You’re invited to join us for a conversation on isolated pairs of schools and sustainable education provision in rural areas.

Friday, 28 February 2020
10:00am – 1:00pm
Ranfurly House Arts & Visitor Centre
26 Market Square
Dungannon BT70 1AB

Ulster University’s Transforming Education project has recently produced a briefing paper called “Isolated Together: Pairs of Primary Schools Duplicating Provision”. The report highlights the need to look at education provision in areas where there are pairs of schools of different management types, i.e. where a Controlled and a Catholic Maintained primary school are located within 1 mile of each other and at least 3 miles away from alternative provision. The report suggests: “Were these schools to find arrangements to remove duplication and to become more sustainable they would be more likely to avoid closures, to the benefit of all sides of the local communities.” (more…)

Department of Education release:

Every child deserves the best start in life and to be nurtured and supported to help them reach their full potential, Education Minister, Peter Weir has said.

The Minister has outlined his key priorities during visits to two schools which will benefit from the School Enhancement Programme (SEP).

Riverside Special School in Antrim and St John the Baptist’s Primary School in Belfast are two of the 18 schools which, the Minister announced in the Assembly this week, will advance in planning under the second call to SEP. (more…)

Department of Education release:

Education Minister Peter Weir has announced 18 schools which will advance in planning under the second call to the School Enhancement Programme (SEP).

Twelve primary schools, five post-primary schools and one special school will benefit from an estimated capital investment of £45 million. (more…)

Is Northern Ireland “moving on” from the Troubles, or “emerging” from conflict? Should we talk about the Good Friday or the Belfast Agreement? Are we ready to deal with the past – and is that the same as addressing it? And do you call it “Northern Ireland” or the North of Ireland?

These questions are raised and examined in a new book from a founder teacher and former principal of Lagan College. Dr Brian Lambkin’s Calming Conflict: Northern Ireland, Metaphor and Migration explores the language people choose to use and the political and social impact of words. Dr Lambkin also proposes a new educational resource for sharing histories – not just the Troubles, but family and local history stretching back centuries. This, he suggests, would help record and express individual and shared histories and might set us on the path to finding a common approach to discussing the past. (more…)

Sperrin Integrated College in Magherafelt has had a great start to the new year with the news that it is to increase its enrolment from September.

The Department of Education has approved the school’s development proposal to expand, increasing admissions from 80 to 100. The school will eventually have an approved enrolment of 600 pupils. A request to increase post-16 places was turned down, meaning that Sperrin IC will continue to offer 50 places in each of years 13 and 14. (more…)

The IEF is delighted to be able to congratulate Professor Alan Smith on being awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours.

Alan, who holds the UNESCO Chair in Education at Ulster University, was founding chair of the NI Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) and a founder Trustee of the IEF, serving on the board from 1992-1999. (more…)