Ulster University is committed to engaging school pupils across Northern Ireland, in high quality educational outreach resources, specifically designed to motivate and inspire the next generation.

www.ulster.ac.uk/schoolsacademy

Ulster University Discovery Academy is our online version of outreach, it's open to all young people, school pupils Year 8-14/college students etc, its free, self-paced and we currently have 75+ courses on offer.

Each course is aligned with curriculum, personal development or showcases pathways into university disciplines, co-designed by Ulster University academics.  The Discovery Academy enables young people across NI to have unlimited access to university outreach, removing barriers and creating pathways to HE. 

To find out how your school could can get involved, please contact by email schools@ulster.ac.uk or access our online learning platform at www.ulster.ac.uk/schoolsacademy

INTO Film would like to share the exciting news that our new video games hub, www.intofilm.org/games, with various resources, including Story Builder: Games, game reviews, teaching materials, and teacher training opportunities, is now live and completely free to every school.

The INTO Film Team have developed a new suite of resources that harness the potential of games in classrooms. Through collaboration with BAFTA and other game industry organisations, we can now make these resources, workshops, and teacher training available to all schools across NI. More details and all of the materials can be found here. https://www.intofilm.org/news-and-views/articles/national-video-games-day-2023 

‘Building a Future in Shared Education’ 

On Friday 9th June, Ulster University, Coleraine welcomed 50 pupils from the local Millburn PS and St. Malachy’s PS Shared Education partnership to engage in an interactive workshop using Lego as the medium to create a ‘shared town’. 

The Primary 7 pupils worked in seven different groups focusing on the following themes; Education, Worship, Leisure, Retail, Transport, Healthcare and Housing. The event was the culmination of a series of shared lessons using a ‘Blended Approach’ both in school and on MS Teams where they had previously planned and designed their ideas on paper and with the support of the school and university staff brought these to life in Lego form. 

The children engaged in healthy dialogue and debate about where best the various elements should be situated in order to realise their shared vision of an inclusive, sustainable and environmentally friendly town. The pupils should be proud of the end product but importantly they had the opportunity to build their friendships and create special memories together. 

Good Relations Week 2023 to embrace Togetherness for meaningful change

Local groups, schools and businesses are urged to participate in the annual Community Relations Council event taking place this September

Good Relations Week 2023 is in preparation mode with a mission to embody the spirit of togetherness as it celebrates peace-building and cultural diversity in its annual contribution  to eradicating sectarianism, racism, and inequality across the region.

Good Relations Week 2023, coordinated by the Community Relations Council, is scheduled to run from Monday 18th September to Sunday 24th September 2023.

The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Together’ which will be showcased through a week-long programme of events focused on cooperation, inclusivity, and progress.

The programme of events will include workshops, lectures, panel discussions, talks, podcasts, film screenings, music and dance performances, storytelling, and exhibitions from a diverse range of organisations across the region.

Local community groups, voluntary organisations, schools, representative groups, statutory bodies, businesses, and local councils are encouraged to participate and register their events before the deadline of Friday 1st September 2023.

EA Chief Executive Sara Long was a panellist alongside other key female leaders in Northern Ireland for the SistersIN event in ICC Belfast, on Friday, 24th March 2023. 

SistersIN programme has been created to enable, empower and develop female pupils across Northern Ireland to become the leaders of tomorrow.  It aims to help them discover their full potential and open new possibilities for their professional journeys by building leadership capability and confidence.  

Sara Long, EA Chief Executive said: “I was honoured to have been a panellist at the SistersIN celebration event in Belfast, which was expertly planned and delivered by student representatives from each of the 10 partnering schools, and I am so proud of the achievements of all 180 female students who have taken part in this ground breaking programme. 

“I had the opportunity to visit Ashfield Girls’ High School recently and meet with some of the students taking part in the programme to hear first-hand how valuable the experience has been and the learning opportunities they have had access to.  

“EA will continue to work in partnership with school leaders and industries to expand the programme and provide increased opportunities for the female leaders of tomorrow.  

“There is a clear appetite from schools to become involved and a desire from industries to access this emerging talent, which means this programme will continue to go from strength to strength.” 

Peter Dobbin, Founder of SistersIN said, “The concept of SistersIN is simple but powerful and has the potential to become a positive impact on the lives of so many aspiring female leaders of the future.  

The support we have received from partners and organisations across Northern Ireland this year has been incredible, It is so inspiring to see the girls step up and take the reins at ICC Belfast and I am so excited to attend the event, network with the businesses involved and work with them to see how far the SistersIN journey can go.” 

The SistersIN Programme originated in Assumption Grammar School under the leadership of its principal Peter Dobbin. The initial 2019 programme pilot proved so successful that it inspired the foundation of a charity, which was established in 2022, to help broaden the impact and reach of the programme to more schools and pupils. 

The ten schools participating in 2022-23 are Ashfield Girls High School, Assumption Grammar School, Glenlola Collegiate, Our Lady’s Grammar School, St Cecilia’s College, St Genevieve’s High School, St Ronan’s College, Strathearn School, Thornhill College and Victoria College.    

For more information visit www.sisters-IN.org 

Over 60 principals, teachers and educators from schools working on shared life in and around Tel Aviv, Israel visited Northern Ireland from 13-18th March.  During their time, they had the opportunity to visit many of our Mainstream Shared Education Partnerships to see first-hand the benefits such programmes of shared learning can have not on the pupils but the entire school community.  

The visitors received a heart-warming welcome at every partnership they visited and commented on the openness by the schools to open their doors and share their lived experiences, the behaviour and engagement from the pupils and the hard work and commitment that each school’s staff put in place to ensure effective pupil collaboration.  They relished the opportunity to view pupil activity, speak with staff and school leaders and to immerse themselves in what Shared Education looks like and to fully discuss the many benefits shared learning has for all stakeholders.  

Thank you to each and every school that welcomed the visitors and made their trip here extremely worthwhile and enjoyable – Arvalee School & STRULE Campus, Dumachose PS & Termoncanice PS, St John the Baptist PS & Finaghy PS, Limavady High & St Mary’s, Limavady, Ballycastle High & Cross and Passion, Ballycastle, Edenderry PS, Portadown and St Patrick’s & St Brigid’s PS & Ballycastle Integrated Primary.

With over three hundred schools invited and over 150 pupils taking part, the CASE Celebration Event was a huge success. The event opened with a heart-warming performance of ‘Lean on Me’ (Bill Withers) and ‘Count on Me’ (Bruno Mars) by Groggan PS & Millquarter PS. The speeches were interspersed with a performance of ‘Memories’ (Maroon 5) from St Vincent’s Secondary School, Dundalk and Dundalk Grammar School, and the event concluded with Royal School Cavan and Loreto College Cavan belting out the wonderfully appropriate ‘We’re all in this together’ (High School Musical).

In his keynote speech, Tony Macaulay, author of ‘Paperboy’ and peacebuilder, shared his story and challenged all in attendance to, “#knowyourstory and #shareyourstory but also to own your story and value it.”

With the #CASECelebration tag being viewed on Twitter over 1 million times in just over a week, and an increase of over 5% in Twitter followers over the same length of time, the whole event was inspirational.

In his concluding remarks, Tim Stewart CASE Programme Manager, noted, “You are part of a generation of change, making history, taking risks and doing it differently for a better future for the next generation. This whole project celebrates being part of the jigsaw of change and you have been co-creators.” He further emphasised that this is simply the last part of this leg of each partnership’s Shared Education journey with so much more to come.

On Wednesday 21st September the Mainstreaming Shared Education Strategy was launched at the St. Patrick's PS, Ballynahinch. The launch was attended by the Education Minister, Michelle McLlveen, representatives from the Education Authority, The Executive Office and the Education & Training Inspectorate. The pupils from St. Patrick's PS & Ballynahinch PS participated in a face-to-face Shared Education lesson which allowed them to begin developing relationships and learn about one another. 

The Mainstreaming Shared Education Strategy provides an overview of the work that has been ongoing through the funded projects, and outlines the vision for Shared Education over the next ten years. The Strategy was co-designed by the Shared Education and Community Relations Team, within  DE and the Head of Shared Education  & Sectoral Support (Paul Close) within the Education Authority . All key stakeholders had the opportunity to contribute and shape the Strategy. This is a significant step towards embedding Shared Education across the NI Education System.