News, analysis, and updates on educational policies, school infrastructure, curriculum reforms, and programmes supporting students and educators in Northern Ireland.
Education Minister Paul Givan has launched “Strong Foundations: A Literacy Framework for Primary Schools”, a new set of principles and guidelines intended to raise literacy standards across Northern Ireland. Unveiled before more than 500 educators at the TransformED Literacy Symposium in Belfast, the framework is designed to give teachers practical, […]
Education Minister Paul Givan has opened a 12-week public consultation on “Attendance Matters”, a draft strategy designed to reduce pupil absence across Northern Ireland’s schools. The plan responds to a steep rise in persistent absence since the pandemic and aims to make “every day count” by tackling both the practical
Education Minister Paul Givan has confirmed that a further 102 pre-school settings will move to full-time provision (22.5 hours per week) from September 2026. The decision, part of the Department for Education’s Pre-school Standardisation Programme, follows last autumn’s approval of 105 settings set to make the same switch in 2025.
The Department of Education has released the latest Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey findings on parental demand for Integrated Education. Conducted by ARK – a joint Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University research hub – the poll canvassed 1,199 adults across Northern Ireland. Its headline message is that,
The Department for the Economy (DfE) has published its annual Further Education Sector Activity in Northern Ireland: 2020/21 to 2024/25 statistical bulletin, detailing enrolment, qualification and performance trends across Northern Ireland’s six further-education colleges. Coming four academic years on from the height of the pandemic, the figures offer an insight
Education Minister Paul Givan has cut the ribbon on the new £16.5 million Elmgrove Primary School in east Belfast. The modern campus replaces the ageing original buildings and is intended to serve both mainstream and special educational needs (SEN) pupils under one roof. The project matters beyond the school gates.
Education Minister Paul Givan has released the long-awaited report of the Independent Review of Teacher Workload, signalling a potential shift in how schools manage administrative pressures on staff. Commissioned as part of last year’s teachers’ pay settlement, the review aims to respond to persistent concerns that excessive paperwork and accountability
Education Minister Paul Givan has opened an online consultation inviting teachers, school leaders and other education stakeholders to help design Northern Ireland’s next curriculum framework. The eight-minute survey, live until 28 November 2025, is the first public step in a programme of curriculum reform led by the newly-established Curriculum Taskforce.
New guidance on school uniforms has been circulated to every school in Northern Ireland, ahead of the rules becoming legally binding in time for the 2026/27 academic year. Issued by Education Minister Paul Givan, the document is intended to give boards of governors, principals and parents a two-year runway to
Northern Ireland’s Education Minister, Paul Givan, has officially broken ground on a £15 million redevelopment of Millennium Integrated Primary School in Carryduff. The project will replace the existing buildings with a 14-classroom facility and a double nursery unit on the current site, promising modern learning spaces for more than 400
