As early as September subsidiary nursery schools will be free of charge for parents with their children in the first year of nursery.

To clear up existing doubts about it, the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, stressed, that this new measure doesn’t depend on parents incomes and “will cover all children entering a social sector nursery up to one year old."

This is "a historic measure" for the country, she said. "It is done through a partnership with the social and solidarity sector and free nurseries began two years ago, having started with families on a lower income", Ana Mendes Godinho pointed out.

She stressed that this is a "historic step" that the country is preparing to take, and that "it is even an example from the European point of view", is to extend free day care to all children in the social sector, regardless of the parents' incomes.

The minister added that this process will be done in phases, starting with children up to one year old so that by 2024 all three years of day care will be covered by free nursery school. In her words, this is an "essential measure" in the fight against poverty.

Ana Mendes Godinho also stressed that the Government's goals are not only to have a network of free nurseries, but also to reach all children who are part of the cooperation network implemented throughout the country.