Blackrock Education Centre

What Blackrock Education Centre does

Blackrock Education Centre, formally Blackrock Education Support Centre (Ionad Tacaíochta Oideachais na Carraige Duibhe), is a publicly funded Education Support Centre operating under the Irish Department of Education from Kill Avenue in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin. It delivers Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses and educational support programmes to teachers, school leaders, Special Needs Assistants (SNAs), early years educators, and parents across the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR) catchment. Its core product is a multi-category CPD portfolio covering Primary, Post-Primary, Summer, ICT, SNA, Parent, and Early Years courses, supplemented by a suite of school-based projects including Active School Flag, JCSP, BLAST, Creative Clusters, Write a Book Project, Ficheall (chess), Something Fishy, Ulysses/Joyce, and Environmental Projects and Trails.

The technology footprint is modest: a standard website with course registration, login, profile management, and a dedicated publications subdomain, with no proprietary platform, AI, or application-layer integrations described. Courses are delivered on-site at the centre's meeting rooms, seminar rooms, and ICT rooms, as well as directly in schools through school-based programmes, with additional national visibility via the ESCI network and Oide for Droichead induction programmes for newly qualified teachers. The centre maintains GDPR and Freedom of Information compliance consistent with its public-sector status.

The business model is government-funded rather than commercial: revenue derives from Department of Education allocation within the national ESC framework, with no publicly disclosed course fees or pricing. Distribution is hybrid — direct on-site delivery and school-embedded programmes regionally, with national reach through ESCI and Oide listings. The customer base is concentrated entirely within the DLR education community and, at the funding level, on the Irish Department of Education, making the centre's financial trajectory structurally tied to public-sector education policy.

Name

Blackrock Education Centre

Legal name

Blackrock Education Support Centre

Website

https://blackrockec.ie

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Blackrock Education Centre is a publicly funded Irish Education Support Centre in Dún Laoghaire that delivers CPD courses and educational programmes to teachers, schools, SNAs, early years educators, and parents across the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown catchment under Department of Education oversight.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Teacher Professional Development

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDADACAF

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Accreditation Bodies (Institutional & Programmatic)

SECONDARYEDAKABAL

Professional Development for Inclusive Practices (General Education Staff)

Education/Special Education & Learning Support Services/Inclusive Education & Mainstream Classroom Support

SECONDARYEDALABAF

Academic Support & Learning Assistance (Tutoring Centers)

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Academic Advising, Career Services & Student Success

Keywords

• Teacher professional development
• Continuing professional development
• Education support services
• Primary school education
• Post-primary education

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government-funded Education Support: Blackrock Education Centre operates as a publicly funded Education Support Centre under the Department of Education. The centre provides CPD courses, professional development programmes, and educational support services to schools and educators in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area. Revenue appears to come from government/departmental funding rather than direct course fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Blackrock Education Centre (Ionad Tacaíochta Oideachais na Carraige Duibhe) is an Education Support Centre located in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland, delivering Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses, summer programmes, and educational projects for teachers, Special Needs Assistants, early years educators, and parents across Primary and Post-Primary levels. The centre operates on-site course delivery at its Dún Laoghaire facility, delivers school-based programmes across the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area, and lists courses nationally through the ESCI network.

Product overview

Blackrock Education Support Centre operates as a unified educational support platform offering teacher professional development (CPD) courses across multiple categories including Primary, Post Primary, Summer, ICT, SNA, Parent, and Early Years. The centre also delivers various educational programmes such as Active School Flag, BLAST, Creative Clusters, Write a Book Project, Chess (Ficheall), Something Fishy, and Ulysses/Joyce an Friends. Additional offerings include TEST2r assessment resources and BESC Publications. The portfolio comprises a core CPD course service supplemented by educational programmes and resources designed for teachers, schools, and parents in the Irish education system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CPD Courses (Continuing Professional Development) Continuing Professional Development courses delivered to teachers, SNAs, early years educators, and parents across multiple categories including Primary Courses, Post Primary Courses, Summer Courses, ICT Courses, SNA Courses, Parent Courses, and Early Years courses. Courses are delivered on-site at the centre and through school-based programmes.
• Active School Flag Programme (Bratach Scoile Gníomhaí) A school improvement programme that supports schools to achieve official recognition for their physical activity and wellbeing initiatives. Delivered to schools in the DLR area.
• BLAST Programme An educational support programme delivered to schools as part of the centre's projects and programmes portfolio.
• Creative Clusters (Cnuasaigh Chruthaitheacha) A creative clusters initiative supporting collaborative creative learning across schools in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area.
• Write a Book Project (Scríobh Leabhar) A literacy programme encouraging students to engage in creative writing, delivered as part of the centre's projects and programmes.
• Ficheall (Chess) Programme A chess programme promoting social and cognitive skills development in students, delivered through the Ficheall Network.
• Something Fishy An environmental education programme about aquatic life and ecosystems, delivered to schools as part of the centre's programmes portfolio.
• Ulysses / Joycean Friends A cultural programme celebrating James Joyce's literary heritage, delivered to schools in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area.
• JCSP Programme (TSCS) The Junior Certificate Schools Programme (TSCS) supporting schools in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area as part of the centre's project portfolio.
• BESC Publications (ITOCD) Educational publications and resources from Blackrock Education Support Centre (BESC) / ITOCD, hosted on a dedicated publications website.
• TEST2r Assessment Resource An online testing and assessment resource for educators, linked from the centre's resources section.

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ESCI (Education Support Centres Ireland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESCI is the national network of Education Support Centres in Ireland. Blackrock Education Centre participates in this network, with courses listed on the ESCI website alongside all other Education Support Centres nationwide. ESCI provides a centralised platform for educators to access CPD courses from centres across Ireland.
• Department of EducationcoreOthersThe Department of Education is the governing body that funds and oversees Education Support Centres in Ireland. Blackrock Education Centre operates under the Department's framework and guidelines.
• OidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOide is a teacher education support service. Blackrock Education Centre links to Oide for specific programmes including the Droichead programme for newly qualified teachers (Primary and Post-Primary), and the Oide website hosts related course information.
• NCSE (National Council for Special Education)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NCSE logo appears on the ESCI website footer alongside Blackrock Education Centre, indicating a collaborative relationship in supporting special education in schools.
• TEST2rminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTEST2r (Teacher Education Specialism Training for Transition) is referenced as a newsletter category and linked resource, indicating a partnership in teacher training and professional development.
• T.P.N (Teacher Professional Networks)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerT.P.N is listed as one of the projects/programmes, linking to tpnetworks.ie, indicating a partnership in teacher professional networking and development.
• ALFA / SCOOPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerALFA/SCOOP is listed as a project/programme with a link to oideonlineclaims.ie, indicating a collaborative initiative for online learning claims management.
• HSE (Health Service Executive)minorOthersThe news section references HSE's launch of an online mental health peer-to-peer platform with Togetherall, indicating engagement with health sector initiatives relevant to student and educator wellbeing.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Education Support Centres Ireland (ESCI): National umbrella network representing all Irish Education Support Centres. Aggregates and lists Blackrock's courses alongside those of every other centre in Ireland, defining the distribution channel and shared brand.
• Oide: The state-established national teacher education support service (consolidating JCT and PDST functions from 2023 onward). Operates at national scale in areas that overlap with Blackrock's CPD and Droichead induction offerings.
• NCSE (National Council for Special Education): Government body coordinating special education policy and inclusion supports. Overlaps with Blackrock's SNA training and inclusive education CPD, and appears as a partner on the ESCI site.

Direct peers

• Cork Education Support Centre: Regional Education Support Centre delivering the same Department of Education-funded CPD model to Cork-area primary, post-primary, SNA, and early years educators via the ESCI network.
• Galway Education Support Centre: West-of-Ireland Education Support Centre providing ESCI-listed CPD, summer courses, and principal/SNA leadership programmes directly comparable to Blackrock's offering.
• Drumcondra Education Support Centre: One of the longest-established Education Support Centres in the Dublin area, offering the same Department of Education-affiliated CPD portfolio (Primary, Post-Primary, SNA, ICT, Early Years) to schools in its catchment through the same ESCI network.
• Limerick Education Support Centre: Mid-west regional Education Support Centre delivering teacher CPD, school-based programmes, and parent education in direct parallel to Blackrock's service portfolio.
• Waterford Education Support Centre: South-east regional Education Support Centre offering Department of Education-aligned teacher CPD, SNA training, ICT and summer programmes through the national ESCI network — same operating model as Blackrock.
• Dublin West Education Centre: Adjacent regional Education Support Centre serving the western Dublin school community with the same ESCI-aligned CPD, summer courses, and school-improvement programmes as Blackrock.

Regional players

• PDST (Professional Development Service for Teachers): Historically a major national provider of teacher CPD in Ireland; functions and delivery largely subsumed into Oide from 2023. Listed here as a historically adjacent incumbent whose role Blackrock's CPD portfolio now partially fills at regional level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackrock-education-centre

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blackrock Education Centre