Community Use of Schools - Department of Education, Northern Ireland

Community Use of Schools

The schools estate is a significant public resource which if used more widely can help to meet the needs of pupils, their parents, families and local communities. The Department of Education is committed to building stronger links between schools and the communities they serve; the potential benefit of community, parental and family involvement in schools is recognised for the positive impact it can have on educational outcomes for children and young people.

Article 140 of the Education Reform (NI) Order 1989 enables schools to make provision for wider community use of their premises when not otherwise required for education purposes. The Department already promotes this through programmes such as Extended Schools, Full Service programmes and the school improvement policy, “Every School a Good School”.

Many schools already make their premises available for use by members of the community served by the school, and the arrangements are negotiated and agreed locally.

In seeking to maximise the community use of school premises, the Department established a Working Group made up of representatives of the key educational stakeholders to explore how best to increase access to school facilities outside of normal school hours.

The Working Group prepared a Report which includes a set of recommendations for consideration by both DE and ESA aimed at helping to inform policy and operations in relation to enhancing community use of school premises. The Report also provides helpful case studies outlining best practice examples of schools currently making their premises available for wider community use and guidance which may be of use to school leaders in dealing with a range of associated practical issues.

Having reviewed the Report and undertaken wider consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders in order to assess its recommendations, a paper has been prepared by the Department which provides comments on the Report and includes a Next Steps section outlining the work to be taken forward to enhance community use of the schools estate.

The DE Comments paper accompanies the release of the Working Group Report and both can be accessed via the following links:

Please note that the guidance contained in the Working Group Report is made available by the Department of Education for assistance only and the examples contained may not reflect the realities of an actual end user's requirements.

The intent of the guidance is to assist an individual or body in creating their own new specific document tailored to their individual legal position.

The Department does not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, product, process or agreement contained in the Guidance or examples.