AQW 15110/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 16/09/2024
Answered On Date: 24/09/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any work he is undertaking to enhance understanding of Ulster-Scots culture and heritage in schools, including through visits to the Ulster-Scots Hub in Belfast city centre.

Answer:

The Northern Ireland curriculum provides significant scope for the teaching of the Ulster-Scots language, literature, culture and history at both primary and post-primary level.

These can be delivered through areas such as Language & Literacy; Environment & Society; and Learning for Life and Work / Local and Global Citizenship, where young people are able to explore their own and others’ cultural identity, heritage and diversity.

There are also specific units within A-level and GCSE History which enable students to learn about the origins of Ulster-Scots, the actions of Ulster-Scots in the 18th century and the contributions of Ulster-Scots men and women in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Department of Education delegates as much funding and decision-making as possible to schools to decide which resources or programmes they use to support delivery of the curriculum.