A new report by rights-focused NGO, Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR), exposes a critical failure by the government of Northern Ireland. Specifically, the near-total absence of transportation it claims is available for displaced children, many of whom are homeless. The official record suggests otherwise.
Access to transportation is critical for families re-housed in temporary accommodation far from their child’s school. This applies to families in hostels, night shelters, or domestic abuse refuges. By law, these families are considered homeless due to not having settled accommodation.
Displaced families left behind
The report says that during a September 2025 meeting of the All-Party Group on Homelessness at Stormont, a Department of Education (DoE) representative spoke about the impact homelessness can have on the education of children and young people. Many homeless children face significant challenges, as they acknowledged the instability and insecurity affecting families in temporary housing and young people “sofa surfing.”
When an unnamed member of the Assembly asked about the challenges surrounding school transport for children in families placed in temporary accommodation far from their school, the DoE official reportedly:
appeared to indicate that transport support was available to such children
Meanwhile, the DoE appeared to suggest that transport support was available for these children.
PPR have been working with families placed in temporary accommodation far away from their children’s school. None reported receiving such support for their homeless children.
Probing further, they submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Education Authority, asking for details about this policy. PPR received a copy of the EA’s ‘exceptional circumstances’ transport policy, which claims support is available in cases:
where families are forced to move home at short notice for reasons beyond their control
Democratic Unionist Party Education Minister Paul Givan gave a non-answer to a follow-up Northern Ireland Assembly, saying:
Schools and the EWS collaborate to identify and support pupils experiencing hidden homelessness. Schools are encouraged to liaise with EA and EWS when a pupil’s housing situation changes, to ensure timely support.
The EWS is the Education Welfare Service, which describes its role as supporting:
…parents and carers to fulfil their statutory responsibility in ensuring that children attend school regularly.
Further questioning of the minister continued, before he acknowledged on 21 October 2025 that support for homeless children was lacking:
Neither my Department nor the Education Authority (EA) holds records of pupils living in families with homelessness status that have been supported through the exceptional circumstances process for transport assistance. Not all children and young people experiencing homelessness disclose their living arrangements.
However, data is available for successful exceptional circumstances appeals where transport assistance was granted due to enforced relocation to temporary accommodation outside the school catchment area.
The stats provided show just six cases in the last three years of children receiving transportation assistance, a dire situation for children experiencing homelessness.
Featured image via Belfast Telegraph
This post was originally published on Canary.