Education

The Mary Ann McCracken Foundation works to improve educational outcomes by strengthening schools, supporting leadership, and reducing barriers to learning—particularly in communities experiencing disadvantage.

Inspired by Mary Ann McCracken’s lifelong commitment to equality and social reform, the Foundation promotes a whole-community approach to education, recognising that schools thrive when families, funders, and local organisations work together.

Our education-focused legacy work includes:

• Supporting schools and school leaders
  We work alongside principals and leadership teams in North Belfast and beyond, supporting professional learning, wellbeing, and peer networks. By encouraging collaboration and sharing best practice, we help school leaders navigate the challenges of working in disadvantaged contexts.

• Reducing barriers to access and participation
  The Foundation addresses practical and systemic barriers that prevent children and young people from reaching their potential. This includes supporting English language provision, exploring bursary and scholarship opportunities, and promoting culturally competent approaches within schools and youth settings.

• Building cultural competence in education
  We support schools and education partners to respond effectively to increasingly diverse classrooms. This work helps reduce racism, encourages mutual respect, and ensures all pupils feel valued and supported in their learning environments.

• Advocating for change
  The Foundation provides space, leadership, and influence to support evidence-based lobbying for fairer education funding and policy reform. We work with others to promote the implementation of key recommendations aimed at addressing educational underachievement and inequality.

Through this work, the Foundation seeks to empower individuals and communities to break cycles of poverty and disadvantage, reflecting Mary Ann McCracken’s belief in education as a force for social change.

Recent legacy work in education can be seen below. 

Continuing Mary Ann’s legacy, the Foundation, in p

artnership with Belfast Charitable Society and The James Kane Foundation, have created a bursary programme for post primary schools in North Belfast. The bursaries are targeted at 16+ year olds who face financial barriers which may prevent them from continuing to AS / A-Level, further or higher education, employment or apprenticeship.

The bursaries will be administered by each of the twelve post primary schools in the North Belfast area, and will support a minimum of 22 pupils.

Norma Sinte, Chair of the Mary Ann McCracken Foundation, explained “We often ask ourselves ‘what would Mary Ann do today’? Living to the ripe old age of 96 she was a fierce proponent of the poor of Belfast, fighting to ensure they had access to opportunities in education, training and apprenticeships. We believe these new bursaries, which will support young people to stay in school or progress into the right jobs, are exactly the kind of initiative Mary Ann McCracken would have supported if she were alive today.”

The schools receiving the bursaries will have the flexibility to use the funds in a number of ways to support those pupils who need it most, or would be disadvantaged due to financial barriers.

The Mary Ann McCracken Foundation supports the Shankill Primary Schools Area Learning Community. Funding provided supports a Co-ordinator post over three years (2025–2027), strengthening collaboration between schools and the wider community in the Greater Shankill area.

Building on growing partnerships between eight primary schools, three post-primary schools, community organisations and Queen’s University, the project focuses on shared learning, professional development for school leaders and teachers, and stronger connections between schools and the communities they serve.

By investing in this work, we are supporting a joined-up, community-centred approach to education that aims to improve outcomes for children and young people and ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive.

The Mary Ann McCracken Foundation supports local school networks in a number of ways, including:

• Providing free meeting space in Clifton House, the home of the Mary Ann McCracken Foundation, to allow primary and post primary schools in north Belfast a space to gather for meetings and training, outside of school grounds. 
• Provision of bursary programmes to NBALC and providing the framework and guidance for similar bursaries to be delivered to other school networks by other funders.

Mary Ann McCracken played an important role in helping the poor women who migrated to Belfast by giving them shelter, food, employment and medical care. Today, the Mary Ann McCracken Foundation continues to support this cause by funding organisations like Anaka Collective (Migrant Women’s Education)

The Foundation is currently supporting the costs of two part-time Education Project staff  to address education and skills gaps for school age children, young adults (aged 16-25) and women in the migrant community. They have delivered education clinics for women and children and developed English conversational classes and ran basic computer classes in Arabic.

Alongside these practical workshops and support the group have been involved in ongoing conversations with a range of stakeholders about the needs of migrant children, young people and parents in the educational system and potential solutions to the various barriers and issues they face.

Celebrating Compassion, Courage and Contribution in the Community

The Spirit of Mary Ann Award seeks to commemorate the life and legacy of Mary Ann McCracken (1770-1866), a remarkable philanthropist, advocating for the poor and a tireless campaigner for justice.

This annual award is designed to recognise and celebrate young KS2 pupils, in their school community, who embody the spirit that defined Mary Ann’s life.

Primary school teachers and staff will choose a pupil from a KS2 class who, over the course of the school year, has shown exceptional initiative or leadership in one of the following:

• compassion for others – demonstrating kindness, empathy and willingness to help those in need
• courage in action – standing up for what is right, even when it is difficult
• contribution in the community – taking initiative to make a positive difference in their school or wider community.

Award Details

• Participating schools will be supplied with a plaque to be awarded to an overall winner from KS2. A digital certificate will also be supplied for schools who wish to award runner-up awards.
• With school and parents consent, please share the winner’s details with the Mary Ann McCracken Foundation for promotional use on our social media channels.

For further information, or to request to take part, please contact:

Mary Ann McCracken Foundation – E: admin@cliftonbelfast.org.uk or call 028 9099 7022.

The Mary Ann McCracken Foundation sponsors a special recognition award — the Mary Ann McCracken Leadership Award — at the prestigious annual Blackboard Awards.

Mary Ann McCracken is one of the most influential figures in Belfast’s history. A natural leader from a young age, she dedicated her life to championing those disadvantaged by poverty. Her passion and leadership saw her spearhead the education programme at the Poor House, now Clifton House, with a particular focus on women and children. She took a keen interest in the progress of pupils and was ever watchful in identifying future leaders and teachers from within the classroom.

Through its work, the Foundation seeks to raise awareness of her achievements and to support initiatives that would have been close to her heart if she were alive today, including tackling educational disadvantage.

Norma Sinte, Chair of the Mary Ann McCracken Foundation, explained:
“The Mary Ann McCracken Foundation is delighted to support this special award category, which recognises Principals, Teachers, Classroom Assistants, and Support Staff who are making a real difference through leadership in north Belfast primary and secondary schools. These awards are extremely fitting and reflective of the legacy Mary Ann leaves behind.

“Mary Ann McCracken is one of Belfast’s most important citizens, and we are delighted that her name and legacy within the field of education will continue to live on through these special awards. While there can only be one winner, every individual who goes above and beyond to ensure that a child is not further disadvantaged in the classroom deserves recognition.”