News, analysis, and updates on educational policies, school infrastructure, curriculum reforms, and programmes supporting students and educators in Northern Ireland.
The Education Minister has set out an ambitious timeline to overhaul Religious Education in Northern Ireland, with new regulations anticipated by autumn 2026 and implementation scheduled for September 2027. Paul Givan announced on Monday that schools must immediately begin supplementing the existing core syllabus with “additional, objective, critical and pluralistic […]
Education Minister Paul Givan has welcomed the introduction of a new Armed Forces Bill at Westminster, pledging that his Department will “do all that it can” to make sure service children in Northern Ireland receive the support they need at school. The Bill extends the statutory Armed Forces Covenant duties
Education Minister Paul Givan has confirmed the appointment of the Reverend Dr Colin McClure to the Board of the Education Authority (EA). Nominated by the Transferors’ Representative Council, Rev Dr McClure will serve from 21 January 2026 until 31 March 2029, representing the interests of controlled schools across Northern Ireland.
The Department of Education has confirmed that Northern Ireland’s classroom teachers will receive a 4 % pay rise from 1 September 2025. Education Minister Paul Givan welcomed the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council’s decision to endorse the offer, calling it “a firm demonstration of support for teachers and the vital contribution
Education Minister Paul Givan has secured Executive approval for a Ministerial Direction that allows negotiations on Northern Ireland’s 2025–26 teachers’ pay award to begin in earnest. The decision, taken under the Executive’s Urgent Decision procedure, is presented as a vital step in preventing further delay to pay talks and in
The Department of Education has unveiled a large-scale online professional learning initiative for Northern Ireland’s primary teachers. Education Minister Paul Givan confirmed that the Classroom Excellence Programme will offer more than 4,000 teachers access to research-led training and classroom resources, delivered in partnership with Sunderland-based provider Evidence Based Education. The
The Department of Education has published a draft Executive Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Strategy and opened a 14-week public consultation. Education Minister Paul Givan says the proposals could lift the existing Childcare Subsidy Scheme to the point where “more than half of childcare costs for working families are subsidised.”
Education Minister Paul Givan has pledged more than £3.7 million to 61 grassroots projects across Northern Ireland under the RAISE (Raising Achievement and Inclusive, Sustainable Education) Programme. Designed as a “whole-community, place-based” initiative, RAISE seeks to close attainment gaps linked to poverty and social disadvantage. The fresh funding matters because
Education Minister Paul Givan has confirmed that children from Nazareth House Primary School in Derry will be back in classrooms on 7 January 2026 after a short period of remote learning. The return matters to roughly 430 pupils and their families who have faced weeks of uncertainty following the school’s
The Department of Education has received its share of the Executive’s December monitoring round, but Education Minister Paul Givan warns that the cash injection will not plug this year’s growing hole in the education budget. Speaking on Tuesday, the Minister confirmed an extra £25.6 million in resource funding and £22
