Ritchie launches research report into Newry education

Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie MLA was in Newry today to launch a research report into the education needs of the Newry Neighbourhood Renewal Area.

The research was funded by the Department for Social Development as part of a £128,000 project to identify the education needs and barriers to education of the residents of the Newry Neighbourhood Renewal Area. It was undertaken by the Southern Regional College with the cooperation of the community groups in the area and using local residents who received accredited training in research skills.

Speaking at the launch of the report at the Southern Regional College’s Newry Campus the Minister said: "Education and training are key elements which must be addressed if we are to tackle the spiral of deprivation in Neighbourhood Renewal Areas and break the cycle whereby children that are born into poverty are much more likely to develop into underachieving young people or unemployed adults. There are still too many people who continue to experience unacceptable inequalities in education and employment and I am determined to remove these barriers."

The research project will provide the evidence to allow the College to develop tailor made courses to meet the indentified need. The project is part of an overall programme of measures which are ongoing in the area with the assistance of the Southern Education and Library Board, Southern Regional College, Newry and Mourne District Council and Newry and Mourne Enterprise Agency.

Margaret Ritchie said: "To date my Department has provided funding of over £630,000 to the Southern Education and Library Board, the Southern Regional College and the Newry and Mourne District Council for a range of education and training programmes in the Newry Neighbourhood Renewal Area. These span the entire age spectrum, from primary school, to secondary school right through to further education colleges and beyond, and I am confident that they will help address the economic, educational and social problems facing residents in these communities and will, in time, contribute to an increase in prosperity and increased quality of life."

The Minister also paid tribute to the residents of the Neighbourhood Renewal Area who had assisted with the research and the Newry Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership Board who had endorsed the project in its Action Plan.

Notes to editors:

1. The Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy ‘People and Place’ was published in June 2003 to close the gap between the quality of life for people in the most deprived neighbourhoods and the rest of society. The Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy has four interlinking strategic objectives:

• Community Renewal – to develop confident communities that are able and committed to improving the quality of life in their areas;
• Economic Renewal – to develop economic activity in the most deprived neighbourhoods and connect them to the wider urban economy;
• Social Renewal – to improve social conditions for the people who live in the most deprived neighbourhoods through better co-ordinated public services and the creation of safer environments;
• Physical Renewal – to help create attractive, safe and sustainable environments in the most deprived neighbourhoods.

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