AQW 28860/22-27


Ms Sian Mulholland
Alliance Party
North Antrim


Tabled Date: 17/06/2025
Answered On Date: 26/06/2025
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail the supports which are currently being provided to schools with a high proportion of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds, in the Ballymena area.


Answer:
The Education Authority (EA) activated its Major Emergency Plan arrangements in response to the impact of Civil Disorder on education settings and youth provision. This has provided a coordinated response across all required directorates.
Throughout this period of unrest, the EA has engaged with the schools in the Ballymena area and wider school community. The EA has fully participated in the multi-agency coordination structures led by the PSNI to represent schools and youth provision.
The EA has supported schools through direct engagement, holding joint Principal engagement meetings and the ongoing provision of information and guidance. This process has been led through the Intercultural Education Service (IES) and Education Welfare Service providing support for Newcomer families to access support and supporting schools with safeguarding and welfare concerns.
IES provides advice, guidance and support to schools both around child and family support issues and teaching, learning and curriculum resources. The support staff include Social Workers and Teachers from IES who have helped schools engage with families and children who have not responded to phone calls, emails or letters from schools. This includes home visits (with free interpreters) to help confirm back to the school if the family is sheltering quietly, moved to be with relatives elsewhere in NI, or who have returned home to Bulgaria, Romania and other countries as an early term departure. The IES and other EA services are working with schools to plan for a return-to-work support plan from late August onwards to help schools deal with any additional wellbeing needs and reintegration support requests.
In conjunction with the IES my officials continue to liaise with schools in the local area to offer support to those impacted by the unrest due to Roma children and other Newcomer children being either absent from school or worried about their safety in attending school.