Primary and secondary education

How does PRONI aim to work with schools?

In the past, the archives at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) were mainly used by teachers for studying history.  All that has changed with the introduction of the revised curriculum which aims to empower young people to achieve their full potential.  It has created new opportunities for teachers and archivists alike, giving greater flexibility all round.

The emphasis in the new curriculum is on developing skills such as managing information, thinking and problem solving, decision-making and being creative.  The aims and objectives of the new curriculum (as well as the development of cross-curricular skills in areas such as ICT and citizenship) can be supported and enriched for both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 pupils by using archival sources.

In 2002 PRONI set up a new Education, Learning and Outreach (ELO) section with the explicit aim of re-introducing the concept of archives into the classroom.  Over the intervening years we have worked closely with a whole range of primary schools in both urban and rural settings.

PRONI staff go out to schools and give illustrated presentations using archives and school groups can also visit PRONI. You will find more information on what we offer in the organise a school visit page.

This education work has concentrated on developing online resources based on the diverse range of archives held in PRONI.

The advantages of online resources are two-fold:

If any of the above inspires you to want to visit PRONI, either on your own or with a group of pupils, please contact ELO staff.

What’s available for Key Stages 1 and 2

To date PRONI has focused on the curriculum-based subject ‘Victorian Times’ and has created an electronic learning resource called ‘Life in Victorian Times’, designed specifically for Key Stage 2 pupils.  This resource is unique in that all the sources used relate to Northern Ireland.  It is currently available on Learning NI's online learning environment provided by C2K.

Furthermore, we have provided teachers with historical evidence for local history studies and laid on presentations and historical re-enactments depicting ‘A day in the Workhouse’.  These re-enactments were based on the information drawn from the nineteenth century records of the Boards of Guardians held in PRONI.

What’s available for Key Stages 3 and 4

The archives at PRONI offer a wealth of information of great relevance to the revised post-primary curriculum. The new area of ‘Learning for Life and Work’, which includes local and global citizenship, employability, personal development, religious education and home economics, can all be explored in the archives.

Once again PRONI has reached out to embrace the innovations in education and learning and produced an online learning resource relating to World War II and its effect on Northern Ireland.  This resource has been incorporated into a joint PRONI/Northern Ireland Museums Council website that brings together material from local museums, libraries and other organisations.  Only archival sources relating solely to Northern Ireland are used.  This resource may be viewed at www.secondworldwarni.org .

Contacting Education, Learning and Outreach staff

Staff in the Education, Learning and Outreach (ELO) section of PRONI are responsible for school groups who wish to visit.  If you wish to bring a group to PRONI, please contact PRONI in advance, referring to/marking correspondence for the attention of the Education, Learning and Outreach (ELO) section.