Childcare and Education 

It is compulsory in Northern Ireland for children between the ages of 4 and 16 to attend school. The school year begins in September and ends in June with the school day running from around 9.00am until around 3.30pm depending on the child's age and the school that they will attend. 

Education is free for all children up to the age of 16 but you will need to pay for a school uniform, and you may be asked to pay for sports kit, specialist lessons (e.g., music and for trips and events). It is not possible to register your child at a school before you have a term-time address in Northern Ireland. 

You may find the information on the Education Authority website helpful; this includes contact details for the Education Authority’s regional offices. NIDirect also provides information on finding and choosing a school in Northern Ireland. 

Playgroups and Crèches 

Queen's has a Childcare provision on campus.  They have a range of childcare support with dedicated creche facilities and out of school club.  Find more about Childcare at Queen's

There are also playgroups, crèches, and day nurseries which offer short daily sessions of care and learning through play for children aged 2 to 4 years old. Day care facilities normally charge weekly or monthly rates and they can be quite expensive. 

NIDirect also provides useful information on finding and choosing a day nursery. 

When you have found a nursery that you think is suitable you should contact them and ask to make an appointment to discuss your requirements, costs, etc. 

Read more information on finding a day nursery in Northern Ireland. 

Accommodation for students with families 

The University has a limited number of self-contained flats for students with partners and families and demand for these can be high, especially at the start of term.

Please contact us as soon as you accept a course at Queen's and have an approximate arrival date to Belfast; we can then discuss your requirements for accommodation to establish if we have availability to match these.

If we do not have suitable accommodation available, we will support you in finding alternative accommodation in the private rental sector close to the University. 

We strongly advise that you do not bring your family to Northern Ireland until you have found accommodation for them. There is currently a very high demand for suitable family accommodation in Northern Ireland and Belfast in particular. This demand has caused significant delays in international students securing appropriate term-time housing for their families and an increase in monthly rental rates. 

Please note that all relevant information regarding personal circumstances including details of family/group members (including the number of adults and children) must be provided on the online accommodation application form. 

2-bedroom apartments start from £205 per week.

More information for students with families  

Details on the accommodation allocation policy can be found here.