At first glance, Escola Básica de Freixo is a place where children can feel at home. The school hosts around 600 students in the heart of Freixo, and its layout reflects openness and sensitivity towards the community. Leadership strongly emphasizes shared decision-making: every year, students take part in a participatory budget process where they propose improvement projects. Each class submits a proposal, the whole community votes, and the winning idea is implemented.

The school principal, Jorge Dias, explained:

A school works well only if everyone feels that their voice counts. While the final decision is mine, no decision is ever made without the opinion of teachers, students, and parents.

Participants of the study visit highlighted this exemplary culture:

The Friday afternoons without classes, when teachers gather to plan new initiatives together, are incredibly powerful for community building

– one Hungarian colleague noted.

Digital leap – Future classrooms and the makerspace

In recent years, Escola Básica de Freixo has carried out major digital developments. The “Future Classroom” concept introduced interactive whiteboards in every classroom, laptops for each student, and high-speed internet throughout the school. In 2023, the school inaugurated the Maker Space and LED – Digital Education Laboratory, bringing robotics, multimedia, and programming closer to students.

One diary entry captured it like this:

The most moving thing was to see how naturally children use the most advanced tools. Technology here is not the goal but a natural part of learning.

The principal stressed that these are not just technical upgrades:

Digital tools allow children to experiment, make mistakes, and try again. That is one of the most important messages of the learning process.

Inclusive approach – A place for every child

Portuguese legislation ensures that no class has more than two students with Special Educational Needs, making individual attention possible. The school maintains a dedicated SEN department with four specially trained teachers who work full time with these children.

The school also invested in furniture adapted to individual needs, such as movable desks and special chairs for hyperactive students.

Inclusion here is not a slogan, it is a daily practice

– emphasized Jorge Dias.

One of the visiting participants summed it up like this:

They talked about inclusion with such natural ease that you almost forgot how much effort it requires. This school is a living example of how inclusion is not an extra task but a fundamental attitude.

Community spaces and playful learning

The playgrounds, sports fields, and community spaces are also renewed every year with student participation. Thanks to the participatory budget, pupils themselves decide whether a new ping-pong table, a foosball game, or a relaxing corner should be added to the yard.

A local participant explained during the interview:

Community spaces are not only for play, but also for connection. This is where children learn how a community actually works.

One of the diaries captured a vivid moment:

The most beautiful experience was when children proudly showed which play corner or game was their class project. You could see how participation in decision-making gave them responsibility and pride.

Leadership and culture – The strength of shared responsibility

According to the principal, the success of Escola Básica de Freixo lies in shared leadership. While the law makes him formally responsible for decisions, in practice every major decision is prepared collectively. Teachers plan together every Friday afternoon, while the student council and the participation fund ensure that students are active contributors.

I prefer to listen to everyone rather than decide alone

– said Jorge Dias. This attitude was visible in every corner of the school: open doors, welcoming teachers, and smiling students greeted the visitors.
One Hungarian participant reflected:

The leadership of Freixo is exemplary. It’s not just the built environment that has been renewed, but also the pedagogical culture. Here, everyone genuinely feels that the school belongs to them.

Conclusion – Lessons and inspirations

The study visit to Escola Básica de Freixo offered many valuable insights for the LEARNITECT partners. The school showed how digital technologies, participatory decision-making, and inclusive pedagogy can be brought together into one coherent and successful system.

As one diary noted:

The most important message we take home is that involving children is not only an option but a duty. Their voices are what make the school alive.

After the visit, the partners returned home strengthened and inspired: the examples seen in Freixo provide not only motivation but also concrete models for how 21st-century learning environments can be shaped to become human-centered, inclusive, and truly community-oriented.

Partners

• Magyar Digitális Oktatásért Egyesület (Hungary – co-ordinator)
• IAL Toscana Innovazione Apprendimento Lavoro srl. Impresa Sociale (Italy)
• Previform – Laboratório, Formação, Higiene e Segurança do Trabalho, Lda (Portugal)
• Learnitect Design Kft. (Hungary)

Project duration: 1 September 2023 – 31 August 2025

Grant amount: EUR 60,000

Grant Agreement No.: 2023-1-HU01-KA210-SCH-000152699

LEARNITECT – Az innovatív tanulási tervezés és inkluzív tanulási terek találkozása c. projekt (Hungarian)

LEARNITECT – Meeting of innovative learning design and inclusive learning spaces (ENG)

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

GA Nr.: 2023-1-HU01-KA210-SCH-000152699.

With the main partner of the project, the Hungarian Association for Hungarian Digital Education, and with partners Learnitect Design Ltd (Hungary),  Previform Lda (Portugal) IAL Toscana carries out the project activities, financed by Erasmus Plus programme.