To stem the huge flow of teachers leaving the profession Mountainview High School has signed an agreement with seven of its new teachers in an effort to retain them.
Hannah and Jonathan
Later this week, BBC Two will broadcast Danny Boy, which tells the story of soldier Brian Wood, whose actions during the Iraq war were controversially called into question.
But BBC One gets in on the act early with a new two-part series (it concludes on Tuesday) originally entitled When It Happens To You, which was first announced back in 2019, just as Northern Ireland was about to make a momentous alteration to one of its laws.
In 1967, the Abortion Act was passed in the UK, making terminations legal. However, the province wasn’t included, and didn’t make the change to its own legislation for another 52 years.
Colin Morgan
For decades, women growing up in Northern Ireland didn’t have the same abortion rights as the rest of the UK.
Three Families is a two-part drama series from the BBC about the women and families who were placed in heart-breaking positions by the legal system.
Inspired by true stories, the series brings together three different families with their own unique experiences and trauma.
“Since I was a teenager living in Northern Ireland in the 1970s I’ve been aware of the trauma which blights so many families, torn apart by the shame of an unwanted pregnancy,” said Three Families executive producer Susan Hogg.
A new BBC drama set in Northern Ireland is to explore the emotive issues around abortion through the real stories of three local women.
Three Families, from the producers of Three Girls the multi award-winning account of the Rochdale grooming scandal is set in 2013-2019, before the recent change to abortion legislation in Northern Ireland.
The drama will centre on the stories of three women and their families as they each fight to have their voices heard. Names and details have been changed to ensure the anonymity of the real-life contributors.
The cast includes Little Boy Blue actress Sinead Keenan, Lola Petticrew from Bloodlands, Amy James-Kelly (Gentleman Jack) and Genevieve O’Reilly (The Dry).
Little Boy Blue actress Sinead Keenan will star a BBC drama about abortion in Northern Ireland.
Three Families will be set between 2013 and 2019 and will tell the real story of three women and their families before the recent change to legislation.
It will also star Bloodlands actress Lola Petticrew, Gentleman Jack’s Amy James-Kelly and The Dry’s Genevieve O’Reilly.
Genevieve O’Reilly (Ian West/PA)
Abortion laws in the region were liberalised by MPs at Westminster in 2019 at a time when powersharing was collapsed.
New regulations came into operation a year ago and, while individual health trusts are offering services on an ad hoc basis, the Department of Health has yet to centrally commission the services on a region-wide basis.