Open Doors Learning Centre

Increasingly, attention has been paid to young people at risk of being, or who are, excluded from school and the greater chance these young people have of remaining socially excluded once they enter adult life. According to the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) these pupils have increasingly complex behavioural and social difficulties, including drug and alcohol-related problems. Many of them are involved with juvenile justice and a growing number are under the care of Health and Social Services. A proportion need appropriate counselling support.

Alternative Education Projects have considerable success, verified by the ETI and Department of Education research, in re-engaging a considerable number of disaffected young people in education, be that academic or vocational, with most young people leaving the projects with some degree of qualification.

The Open Doors Learning Centre caters for fourteen 14-16 year-olds. The centre draws it young people from all quarters of Belfast on a cross-community, co-educational basis.  We offer a flexible curriculum, steeped in personal development, with both academic and vocational routes, in an informal education setting. All studies take place on a fulltime timetable. Furthermore, the Centre aims to address many of the issues directly affecting our young people through use of arts based education. With limited resources and highly motivated and professional staff we have managed a considerable degree of success as has been noted by the Education and Training Inspectorate.

The centre currently has two significant target audiences. The primary focus is on those young people who have disengaged from mainstream education and are capable of pursuing a general/academic focused curriculum. We also have a large intake from the south and east of the city wherein alternative provision is lighter on the ground. In specific circumstances where we would admit young people from the south and east of the city who would be more vocationally minded we have developed our curriculum to include a large element of vocational qualifications.

The Open Doors Learning Centre works closely with other Alternative Education Providers (AEP’s) in Belfast through the AEP Network.

The Open Doors Learning Centre is funded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers NI.