EdIS Newsletter - Winter 2025

The new Education Library Management System (ELMS), launched at Killicomaine Junior High School, will reinvigorate how students access books and digital resources, promoting lifelong reading and learning.

Delivered in collaboration with project partner Softlink, ELMS will enable schools and EA to deliver innovative literacy support, providing all pupils across NI equal access to books, resources and interactive tools to enhance reading skills regardless of age, ability or first language.

ELMS will be offered to schools across all sectors, with implementation phased over the 2025-26 academic year. For more information visit: ELMS news.

Connect to ELMS - Register your interest here.

In our latest EdIS News, ELMS Delivery Manager, Jenny Burke, highlights the benefits of ELMS including how it will support school librarians and EA Education Library Service staff. Watch here.

EdIS are pleased to confirm the implementation of the Bromcom School Management System to all schools, with rollout commencing in 2026.

Primary Schools will be the first sector to transition to Bromcom and the first schools will be contacted from early January to start their journey. Every school will be contacted at least 10 weeks before their scheduled migration date. Implementation of other sectors will follow in quick succession upon completion of the Primary School rollout. 

Further information and guidance will be circulated to schools from the C2k Implementation Team. 

The EdIS eXchange podcast is a collaboration between the EdIS Communications team and EATV. The podcasts brings together industry experts, education practitioners and key stakeholders to engage in discussion about innovations, best practices and the ever-changing digital landscape in the education sector.

Find the podcast on Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts. Episode 4 with Professor Emeritus Don Passey discussing NI’s global recognition in sustaining relevant digital education is available now!

Vital work is ongoing to replace each school’s aging ‘Huawei Core Network Switch’ with Cisco digital architecture. Work is currently ahead of schedule with 900 schools completed to date and full completion expected by early December. 

Remaining schools will be contacted shortly by Capita to arrange a suitable installation date. We are grateful to all schools for their flexibility in support of this important work.
 

At the start of the academic year, EdIS hosted a Back-to-School ‘Digital Skills Week’ for all teachers across NI under the theme of Amplifying Learning with AI and Assistive Technology.

The week brought together leading education specialists from Apple, Microsoft, Google, Adobe, Just2Easy, and the AmmA Centre, for a variety of inspirational, innovative and impactful sessions. With the goal of empowering teachers, the events featured expert insights and provided hands-on learning and ups killing in the latest in Generative AI and assistive technologies.

Thank you to all the speakers, host venues and attendees.

Highlight videos from the ‘Digital Skills Week’ events are available on EA social media channels, including from a Google for Education event in The MAC, an Academia and Adobe event at Linen Mill Studios (home of the Game of Thrones Studio Tour), and an Academia Outdoor Learning event at Stranmillis College.  

90% of Nursery Units can now access high speed wireless connectivity from their own Primary School and work is underway to connect those remaining. The support of each school to facilitate this process is very much appreciated. 

“There has been a marked improvement in connectivity, which has directly enhanced the quality of teaching and learning. Children now have reliable access to a broader range of online educational resources, enabling them to participate in activities that were previously not feasible. This has enriched their learning experiences and supported the development of digital literacy from an early age.

Staff have also benefited greatly from the improved infrastructure... It has also enabled staff to integrate technology more effectively into daily routines and learning environments, promoting a more dynamic and interactive approach to early years education.” School Principal feedback on the improvements in Nursery School Digital Infrastructure

As part of the Department of Education’s TransformEd Strategy[RD1] [KP2] , EdIS will provide a new TPL platform for teachers. The new system will allow TPL content to be curated by EA, other education support organisations as well as approved educational suppliers. It will also facilitate schools to create bespoke TPL materials for their own staff. The TPL Platform will support a variety of learning approaches, including self-led, group/ collaborative work and self-reflection and will provide a learning record for all teachers and classroom assistants. It will also support Area Learning Communities and create Communities of Practice. 

We are currently preparing for the procurement of a supplier for this exciting new system and look forward to releasing to schools in the 26/27 academic year.

Google Deepmind COO, Lila Abrahim, recently praised NI’s use of AI in Education during a visit to meet with school representatives and EdIS/ C2k Staff, “I am honoured and delighted to hear first-hand of the best practice showcased at a global level in NI schools as they work to incorporate AI for both management and administration as well as for teaching and learning. The outcomes have been exemplary, and we have much to learn from the work taking place here not only to inform the education sector, but for all industries.”

Lila visited Rowandale Integrated Primary School and Lurgan College as part of her trip before meeting with EA CEO, Richard Pengelly. Pupils demonstrated how they have mastered AI tools in the classroom, whilst colleagues shared stories of the transformational impacts of AI they had experienced

The focus now is to learn from this initial Proof of Concept and to scale this access to achieve maximum impact for our schools and ultimately, children and young people. NI is leading the way on a global stage – watch this space!

EdIS Senior Digital Communications Officer, Colin Hassard was recently invited to present at the Social Media Belfast Conference to discuss insights into how public sector organisation can best utilise social media . Colin shares his top tips for organisations including schools publishing their own content:

1. Share positive, authentic content. In the era of AI, it is even more important to provide genuine and relatable photos and videos that reflect your values.
2. Ensure content is accessible for everyone. This means using alt text on images and adding subtitles/captions to videos.
3. Engage and respond. Social media is a two-way channel and quite often the first place the public and parents will come to contact you.

The EdIS Digital Literacy and Wellbeing in the Age of AI Conference explored how education systems can adapt to the challenges and opportunities presented by Generative AI.

The keynote address by Jess McBeath from the South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL) emphasised the importance of understanding the persuasive design of digital platforms and equipping learners with critical thinking skills to evaluate AI-generated content.

Interactive sessions included a ‘Young Voices’ panel featuring pupils from St Patrick’s PS, Mayobridge and Blessed Trinity College, who shared their experiences of navigating digital life. Experts from INEQE, Common Sense Media, CCEA and the Safeguarding Board NI contributed to discussions on online safety and wellbeing, while practical workshops by St. Coleman’s College and Cedar Lodge School, as well as key organisations in the field, focused on embedding digital citizenship and online safety into school culture.

To watch the conference presentations and access resources for teachers and parents, please visit: Digital Literacy and Wellbeing in the Age of AI Conference.

There are now 21,700 active users of Adobe Express and the number of ACE (Adobe Creative Educator) accredited community leaders has grown from 20 to 237 since August 2025

• 1350 registrations for live lessons since Aug 2025.

Over 15000 pupils have attended Just2Easy Live Lessons in October 2025. For a selection of Live Lesson recordings as well as engaging webinars and tutorials visit the Just2Easy TV YouTube channel!

Representing NI Education, C2k eLearning Consultant Chynel McCrink and school representative Nicole Donnelly from St. Peter's Primary, Cloughreagh attended Google Headquarters in New York for the Edu Rally 2025. They delivered a high-impact presentation on crafting the recent successful Google Gemini Proof of Concept (PoC) led by C2k eLearning consultants and its use-case examples from NI schools to the team of NYC Google Engineers and around 150 Google employees via live webinar. This was followed by a productive Question and Answer (Q&A) session to garner views and input for upcoming Gemini developments.

The visit paved the way for exciting future collaborations, putting Northern Ireland at the forefront of AI and educational technology. Discussions established several avenues for future engagement, including a potential research collaboration with Google's User Experience team, focusing on Northern Ireland's leadership in AI literacy.

The highly productive trip has established immediate follow-up actions, including introductions between key Google Global figures and the C2k Leadership Team. This marks a powerful step in securing resources and validation for Northern Ireland's dedication to integrating AI safely and effectively into education.

This term, a series of C2k TPL sessions were delivered to educators, school leaders, and administrators. These sessions focused on strengthening key areas of school operations, including:

• Statutory Returns Compliance
• Exams Management and Performance Analysis
• Effective Management of School Networks and Infrastructure

Impact at a Glance:

• School Management & Administration: 290 attendees
• Digital Skills Applications: 860 attendees
• C2k Service Desk Support: Over 14,200 school queries resolved during the first term

These initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to empowering schools with the tools, knowledge, and support needed to deliver excellence in education.

EA Connect is our award-winning, multi-purpose portal. It is home to several key services delivered by the organisation to support schools, pupils and their families. The project continues to make impacts on our service provision as further system developments are added:

• Free School Meals and Uniform Grants: application processing days reduced by 89% ensuring that pupils receive the support they are entitled to much sooner.
• Transport: Immediate eligibility results and application tracking within the central portal, improving customer experience and communication with families.
• Admissions: Application outcomes are now issued 4 weeks earlier, giving families more time to prepare for the transition to a new school.
• SEN Annual Reviews: Centralised data on EA Connect ensures process transparency for all those contributing to a child’s review, improving collaboration.

In response to user feedback, we have recently improved our guidance for processing SEN Annual Reviews on EA Connect. A series of bitesize videos are now available alongside written user guides.

From the new year, the request for Consideration of Statutory Assessment will become the latest service to be available on EA Connect. This will significantly streamline the process for parents/carers, schools and EA services, improving communication and facilitating advance planning for the specific needs of children.

Keeping user records up to date is essential to meet GDPR obligations. Please complete this form to add or remove users requiring access to your School EA Connect account.

Our desktop refresh is now complete, with a total of 15,051 devices delivered to 239 Post Primary and Special Schools. Work has commenced to prepare new devices allocated to Statutory Nursery Schools.

EdIS Spotlight videos are available to watch online. The series showcases how our projects, such as Wireless Connectivity and Teacher Devices, are benefitting educators, staff and children and young people.

Educating in the AI Era - Google Leaders Conference, Madrid

EdIS / C2k were invited to speak at the Educating in the AI Era - Google Leaders Conference in Madrid on 27th October. Around 100 school and local authority leaders attended the event looking at how Gemini, Notebook LM and Classtools can enhance learning and ease teacher workload within a safe and secure environment.

Esther Woodhouse from the C2k eLearning Team gave a presentation on the recent successful Google Gemini POC delivered by EdIS/ C2k with 85 NI schools. Esther outlined the approach taken by her team, that wasn’t prescriptive but allowed participants to have the freedom to explore Google's GenAI provision within a supportive and dynamic community. She highlighted key statistics that showcased the success of the pilot.

Gemini Proof of Concept Performance Metrics:

• participants provided over 400 unique use cases indicating a potential 32 hours saved per teacher per month
• almost 97% of teachers involved report Gemini has eased their workload
• 76% of participating teachers believe it has improved their sense of wellbeing
• almost 57% of those involved said Gemini had contributed to pupil progress
• a further 33% expect to see a positive impact on pupil progress in the future.

Visit our EdIS for all the latest news and updates on EdIS projects.