To ask the Minister of Education for an update on (i) the action contained within his TransformED Delivery plan to provide additional funding for schools to purchase high quality professional learning to meet their needs; and (ii) any cost incurred as a result of this action.

The TransformED Delivery Plan includes a clear commitment to provide additional funding to schools to support high-quality professional learning tailored to their needs. This is being delivered through the Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) Fund.

The TPL Fund, established in the 2025/26 academic year, is now fully operational and is already supporting high-quality, evidence-informed professional learning across all grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland. Funding is allocated on a per-teacher basis, ensuring an equitable and sustained investment in the development of teachers and school leaders across the system.

Schools are using this funding to access a wide range of professional learning opportunities including accredited programmes, externally delivered courses, school-based development activity, collaborative networks and staff release. This flexibility allows schools to respond directly to their own priorities and improvement needs, as outlined in their School Development Plans.

To date, £6,905k has been invested in delivering this commitment.