Education Minister has announced a second tranche
of locality led projects to tackle educational disadvantage in
RAISE localities.
Following an application and assessment process, 42 projects will
move forward across localities, in addition to the 65 locality
led projects already advancing to delivery.
said: This second tranche of
projects is a significant investment of £1.91m in supporting
children and young people who face additional barriers to
education to reach their potential.
In addition to the funding for locality led projects already
announced, this brings a total investment to £5.61m into raising
aspirations and providing opportunities for better educational
outcomes for children and young people in RAISE localities across
Northern Ireland.
Projects have been selected which support RAISE strategic
objectives of raising achievement and aspiration through a
community-based approach and deliver against priorities
identified in RAISE Strategic Area Plans.
The projects include a range of initiatives targeting issues such
as attendance, pupil wellbeing and learning support to be
provided to communities through local delivery partners.
The Minister continued: The RAISE Programme enables communities
to identify need in their area and work collectively to overcome
them. Working together with community organisations and schools,
we can remove barriers to learning and achievement and bring long
term benefits to both individuals and wider communities.
Today's announcement marks another important step forward in
delivering the objectives set out in each of the RAISE Locality
Strategic Area Plans. I look forward to seeing the positive
difference this investment will make in the lives of children and
young people.
A full list of the projects moving forward to the next stage can
be found on the DE website at: https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/locality-led-projects-selected-advance-further-process.
The Department will now move to agree Letters of Offer with
relevant organisations in the coming weeks.
Notes to editors:
1. The RAISE Programme is funded through the Shared Island Fund
and represents an investment of £20million/24million over two
years from 2024 2026, with the potential for further funding.
Further information on the RAISE Programme is available on the DE
website at https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/topics/raise-programme
2. The Locality Led Projects deliver against a series of
objectives set out in the Strategic Area Plans and which formed
the basis of a call process which was opened on 19 March 2026.
