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At Save the Children we exist to see children’s rights realised. We are driven by our goals to ensure that every child growing up in Northern Ireland has the best start in life.

Listen to Learn: Children's experiences in Northern Ireland

The Listen to Learn research project in North Belfast worked with 77 primary school children to share their views on learning at home, in school, and in the community. This project, run in late 2024, was led by the North Belfast Primary Principal's Group and Save the Children, in partnership with the children's arts organisation Young at Art (Home- Young At Art) and sought to use creative arts as an inclusive methodology to enable children to explore and communicate their opinions and views through a series of facilitated workshops. 

Watch the video

We believe all children should have the same chances of succeeding in later life, regardless of their background.

We've been working in Northern Ireland for over 70 years, and know that poverty is one of the main drivers impacting early learning and development.

Read our briefing document:
Ten Years Too Long - A Decade of Child Poverty in Northern Ireland

How we're helping families

How are we helping?

  • 100,000 children live in poverty, 22% of all children
  • Children from the poorest 20% of the population are already 17 months behind in early language development by the age of three
  • By age five, one in three of these children do not have the expected language skills.

How serious is the problem?

We directly help children get a better start by delivering programmes with children & families in schools.

Through our campaigning and influencing work, we have a positive impact on many more.

To ensure we make the biggest difference for Northern Irish children and across the UK, we'll work over the next three years to ensure:

  • Young children living in poverty experience a positive home learning environment & their parents are engaged in their learning
  • Children living in poverty have access to high-quality early years services that support their learning
  • Significantly fewer young children grow up in poverty and experience material deprivation.
     

Find out more

For more information about our work in Northern Ireland, please call us on 028 90 431123 or click the link below to send an email.