Over the last few years PPR has been accompanying a number of families placed by the NIHE into temporary accommodation far away from their jobs and schools in their struggle to maintain normal life, including school attendance. In just the last month, we have supported a family placed in a hostel in Portrush, whose 3 children were having to commute to west Belfast daily for school. Their father worked while he could during the school day before undertaking the long drive back home. This issue has been powerfully highlighted in a range of news reports, and by journalist Mandy McAuley in a BBC Spotlight programme following a mother and her son as they undertook long bus journeys back and forth to school.

During a September 2025 meeting of the All-Party Group on Homelessness at Stormont, a Department of Education representative spoke about the impact that homelessness can have on education for children and young people and recognised the instability and insecurity affecting families in temporary housing and young people sofa surfing. This was a very welcome statement.

One MLA asked about the challenges around school transport for children in families placed in temporary accommodation in locations far from their school, and the official appeared to indicate that transport support was available to such children.

Of the multiple families PPR has worked with in this situation, none has mentioned such support. Indeed, September 2024 guidance provided by the EA, entitled “IES Support Arrangements for children living in NIHE Non-Standard Accommodation”, explicitly stated

for Primary pupils we will explain that they will remain enrolled in their school and maintain their place. However unless they are housed in accommodation within walking distance (or a short bus journey) of their original school they are not going to be able to attend school.

In September 2025 PPR submitted a Freedom of Education request to the Education Authority asking for clarification about any school transport support available to homeless families.

In response the EA sent a copy of its 'exceptional circumstances' transport policy, dated June 2024.  In para. 5.2 the policy lists 'enforced relocation' – defined in the policy as 'where families are forced to move home at short notice for reasons beyond their control' -- as a situation that 'may be considered exceptional', so where transport assistance might be available. Paragraph 5.3 of the policy sets out the procedures for accessing this support (via an online appeal of a refused application for transport support).

On the face of it this policy seemed to provide for support to homeless families concerned about their children missing school due to their having been placed in emergency housing elsewhere.

A number of NI Assembly questions probed this issue further. The Minister of Education’s 20 October 2025 response to a general query on support for homeless children (AQW 33274/22-27) stated that

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. 

Another more specific question, AQW 32916/22-27, asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of pupils supported through the exceptional circumstances process to access transport to attend school as a result of being moved to temporary accommodation outside of the school catchment area over the last three years.

 On 21 October 2025 the Minister of Education answered

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 table provided (see below) indicated that there was one successful appeal in 2022/23, 5 in 2023/24 and 1 in 2024/25. All but one listed ‘intimidation’ as the reason for the decision.

So it would appear that children made homeless through factors other than intimidation and placed in temporary accommodation far from their school do not, in practice, receive transport support to help them continue to attend.

Department for Communities statistics from end September 2025 showed 5,408 homeless households in temporary accommodation, with 4,834 children between them (out of a total of at least 20,446 homeless children across the north). While we do not know how many of these families have been placed outside their school catchment area, it’s clear that there is evidence of a sizeable need, which the Education Authority is not currently acting to accommodate in any meaningful way.