EdIS Projects

The EdIS Wireless Project will replace the existing C2k wireless in schools and will form the largest single Cisco Meraki Wi-Fi deployment ever delivered in Europe. It will give much improved internet access throughout teaching and common areas in the school via a wide range of devices. This enhanced connectivity will also improve the local area infrastructure in preparation for the onboarding of future services.

Piloting and Phase 1 of the wireless solution has been completed and we are now in phase 2 of the 4-phase rollout programme with over 320 schools complete.

All schools in Northern Ireland will have their wireless connectivity increased by the end of 2024.

• Nursery Connectivity

Work is now underway to equip nursery schools with upgraded broadband which will allow access to future EdIS services. EA staff have been visiting nursery schools, gathering infrastructure and cabling requirements and will arrange for the internal cabling, upgraded broadband and wireless connectivity to be deployed in 2024.

• Updated and Modern Infrastructure - Strategic Partnership and Data Analytics

To improve the efficiency of the current education support services, the procurement for Strategic Partner is currently underway with an evaluation of initial tenders being reviewed. The procurement process is scheduled to complete in Winter 2023/4 with an award of contract December 2023 – January 2024.

• School Management System (SMS)

A single School Management System (SMS) will be delivered across all schools, which improves the management and flow of data between schools, parents and EA support services and supports collaborative and multi-school working. 

Secure and flexible access to a centralised record system along with automated processes will reduce the administrative burden and provide ready access to information that supports each student throughout their educational career.  

The SMS will also provide tools to complete the statutory and business critical processes of schools and support schools to identify trends, prioritise resources to inform planning resulting in targeted interventions for the student to enhance their learning experience.

• Digital Learning Environment  

The Digital Learning Environment will encompass collaboration and communication and curriculum applications with associated Teacher Professional Learning, as well as classroom management and health and wellbeing applications, all underpinned by the supporting infrastructure incorporating the School Management System with Data Insights, to support the implementation of the NI curriculum and the development of skills for the workforce of the future.  

A single School Management System (SMS) will be delivered across all schools, which improves the management and flow of data between schools, parents and EA support services and supports collaborative and multi-school working.

Secure and flexible access to a centralised record system along with automated processes will reduce the administrative burden and provide ready access to information that supports each student throughout their educational career.

The SMS will also provide tools to complete the statutory and business critical processes of schools and support schools to identify trends, prioritise resources to inform planning resulting in targeted interventions for the student to enhance their learning experience.

EA Connect is the new unified customer portal which is home to a number of key services delivered by EA to support schools and families.

Admission applications to pre-school, primary school, post-primary school as well as 14+ school applications are now made through EA Connect. This enables parents to complete their child’s application and upload supporting documentation online. All parents applying for a child’s school place are notified of the outcome of their application digitally, both through the portal and via email. Visit Admissions.

Annual Reviews (AR) for children with a statement of special needs are also completed by digital returns on EA Connect. From the start of the 2024/25 term all ARs are now mandatory for completion via EA Connect. This creates a seamless, easy-to-follow review process for both school users and parents.

SEN Annual Review enhancements include:

• Schools: Additional features and information when scheduling, creating or cancelling Annual Reviews;
• Education Psychology Service: additional data fields with an improved dashboard, update to request for Education Psychology options for schools;
• SARS: additional functionality to update pupil's school, additional data fields added for progress reporting.

Visit SEN Annual Reviews for more information.

From Summer 2023, applications for Further Education Transport were made available on the portal, with additional services of Home to School transport for school-based pupils as well as Free School Meals and Uniform Allowance added in 2024.

EA Connect simplifies processes and reduces the administration burden on schools, EA services and parents. It also provides a single source of truth for each child’s records and enables close collaboration with all those involved in a child’s education journey.

Development of a digital system that will enable the tracking and storing of pupil information in a centralised location. It will be accessible to a variety of users to ensure collaboration on cases and the sharing of information in a secure environment. This has now been branded and launched as ADA (Aligned Data Access).

The Library Management System will support a holistic approach to curriculum delivery and literacy development for all schools and EOTAS centres. Pupils, librarians, and teachers will become part of an online, collaborative community that supports lifelong learning and fosters a love of reading. The innovative functions of the system will streamline processes such as circulating resources, auditing stock and reporting trend analyses throughout the Education Library Service provision in Northern Ireland.

To provide financial and payroll management systems to schools in the Voluntary Grammar and Grant Maintained Integrated sectors.

The financial management system supports statutory and business critical school processes, reduces administration and improves data quality and flow. Detailed, accurate and up-to-date data ensures efficient delegation of delegated budgets to maximise provision of educational services.

Deliver a platform to facilitate the professional development of teachers and enabling networking and collaborative learning. We aim to build on the Learning Leaders policy to build networks for sharing best practice.

Utilise digital tools to support coherent uses of data, target and manage resources, enable evidence-based approaches and support communities.

Use data entered once that is then available in a range of formats to analyse trends that are automatically identified, including links to system wide data. Planning tools linked in real time will facilitate modelling exercises so that various scenarios can be interrogated during the decision-making process.

Schools will have access to dashboards of SMS and system wide data to benchmark their practice, evaluate the impact of their work and inform their school improvement journey.

To meet the current and future needs of school leaders, teachers, pupils and families, EdIS is procuring a single online payment solution for all. The aim of the online payment system is to improve user experience for parents, facilitate the secure online collection of payments for school bills and reduce administration for school users.

Community Use of Schools will provide an online tool to allow school facilities to be booked by community organisations/bodies, approved by school management and paid for.

The Child Protection Case Management system will provide a centralised electronic records management system that contains secure recording of, and access to, relevant safeguarding data relating to a child/young person at risk of significant harm, concerns, plans, and actions with child protection case management and allegations of abuse against staff including a robust reporting functionality. This project covers the statutory requirements of dealing with disclosures or staff concern(s) of abuse/neglect that have been triaged and warrant the creation of a Child Protection File.

The Music Management System will provide a centralised solution to integrate both operational and educational requirements within the EA Music Service. Streamlined administrative processes around tuition, payment, and stock management will enhance efficiency and a robust reporting function will support Music Service development and innovation into the future. Music staff will also be given access to relevant pupil information to facilitate differentiation to suit the individual needs of their learners.

Over 20,000 Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus devices have been distributed to teachers in nursery, primary, post primary, SEN and EOTAS schools. 

These devices provide high specification education hardware and software for teachers to best support the learning experience for children and young people. 

They will facilitate online collaboration with pupils, teachers and stakeholders, secure sharing of resources and the ability to build learning networks while in school and at home.

100% of primary, post-primary, SEN and EOTAS schools and EA Sites have now received an upgraded broadband solution and are seeing a significant increase in bandwidth, preparing the foundations for the onboarding of future EdIS services.

NISTR is an online platform which seamlessly connects supply teachers and schools to enable targeted, quality education and maximise employment opportunities. It provides a real-time booking system and a centralised database for all supply teachers in Northern Ireland, at present including details for over 8,500 supply teachers. For more information visit Northern Ireland Supply Teacher Register (NISTR)