https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Following Italy's removal of three homeschooled children from their Anglo-Australian parents last week, what does Italian law have to say about homeschooling? https://www.thelocal.it/20251125/what-are-the-rules-on-homeschooling-in-italy Tue, 25 Nov 2025 14:43:05 +0100 what-are-the-rules-on-homeschooling-in-italy Children across Italy are returning to classrooms after a traditional three months off school – the longest summer holiday in Europe. But is it still too hot to study? https://www.thelocal.it/20250913/too-hot-to-study-say-italian-teachers-as-school-finally-resumes Sat, 13 Sep 2025 09:48:46 +0200 too-hot-to-study-say-italian-teachers-as-school-finally-resumes Italy's government on Wednesday presented a draft bill that, if passed, would require parents to authorise their children's participation in sex education classes in school via written consent. https://www.thelocal.it/20250501/italy-to-require-parental-approval-for-sex-education-in-school Thu, 01 May 2025 11:00:30 +0200 italy-to-require-parental-approval-for-sex-education-in-school School registration season in Italy is here, and for the first time, all registrations must be completed online through the Ministry of Education's Single Platform. https://www.thelocal.it/20250108/how-to-register-for-school-in-italy-in-2025-and-the-changes-you-need-to-know Wed, 08 Jan 2025 12:30:48 +0100 how-to-register-for-school-in-italy-in-2025-and-the-changes-you-need-to-know With children in Italy returning to school in September, families have begun stocking up on essential supplies. But new figures reveal they may have to shell out more this year. https://www.thelocal.it/20220901/back-to-school-in-italy-how-much-will-it-cost-and-how-can-you-save-money Thu, 01 Sep 2022 15:14:45 +0200 back-to-school-in-italy-how-much-will-it-cost-and-how-can-you-save-money Italy's school schedules are very different to those in many other countries - and this puts working parents at a disadvantage, writes Silvia Marchetti. https://www.thelocal.it/20231123/opinion-italian-schools-need-to-make-parents-lives-easier-not-harder Thu, 23 Nov 2023 13:52:56 +0100 opinion-italian-schools-need-to-make-parents-lives-easier-not-harder Italian schools are “to address the issue of sexism, machismo and psychological and physical violence against women,” Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said on Wednesday, as part of a new push to prevent femicide. https://www.thelocal.it/20231122/italian-schools-to-tackle-machismo-and-sexism-after-students-murder Wed, 22 Nov 2023 17:00:00 +0100 italian-schools-to-tackle-machismo-and-sexism-after-students-murder There was an outcry in Italy on Thursday after a group of parents pulled their children out of a school in Bari over the number of “foreign” pupils in their class. https://www.thelocal.it/20231012/italian-parents-pull-children-out-of-school-with-too-many-foreign-pupils Thu, 12 Oct 2023 12:07:19 +0200 italian-parents-pull-children-out-of-school-with-too-many-foreign-pupils Italy's prestigious international schools offer students plenty of benefits - but they may not be quite what foreign parents expect, writes Silvia Marchetti. https://www.thelocal.it/20230420/opinion-are-italys-international-schools-really-international Thu, 20 Apr 2023 10:36:22 +0200 opinion-are-italys-international-schools-really-international After one international family blasted Italy's education system as "poor" in a an open letter, The Local asked readers to share their own experiences of Italian schools. Here's what you said. https://www.thelocal.it/20230126/needs-investment-what-readers-think-of-italys-school-system Thu, 26 Jan 2023 11:55:17 +0100 needs-investment-what-readers-think-of-italys-school-system A Finnish family who moved to Sicily wrote an open letter to a local newspaper explaining why they left the island for Spain after just two months due to the standard of the schools. https://www.thelocal.it/20230111/it-wasnt-worth-it-why-one-finnish-family-left-italy-over-poor-schools Wed, 11 Jan 2023 13:47:33 +0100 it-wasnt-worth-it-why-one-finnish-family-left-italy-over-poor-schools The Italian government issued a directive on Tuesday banning mobile phones in lessons, though it wasn't clear how the rule could be enforced. https://www.thelocal.it/20221220/italys-government-attempts-to-ban-cellphones-in-the-classroom Tue, 20 Dec 2022 17:40:18 +0100 italys-government-attempts-to-ban-cellphones-in-the-classroom As millions of children are due to return to class over the coming days, the Italian government is planning changes to school quarantine rules in its latest set of anti-Covid measures. https://www.thelocal.it/20220104/schools-italy-plans-new-covid-quarantine-and-distance-learning-rules Tue, 04 Jan 2022 16:07:12 +0100 schools-italy-plans-new-covid-quarantine-and-distance-learning-rules In under 24 hours, the Italian authorities have changed the rules on distance learning again, scrapping the revised plans to return an entire class to distance learning if just one infection is recorded. https://www.thelocal.it/20211130/italys-school-crackdown-one-positive-covid-case-triggers-distance-learning Tue, 30 Nov 2021 13:28:01 +0100 italys-school-crackdown-one-positive-covid-case-triggers-distance-learning Italy's government has updated its rules for how schools across the country should act to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Here's what changes from Monday. https://www.thelocal.it/20210831/explained-what-parents-in-italy-should-know-about-new-covid-rules-in-schools Tue, 31 Aug 2021 18:40:16 +0200 explained-what-parents-in-italy-should-know-about-new-covid-rules-in-schools More than 3,865,000 pupils in Abruzzo, Basilicata, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Lombardy, Piedmont, Umbria, Veneto, Valle d'Aosta and the province of Trento headed back to class on Monday, as Italy's education minister Patrizio Bianchi told media he was determined to keep schools open. https://www.thelocal.it/20210913/italy-outlines-plan-to-resist-closures-as-four-million-students-return-to-school Mon, 13 Sep 2021 13:56:35 +0200 italy-outlines-plan-to-resist-closures-as-four-million-students-return-to-school Parents of schoolchildren in Italy are now required to produce a green pass in order to access school buildings, according to a new legislative decree passed on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20210910/parents-in-italy-to-require-covid-green-pass-to-enter-schools Fri, 10 Sep 2021 13:07:06 +0200 parents-in-italy-to-require-covid-green-pass-to-enter-schools Schoolchildren in Italy could be exempted from the requirement to wear a mask in cases where the entire classroom is vaccinated, Education Minister Patrizio Bianchi has said. https://www.thelocal.it/20210909/italy-considers-dropping-school-mask-mandate-for-fully-vaccinated-classes Thu, 09 Sep 2021 15:47:12 +0200 italy-considers-dropping-school-mask-mandate-for-fully-vaccinated-classes Italian health experts have recommended that the coronavirus measures in place at the start of the next school year should be kept the same as last year, amid concerns about a possible new wave of infections fuelled by the Delta variant. https://www.thelocal.it/20210705/covid-19-italian-schools-set-to-keep-using-masks-and-distancing-from-september Mon, 05 Jul 2021 15:36:56 +0200 covid-19-italian-schools-set-to-keep-using-masks-and-distancing-from-september Around two thirds of Italian students returned to class on Wednesday, as Italy partially relaxed the coronavirus restrictions which had kept all schools closed since mid-March. https://www.thelocal.it/20210407/concerns-remain-about-testing-as-two-thirds-of-italian-pupils-return-to-school Wed, 07 Apr 2021 12:32:13 +0200 concerns-remain-about-testing-as-two-thirds-of-italian-pupils-return-to-school