NEWS

A North Antrim MLA has highlighted the vital role of an early years service in Ballymena after seeing first-hand how it is supporting young children and families across the area. Visit shines light on frontline support for families Jon Burrows visited Ballymena and Little Steps Antrim SureStart on the Doury Road, where he met staff, parents and children and observed a range of programmes currently being delivered on the ground. The service, operated by Action for Children, wo

The Committee and Volunteers from Sensory Kids A volunteer-led organisation supporting children, adults and families in Co Antrim has received the highest honour of its kind in the UK, recognising years of life-changing work for people with disabilities. Sensory Kids has been awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service, a prestigious national recognition celebrating the impact of its inclusive programmes and community support. Prestigious honour presented at special ceremo

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

Thousands of students, apprentices and young people across the UK are set to regain access to study and work opportunities across Europe after the government formally agreed to rejoin the Erasmus+ programme from 2027. The legal text confirming the UK’s return was signed in Brussels on April 15, marking a major shift in post-Brexit relations and reopening one of Europe’s most established education and exchange schemes to UK participants. More than 100,000 people are expected t

Farming families across Northern Ireland are being urged to take immediate, practical steps to protect children on farms this summer, as safety experts warn that preventable accidents continue to cause serious injuries and fatalities every year. The call comes from Bryan Monson, Deputy Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), who has drawn on his own upbringing on a family farm to highlight the hidden dangers children face in what can a

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

Action for Children staff Rosie Moore, Lorna Ballard and Franci Simpson with Jon Burrows MLA A North Antrim MLA has praised the “real difference” being made by a local early years service after seeing its impact first-hand during a visit to Ballymena. Jon Burrows visited Ballymena and Little Steps Antrim Sure Start on Doury Road on Friday, 1 May, where he met staff, parents and young children benefiting from the programme. The service, which operates across three sites in the

Thousands of families across Northern Ireland risk losing vital weekly Child Benefit payments this summer unless they take action before a key deadline, with HM Revenue and Customs urging parents of teenagers approaching 16 to confirm their child’s next steps in education or training. Child Benefit payments automatically stop on 31 August on or after a child’s 16th birthday unless parents actively extend their claim — a requirement that affects households whose teenagers are

Autistic people and families across Northern Ireland are still not seeing consistent, reliable support in their daily lives despite more than a decade of legislation and successive government strategies, a landmark independent report has found — warning that a persistent gap between policy and reality continues to drive delay, fragmentation and distress for autistic people and their families. The first Annual Report from the Independent Autism Reviewer, covering the period fr

(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

Families across Northern Ireland are set for a summer of comic chaos as a major new interactive trail brings Dennis the Menace and the Beanotown gang to Hillsborough Castle and Gardens — with children granted free entry to the gardens throughout the holidays. Running from 27 June to 31 August 2026, the large-scale attraction, Beano Hijinks at Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, transforms the historic 100-acre estate into a time-twisting adventure trail, blending comic mischief

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

Northern Ireland U17 international and tournament graduate Chloe Beckinsale and Charlotte Havern are pictured alongside Ballymena United Minor Section players Curtis McKeown and Isaac Dixon, with former Northern Ireland international and current Northern Ireland U21 Manager Tommy Wright and Karl Bradley from Budget Energy at the official draw for the 2026 Budget Energy SuperCupNI. The stage is set for one of Northern Ireland’s biggest sporting events of the summer, after the

Glass strewn over the local play park Fresh safety concerns have been raised at Fisherwick Play Park in Ballymena after glass was deliberately broken and scattered across the site over the weekend, prompting a strong response from a local councillor. The incident comes after the park underwent a significant upgrade recently, funded by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, and has left residents worried about the safety of children using the popular community facility. Damage a

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

Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader and Economy spokesperson Diana Armstrong MLA Northern Ireland’s universities have become increasingly dependent on students from Great Britain and overseas to remain financially viable, new Assembly figures show, with non-domestic enrolments rising sharply over the past five academic years. The newly published figures, released in response to an Assembly Question from Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader and Economy spokesperson Diana Armstrong MLA , re

The future of non-statutory pre-school provision in North Antrim has been thrust back into the spotlight after TUV MLA Timothy Gaston warned in the Northern Ireland Assembly that community playgroups could be forced to close their doors by September without urgent intervention from the Education Minister. Speaking on Monday (13 April) at Stormont, the North Antrim representative said the long-running issue surrounding pupil allocation numbers (PAN) for non-statutory settings

The Education Authority has confirmed that personal data linked to a small number of schools in Northern Ireland was compromised in a targeted cyber attack on the C2k school network, marking a major escalation in an incident that has already caused widespread disruption across the education system. The development emerged on Wednesday 15 April, just hours after detectives from the PSNI’s Cyber Crime Investigation Team arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with the ongoing