Dear Parents,
Interested in the International Montessori School of Óbidos.
First, we want to apologize for the long silence. The past months have presented many challenges for this project. As many of you are making plans for the upcoming school year, we want to provide you with an update.
Challenges for Our School Project:
After more than 1.5 years of communication with the city, we finally gained access to the school building in Amoreira at the end of last October. However, the city requires us to obtain a school license before we can use the building with children.
Unfortunately, after reviewing the requirements for a school license, we have concluded that we cannot meet them, and we do not wish to proceed under these conditions.
We have consulted with other alternative school projects in Portugal and have not found any examples where a license was granted from the outset. The main difference between our project and other alternative projects is that we intend to operate in a city-owned building, rather than on private land.
Based on Portuguese home-schooling law, we believe our project could operate during the first year(s) without an official school license. However, the city is concerned about potential legal issues for themselves.
We must accept these circumstances and apologize for the inconvenience this may cause your family.
Solutions for Children Aged 3-6 Years:
Hope for Montessori Kindergarten in 2026
We have requested from the city an additional year to apply for a kindergarten license. This type of license is easier to obtain and would allow us to bring alternative education to this region.
Once the city agrees, I will hand over the project lead to an experienced Montessori kindergarten teacher with an international background. This teacher is currently working at a well-established Montessori school in Lisbon. I will introduce her to you once we receive approval.
Other Kindergarten Alternatives for this year
Here are some other good alternative kindergarten options in the area:
- Biogleba in Caldas da Rainha
- Toca dos Láparos, Gaeiras
- Quinta da Terra, Óbidos
(If you need contact information, please let me know.)
Missing Solutions for Children Over 6 Years:
We do not have good solutions in this region for children over 6 years old, which is why we initiated this project in the first place. For some parents, homeschooling is the only alternative. The high demand for our school, with more than 70 children who wanted to enroll, is a testament to the high demand for alternative and international education in this region.
Unfortunately, we cannot offer a solution for children 6 years and older at this time. We are exploring the possibility of connecting families interested in homeschooling to form a support group.
We thank you for your patience and understanding. We will continue to provide updates via email as we move forward.
Thank you, Ben
International Montessori School of Óbidos
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