Shared Education and Sectoral Support Service

The Mainstreaming Shared Education Strategy aims to create the conditions to enable partnership working across religious and socio-economic divides and seeks to establish Shared Education as a core feature of educational provision in Northern Ireland that is affordable, sustainable and accessible to all. 

We encourage, facilitate, and promote the mainstreaming of Shared Education in our schools by: 

• Supporting and advising teachers/practitioners in the planning, delivery and monitoring of Shared Education.
• Promoting cross-sectoral partnership working.
• Developing an understanding of Shared Education, Integrated and Irish-medium Education.
• Building the capacity of the school system to deliver highly effective education through continued Teacher Professional Learning Opportunities.
• Sharing best practice from teachers, school leaders and academics.
• Identifying partnerships demonstrating effective practice and sharing this learning with other partnerships.
• Exploring new approaches which can improve outcomes for children and young people.
• Establishing the link between partnership working and School Improvement.
• Providing teachers with a range of resources and materials that can be used to deliver high quality education.
• Development of resources to complement the delivery and evaluation of Shared Education.

Visit the Department of Education website for further information on the Mainstreaming Shared Education Strategy.

For further information on EA Support for Shared Education, please contact [email protected]

Irish-medium Education

Irish-medium Education is provided across Northern Ireland in a number of Irish-medium nursery, primary and post primary settings.

We work to encourage and facilitate Irish-medium Education.

We:

• Work with our educational partners, particularly the representative body for Irish-medium Education Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta , to support Irish-medium schools.
• Provide bespoke Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) opportunities for Irish-medium leaders, practitioners and governors, to include a range of identified teacher professional learning opportunities as well as language accuracy and enhancement.
• Provide additional linguistic and awareness raising opportunities for EA staff and administer an Irish-medium Learning Leaders Support Scheme.
• Continue to develop and extend an Irish-medium Hub, Croí na Gaelscolaíochta, which provides a central area for learning and teaching resources, TPL opportunities and materials, research and all other relevant Irish-medium links and information.

 For further information on EA Support for Irish-medium Education, please contact [email protected]

Integrated Education

Integrated Education is provided across Northern Ireland in a number of Integrated nursery, primary and post primary schools.

We work to encourage facilitate and support Integrated Education by:

• Collaborating with our partners within the Integrated community, particularly the Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) to develop and share best practice across and beyond the Integrated sector.
• Working with the Council for Integrated Education to support schools which are considering applying for Integrated status and taking a lead role on all aspects of school planning for Integration. 
• Developing professional learning opportunities for leaders, practitioners and governors in Integrated schools.
• Challenging existing Integrated schools and those proposing to become Integrated to be intentional in the delivery of Integrated Education.  We assist Integrated schools which are facing challenges in their own settings and work with them to build religious and community balance within their enrolments.

For further information on EA support for Integrated Education please contact [email protected]

EA are working with educational partners to support the development of Ulster Scots education in schools.

We will:

• Work with our educational partners, particularly the representative bodies for Ulster Scots - The Ulster Scots Agency, and the Ulster Scots Community Network to support Ulster Scots in schools.
• Provide bespoke Ulster Scots Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) opportunities for leaders, practitioners and governors.
• Provide awareness raising opportunities for EA staff.
• Develop an Ulster Scots Hub, which will provide a central area for learning and teaching resources, TPL opportunities and materials, research and all other relevant Ulster Scots links and information.

For further information on EA Support for Ulster Scots, please contact [email protected]

The Department of Education’s (DE) Community Relations, Equality and Diversity in Education (CRED) Policy aims to promote equality of opportunity between :

• persons of different religious belief;
• political opinion;
• racial group;
• age;
• marital status;
• sexual orientation; 
• between men and women generally; 
• between persons with a disability and persons without; and
• between persons with dependants and persons without.

There is currently no CRED funding stream but help is available to implement CRED policies and procedures in schools. In order to access help you can contact us at [email protected]

Visit the Department of Education website to view the CRED Policy