Education Minister Paul Givan has announced a further £1.91 million for locality-led projects aimed at reducing educational disadvantage across Northern Ireland. This second tranche brings the total investment in such projects to £5.61 million, part of the wider £20 million RAISE programme funded through the Shared Island Fund.

The 42 newly selected projects will address barriers such as poor attendance, pupil wellbeing, and the need for additional learning support. They were chosen following an application and assessment process, with a focus on community-based approaches to raising achievement and aspiration.

The RAISE programme, which runs over two years from 2024 to 2026, enables local communities to identify needs and collaborate with schools and organisations to remove obstacles to learning. Strategic Area Plans set the priorities for each locality.

The Department of Education will now issue Letters of Offer to the relevant delivery partners in the coming weeks. This follows the advancement of 65 projects in an earlier phase of the initiative.