NEWS

Education Minister Paul Givan is pictured with Principal Malachy Conlon, Vice Principal Lauren McLoughlin and the youngest pupils at St Mary’s Queen of Peace Primary School Construction has officially begun on the long-awaited new building for Mary Queen of Peace Primary School in Glenravel, marking a major milestone for a community that has spent more than a decade waiting for the project to become reality. The £10million investment will deliver a modern nine-classroom schoo

The Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Leah Kirkpatrick made a special visit to Creavery Primary School where children from the school and Creggan Primary School took part in a fun Healthy Kids session. Children from two primary schools came together for an energetic Healthy Kids session this week as Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council confirmed the programme has now reached more than 30 schools across the borough. The Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillo

Young people across Northern Ireland are being warned that vaping to cope with exam pressure could actually make stress, anxiety and concentration problems worse, as concerns grow around rising mental health pressures among teenagers. Drug and alcohol harm reduction charity ASCERT says increasing numbers of young people may be turning to nicotine products during revision and exam season in an attempt to manage anxiety, tiredness and school-related stress. The warning comes as

The Education Authority has launched a new leadership support programme aimed at strengthening specialist special educational needs (SEN) provision in mainstream schools across Northern Ireland, as pressure continues to grow on education services supporting children with additional needs. The new initiative comes after more than 6,000 additional SEN places have been created since 2020, reflecting what EA described as rapidly changing educational needs among pupils and increas

Education Minister pictured at the TransformED One Year On School Leaders’ Conference in Ballymena with (l to r), Garry Matthewson, Daniel T. Willingham, Hardip Begol CBE, Christine Counsell OBE, Carl Hendrick, Noeleen Tiffney, Alistair Hamill and Dr Harold Hislop. Education Minister Paul Givan has declared Northern Ireland’s sweeping TransformED education reform programme is now entering its “most critical phase” as more than 1,500 school leaders, teachers and international

The Children’s Law Centre CEO John O'Doherty, alongside Rachel Hogan BL, SEND Specialist Legal Adviser and Kathryn Stevenson, Head of Legal, pictured at Parliament Buildings after presenting to the education committee on the proposed SEN Regs. The Children’s Law Centre has warned Stormont’s Education Committee that proposed new SEND regulations could weaken legal protections for vulnerable children, reduce the role of parents in decision-making and leave parts of the new fram

Autism diagnoses among school-age children in Northern Ireland have reached their highest recorded level, with new figures revealing 18,472 pupils are now identified as autistic — while politicians and families warn support systems are becoming overwhelmed. The latest annual prevalence report published by the Department of Health shows autism prevalence among school-age children rose to 6.2% during the 2025/26 school year. That represents an increase of 0.3 percentage points

Families across Northern Ireland waiting for confirmation of school places for children with special educational needs are being offered direct one-to-one support through a new series of online drop-in sessions hosted by the Education Authority. The initiative comes amid growing pressure on the region’s SEN system, with demand for specialist placements continuing to rise sharply and thousands of additional places projected to be needed over the next decade. Parents and carers

School leaders listening to presentations from staff and students Ballyclare Secondary School has opened its doors to school leaders from across Northern Ireland to demonstrate what life looks like without mobile phones during the school day — and staff say the results have been “remarkable”. The County Antrim school has been operating a phone-free system since August 2025 using lockable Yondr pouches, becoming one of the first schools in the area to adopt the approach amid g

Mr Stephen Black One of Northern Ireland’s best-known school principals is set to leave his post at Ballymena Academy later this year after accepting a new position within the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). Mr Stephen Black will step down as Principal of Ballymena Academy on 31 August 2026, bringing to an end a 12-year leadership period which saw the school maintain strong academic performance while further developing its sporting and co-curricular reputation. The announc

More than 650 schools and pre-school settings across Northern Ireland are now involved in Shared Education partnerships — yet the number of children actually taking part has fallen by more than 9,000, according to a major new report laid before the Assembly. The fifth statutory report on Advancing Shared Education, published today (Monday 11 May) by Education Minister Paul Givan, reveals a striking contradiction at the heart of Northern Ireland’s shared learning strategy: par

Students from Sead the Season at Cullybackey College celebrating being named ‘Company of the Year’ at the annual Young Enterprise NI Awards held in Belfast City Hall. Students from Cullybackey College have secured one of Northern Ireland’s top young enterprise honours after their student-run business was crowned ‘Company of the Year’ at a major awards ceremony in Belfast. The team behind Seed the Season impressed judges with a sustainability-focused business supplying seasona

Rail Cool Rules! Translink has joined forces with Rail Safe Friendly, an accredited UK-wide programme, to spread the vital message of rail safety in Northern Ireland. Pictured at the partnership launch are (L-R) Abigail, Luke and Izabel from Oakwood Integrated Primary School with Chris Conway, Translink Group Chief Executive and Kathryn Ogdin, Director of Operations, Rail Safe Friendly. A new rail safety campaign aimed at Primary 7 pupils has been launched across Northern Ire

Young people across the UK are facing mounting pressure ahead of GCSE and A-Level exams, with new figures revealing the scale of stress being carried into exam season. Childline delivered 1,679 counselling sessions linked to exam and revision stress between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, highlighting a sustained demand for support as students struggle to cope with expectations, workload and anxiety. The figures show a sharp peak in May, coinciding with the start of exams, wh

CGI of new buildings for Dunclug College, Ballymena A major new school building for Dunclug College has taken a decisive step forward, with confirmation today, Wednesday 29 April, it will now progress to construction as part of a multi-million-pound investment programme—delivering long-awaited transformation for pupils, staff and the wider Ballymena community. Education Minister Paul Givan has announced that Dunclug College is among four major works projects across Northern I

(L-R) Kiran Minhas, Principal Katy Lynas Craig and Clare McGall A Ballymena nursery school has become the first in Northern Ireland to receive the highest level of recognition for its approach to children’s emotional wellbeing, marking a significant milestone in early years education across the region. Ballymena Integrated Nursery School has been awarded ‘gold standard’ Togetherness school accreditation — the top tier of a UK-wide scheme led by NHS-backed emotional health exp

A major all-island study has revealed that vast numbers of teachers across Northern Ireland are experiencing serious work-related burnout, with nearly half now considering leaving the profession — raising fresh concerns about the sustainability of the education system. New research from Dublin City University’s Centre for Collaborative Research Across Teacher Education, carried out in partnership with St Mary’s University College Belfast, found that 91% of teachers surveyed a

SDLP MLA for East Londonderry Cara Hunter Growing cross-sector backlash as Children’s Law Centre and 14 organisations raise concerns over impact on vulnerable pupils, schools and families Mounting opposition to proposed special educational needs (SEN) reforms has intensified, with SDLP MLA Cara Hunter calling on the Education Minister to immediately halt the plans amid warnings they could place already overstretched schools under further strain and negatively impact vulnerabl

Parents across Northern Ireland are being urged to take early action as exam pressure begins to build, with a leading children’s charity warning that stress during revision season can have a “profound impact” on young people’s wellbeing. With exam season fast approaching, Action for Children is highlighting growing concerns around the emotional and physical toll on children, while promoting its free online Parent Talk service to help families navigate the weeks ahead. Rising

Fibrus specialist with students in Mount St Michael’s Primary School, Randalstown. A new campaign to help children across Northern Ireland navigate the risks of the digital world has been launched, with a key rollout event taking place at Mount St Michael’s Primary School in Randalstown. Full fibre broadband provider Fibrus has begun delivering its “Surf Smart Stay Safe” initiative in primary schools, aiming to equip pupils with practical skills to stay safe online — from