Bulletin for April 2024

EMA Service Review Forums 2024

Thank you to everyone that was able to attend the EMA/WGLG Service Review Forums this year.

We'll now gather the FAQ and publish these along with a copy of the slides on the Learning Centre Services website as soon as possible.

The Learning Centre Portal is open for academic year 2024/25

The EMA academic year start date will be 9 September 2024.

We're still sending out allocations of EMA application packs for academic year 2024/25. If yours are not with you yet, they should arrive shortly. We’ll let you know when all deliveries have been made.

Learning Centres that currently have 10 or fewer EMA students will not receive a supply of application forms. Instead, we encourage you to print forms from the Learning Centre Services website. 

You can find all the information and guidance you need about the EMA scheme for the academic year 2024/25 on the Learning Centre Portal. 

The Learning Centre Services website has all the promotional materials you need for the new academic year. You can also find guidance, service standards and news and information about SLC events for Learning Centres.

EMA learning agreement forms

The EMA learning agreement form 2024/25 is now available in the downloads section of the Learning Centre Portal.

Please encourage students currently receiving EMA and are returning for academic year 2024/25 to sign their learning agreement form before the summer holidays, if possible. This will help save time in September.

Holiday weeks

You can now enter holiday weeks for academic year 2024/25 in the Maintain Holidays tab of the Learning Centre Portal. 

You need to enter holidays for the whole academic year before the year starts in September. This includes summer 2025 holidays.

Please ensure that the ‘two-day rule’ for the start of the academic year and returning from holidays is considered when deciding which weeks qualify as EMA earning weeks and which are holidays.

You will not be able to confirm attendance for students for academic year 2024/25 until you have entered your holidays for the academic year. This could affect the scheduling of payments to learners.

Maintain Profile tab of the Learning Centre Portal

We use the contact details on the Maintain Profile tab of the Learning Centre Portal to send you important service information and regular updates. Please check that your information is up to date there so that you do not miss any important emails from us.

All Ireland scholarships

Please pass the following information to your students on behalf of the Department for the Economy.

25 All Ireland scholarships are available to students at schools and Further Education colleges. These will be awarded to those who perform best in their A Level exams or Level 3 Extended Diploma.
Students may be eligible for a scholarship if they are:

• studying A levels at school or a Level 3 Extended Diploma at a Further Education college
• in receipt of Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)
• planning to go to university in September 2024

You can find details of the scholarships, including how to apply, from the following websites:

• NI Direct: All Ireland Scholarships 
• Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) 
• South West College 

Please note that this scheme is not administered by the Student Loans Company and you should email any queries to AllIrelandScholarships@economy-ni.gov.uk