• 116 111: SOS Criança, the children's helpline of the Instituto de Apoio à Criança. Child Helpline International lists English as well as Portuguese. Check the hours.
• Your local CPCJ: the national commission says to contact the commission for the child's area of residence.
• The police or Public Prosecutor, for a suspected crime.
• Your DSL: tell them the same day, every time.

The International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) standards come from the international school sector. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is guidance for England, and the 2026 version came into force on 1 September 2026. It has no legal force in Portugal, so say so in your policy (see which parts of KCSIE travel abroad).

Three differences matter most when you write the procedure.

• Who receives reports: England uses local authority children's social care. Portugal uses the CPCJ, the Public Prosecutor and the police.
• Allegations against staff: KCSIE names a local authority role, the local authority designated officer (LADO). The Portuguese texts reviewed name no equivalent, so decide in advance who your school calls.
• Consent: a school's own intervention is agreed with the people whose consent the commission would need, such as the parents (Article 7(3)). The reporting duty in Article 66 has no consent condition in its text.

Start with the ITFCP habit. Every staff member tells the DSL the same day, whatever the concern. The DSL records it and decides on any outside report.

Then add the Portuguese layer. Name the CPCJ, the Public Prosecutor and the police where your current text says "local authority". Write the 112 line at the top.

Article 91 covers the urgent case. When a child's life or integrity is in current or imminent danger and no parent consents, the school takes suitable steps to protect the child at once. It asks the police or a court to step in and tells the Public Prosecutor straight away.

Under Article 91(3), the police take the child out of danger until a court can act. The article gives removal to the police, so ask your lawyer what your own staff may do.

Portugal applies the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Law 58/2019 adds national rules and names the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD) as the regulator.

Safeguarding files often hold health data or details of a child's sex life. The GDPR treats both as special categories (Article 9), so limit who can open them.

Sending records outside the EU needs a lawful route under GDPR Articles 44 to 49. Breaking those rules is a very serious administrative offence in Portugal (Law 58/2019, Article 37). The text reviewed holds no rule that records must stay in Portugal.

A breach that risks people's rights goes to the CNPD within 72 hours where feasible (GDPR, Article 33). Private schools must also send a pupil's file to the next school on transfer (Decree-Law 152/2013, Article 56). Ask counsel what that means for safeguarding notes.

Law 113/2009 tells employers to ask for a criminal record certificate when they recruit for any role with regular contact with minors. Unpaid roles are included.

The employer must ask again every year and weigh what the certificate shows (Article 2). The certificate also shows equivalent foreign court decisions for the same offences.

Failing to ask is an administrative offence, and negligence is punishable. Knowingly hiring someone barred by a court from working with minors is a crime. Private schools also cannot use teachers a court has barred from working with children (Decree-Law 152/2013, Article 46).

A Portuguese certificate does not replace checks abroad. The BSO standards ask for further checks, where needed, on staff who have lived outside the host country. Read safer recruitment for international schools for the full steps.

Expect to deal with the CPCJ, the police and the courts in Portuguese. Keep a bilingual contact sheet and plan for an interpreter. Teachers may work in English, but drivers, security and cleaning staff may not.

Train each group in the language it works in. Read about translation and localisation of safeguarding training.

Corporal punishment is banned in all settings in Portugal, including schools and homes, according to the Global Initiative report updated in May 2024.

Penal Code Article 152-A covers a person with a minor in their care or education who inflicts physical or psychological ill-treatment, including corporal punishment. The penalty is one to five years in prison, unless another law sets a heavier one. Tell staff from other countries on day one.

This short list closes the biggest gaps in the first month. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current law with local counsel and the relevant authority.

The Portuguese legal texts were read on the Diário da República site, the official gazette, on 19 October 2026. Child protection law changed in 2025, so check for later amendments.

• Confirm which category your school falls into under Decree-Law 152/2013, Article 2.
• Find your local CPCJ and save its contact details.
• Post 112 and 116 111 in English and Portuguese.
• Name the CPCJ, the Public Prosecutor and the police in your reporting procedure.
• Check every certificate for staff with regular contact with minors, and note the yearly renewal date.
• Ask your lawyer who reports crimes, and where safeguarding files may be stored.