Newry to receive share of funding to help reduce educational disadvantage
Newry is to benefit a major programme of investment to deliver innovative and community informed approaches to raise achievement to reduce educational disadvantage in Northern Ireland.
The programme, part of a wider funding package, represents an investment of £20million over the next two years, with potential for further funding.
Welcoming the investment, Education Minister Paul Givan said: “I welcome this significant programme of investment which will contribute greatly in our efforts to remove the barriers that prevent many of our children and young people from engaging in learning and further our work to forge strong partnerships between schools, families and communities.
“Schools are the bedrock of our education system and we must work in partnership with families, the local community and other influencers to ensure every child is happy, learning and succeeding.”
The investment in the RAISE initiative is part of a wider co-operation programme on addressing educational underachievement supported through the Shared Island Fund. Other strands incorporating creativity in schools and teacher exchange are still under development.
The RAISE Programme will operate in specific localities across Northern Ireland. These have been selected using objective criteria based on data.
Newry is one of them, along with Antrim, Ards Peninsula, Ballymena, Belfast, Carrick, Coleraine, Derry / Londonderry, Dungannon, Enniskillen, Limavady, Lisburn, Lurgan and Craigavon, Newtownabbey, and Portadown.
Welcoming the investment being made by the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Education in the Republic of Ireland, the Minister added: “The link between socio-economic disadvantage and educational attainment is not unique to Northern Ireland. It is common across the world, including the Republic of Ireland.
“The Shared Island Funding provides an opportunity for new approaches to be taken in Northern Ireland that may aid policy development in both countries for the benefit of all learners.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our respective countries to learn from each other’s effective practices and this new funding will be used to support many thousands of learners across Northern Ireland for a long time to come.”
The Department of Education (Northern Ireland) will have responsibility for the delivery of the funded programmes.
Work will now commence on the design and implementation of the programme with a formal launch in the coming months.