NEWS

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

A major conference aimed at reshaping how children with special educational needs are supported in classrooms across Northern Ireland will take place in Belfast this week, as the Education Authority pushes ahead with plans to move away from what it describes as a rigid “one size fits all” system. The keynote event, being held at the Balmoral Hotel, Belfast, on Thursday, April 16, forms a central part of the EA’s public consultation on its proposed Enhanced Support Model, a s

North Antrim MP Jim Allister and Cloughmills Early Years playgroup The growing dispute over nursery places in Cloughmills has now widened into a broader North Antrim row after MP Jim Allister accused the Education Authority of failing pre-school children across the constituency. In a sharply critical statement, Mr Allister said the EA’s “inflexible and dogma driven policy” is leaving children without suitable local places in communities including Cloughmills, Armoy and The

BBC announces the cast for the return of Balamory, featuring some familiar faces and some new! Images: Lion Television Scotland/BBC After more than two decades off screen, one of the BBC’s most beloved children’s programmes is set to return this month, as Balamory makes its long-awaited comeback on BBC’s CBeebies and BBC iPlayer. The brand-new series will launch on Monday 20 April at 5pm, with all episodes also becoming available on BBC iPlayer the same day, marking the first

Children in Northern Ireland are still afforded less legal protection from physical harm than adults because parents and carers can continue to rely on the defence of “reasonable punishment” , the NSPCC has warned, as pressure mounts for Stormont to amend the law through the Justice Bill. The children’s charity is urging all political parties to back an amendment currently tabled at the Northern Ireland Assembly which would remove what it describes as an outdated legal defenc

Cloughmills Early Years, County Antrim Nine families in Cloughmills have been left without a place at the village’s only nursery setting, triggering growing anger among parents, staff and elected representatives who say children are being forced out of their own community despite space being available locally. The dispute centres on Cloughmills Early Years, the only local nursery provision serving the village outside Ballymena, where demand for places has outstripped the numb

Lilianna McKeown and Mollie McCrea (Cliftonville), Ava Upritchard and Alice Shaw (Crusaders), Maci Davidson and Megan McCabe (Linfield), and Aleah Neill and Sophia Currie (Glentoran) are pictured at Coronation Garden, Hazelbank Park, as the Budget Energy SuperCupNI confirms its 2026 Girls’ Sections line-up. Liverpool will make a landmark first appearance in the Girls’ Premier section of this summer’s Budget Energy SuperCupNI, in what is shaping up to be one of the tournament’

Pictured: Northern Ireland Education Minister Paul Givan Serious weaknesses in school assessment data and a decade of disrupted inspections have left major blind spots in understanding the quality of education being delivered across Northern Ireland, according to a significant new watchdog report. The findings, published today by the Northern Ireland Audit Office, place fresh pressure on the Department of Education and reinforce calls for urgent reform across the school syste

Families across Northern Ireland are being urged to familiarise themselves with the signs and symptoms of meningitis as students return home for the Easter break. The Public Health Agency (PHA) has used the holiday period to remind parents, young people and students to check they are up to date with their MenACWY vaccination, while also raising awareness of the potentially life-threatening symptoms that require urgent medical attention. The warning comes after a recently repo

Pictured at the Child Development Centre at the Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ballymoney are back row, left – right, Steven Johnston, Stevie Lennon, Mark Morrow, Joe Gillan from the Robinson Memorial Trust Board, Ronnie Blair, Bamber McKay. Front row, left to right, Paddy Graffin, Kori Gault, James Archer and David Robinson, President of the Robinson Memorial Trust Board. Children and families attending Ballymoney’s Child Development Centre are now being welcomed into a signi