AQW 33277/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 10/10/2025
Answered On Date: 22/10/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education whether the Online Teacher Continued Professional Development Academy will be made available on an equitable basis to all teachers, regardless of their individual school budget position.

Answer:

The Department appointed InnerDrive through a Direct Award Contract to deliver the online Continued Professional Development (CPD) Academy for post-primary schools. All required public sector procedures were followed and the contract was awarded on behalf of my Department by Construction and Procurement Delivery (CPD) within the Department of Finance.

The online CPD Academy was made available on an equitable basis, with every post primary school invited to participate through an expression of interest process, irrespective of their individual budget position. Schools that accepted this offer have full access to the programme at no cost, ensuring that budgetary constraints did not restrict participation.

This is the only commercial contract awarded to date by the Department for the delivery of CPD programmes associated with TransformED NI.

A competitive tendering process will shortly be commenced for an online science of learning development programme for all primary schools.

The £31m TransformED Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) Fund gives schools flexibility by allowing them to choose professional development activities that best match their specific needs and priorities. Schools can use the funding for a wide range of options including accredited courses, coaching, mentoring and collaborative learning. This autonomy supports tailored, high-impact learning aligned with each school’s context and improvement goals.