The Department of Education (DE) and the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) are responsible for education in Northern Ireland. The DE is responsible for all policy, legislation and resource issues relating to schools and the youth service. DEL’s responsibilities include further and higher education; vocational training; employment services; employment law and labour relations; teacher training and teacher education; student support and postgraduate awards; and training grants.
At local level, responsibility for pre-school and school education currently rests with five Education and Library Boards (ELBs), each of which covers one or more of the 26 democratically elected district council areas. Individual educational institutions enjoy a high degree of autonomy; most school administration and management functions are delegated to boards of governors and principals (headteachers).
Note: Educational administration is the subject of significant reform. A single Education and Skills Authority (ESA) is being created and is scheduled to begin functioning from April 2009. This will bring together the support functions currently undertaken by the ELBs; the functions of some other government-funded organisations such as the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA); and some of the functions of the DE.
A number of integrated schools have been established in Northern Ireland aiming to educate Catholic and Protestant children together. However, for historical reasons, the school system remains largely segregated on religious lines.
Publicly funded schools are known as grant-aided schools. There is a high level of financial delegation to schools. Funding is allocated according to a common funding formula, determined by student numbers and other factors such as size of premises and social need.
Private sector schools are known as independent schools. They receive no direct state funding but are required to be registered with the DE. Independent schools are inspected once every five to seven years by the Education and Training Inspectorate which advises the DE about schools’ fitness to be registered. There are 19 private sector schools in Northern Ireland. Teachers in independent schools are not required to have ‘eligibility to teach’ (see 15. below).
Although the official language in Northern Ireland is English, Irish is known to varying degrees by some 10 per cent of the population. There is a Council for Irish-medium Education (Comhairle na Gaelscolaiochta) and a few stand-alone, state-funded primary and secondary level schools which offer Irish-medium education (IME). There are also some units attached to English-medium schools which offer IME at primary and post-primary level.
Children must receive full-time education between the ages of 4 and 16 years. A child reaching the age of 4 on or before 1 July must start full-time education on 1 September of that year; a child becoming 4 after 1 July must start full-time education in the following school year. (The school year runs from September to June.)
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Phases |
Age range and key stages |
Year of compulsory education |
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Primary education |
4 – 11 years |
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Foundation stage |
Years 1 and 2 of compulsory education |
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Key stage 1, 6-8 years |
Years 3 and 4 of compulsory education | |
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Key stage 2, 8-11 years |
Years 5, 6 and 7 of compulsory education |
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Secondary education |
11-16 years |
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Key stage 3, 11-14 years |
Years 8, 9 and 10 of compulsory education | |
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Key Stage 4, 14-16 years |
Years 11 and 12 of compulsory education |
Note: The foundation stage was introduced in September 2007. Previously, 4- to 6-year-olds were in key stage 1 which covered the first four years of compulsory education.
Pre-compulsory pre-school (early years) provision is defined as “education provided for a child (whether at a school or any other premises) at any time after he or she has attained the age of 2 years and before he or she has attained compulsory school age (4), other than in a reception classof a primary school”.
Provision of pre-school/nursery education is not a statutory requirement, nor is participation compulsory. As part of a Pre-school Education Expansion Programme, since September 2003, free (part-time) places have been available for all children in the final pre-school year (3+) whose parents want them.
There are a broad range of providers of early years education, with nursery schools, nursery classes attached to primary schools, pre-school playgroups, day nurseries and combined nursery centres, which may be run by public, private or voluntary bodies. Some of these forms of provision, such as day nurseries, accept children from the age of three months. Irish-medium nursery education is also available. This is mainly directed at 2- to 4-year-olds from English-speaking homes, whose parents are considering primary education through the medium of Irish.
Although there is no nationally prescribed curriculum for pre-school education, providers receiving government funding are expected to follow curriculum guidance issued by the CCEA. The ‘Curricular Guidance for Pre-School Education’ defines the pre-school curriculum in a holistic way, recommending opportunities for play and the use of a range of resources to motivate and engage young children and to enhance their learning across the six areas of: the arts; language development; early mathematical experiences; personal, social and emotional development; physical development and movement; and the world around us.
Education is provided free of charge to full-time students up to the age of 19 in publicly funded schools and further education institutions. It is mostly grammar schools, but also a significant number of secondary schools alongside further education colleges, which currently offer post-compulsory education to students and, although schools do offer some vocational courses at the post-compulsory level, it is currently more common for students wishing to undertake vocational/applied education to attend further education institutions.
The curriculum in post-compulsory education is determined by the student’s choice of course(s) during this phase; there is no compulsory core curriculum.
Students completing post-compulsory secondary education – usually at around the age of 18 - may continue their education in the further or higher education sector, depending on the courses studied and qualifications obtained.
Children are identified as having special educational needs (SEN) if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. That is, if they have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of their age, or they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided for children of their age.
Depending on students’ individual need, provision for children with SEN in Northern Ireland is offered in mainstream classes, special units attached to mainstream schools, or in special schools. The emphasis is on educating children with SEN alongside their peers in mainstream schools wherever possible.
The school year runs from the beginning of September to the end of the following June, with eight weeks’ summer break and two weeks each at Christmas and Easter.
Schools must be in operation for 200 days a year, but are closed to children when teachers are on training days (five days), for school development days (five days) or on optional closing days (five days) annually. The dates of terms and holidays are set by the local ELB or the board of governors (depending on the type of school)
Children under the age of 8 are required to attend school for a minimum of three hours a day, although they usually attend for longer than this. Those aged over 8 must attend for four-and-a-half hours a day, in two sessions, separated by a period of not less than half an hour. Classes normally take place on five days each week, Monday to Friday. Schools are generally open between 9.00 am and 3.30/4.00 pm.
A statutory curriculum has been in place in Northern Ireland since 1989. In primary level education (4- to 11-year-olds), a revised curriculum began to be introduced in the 2007/08 school year. This places a much stronger emphasis than previously on the development of thinking skills and personal capabilities (information management, problem-solving and decision-making, creativity, self management and working with others), and offers children experiences to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding across six statutory learning areas: the arts, language and literacy, mathematics and numeracy, personal development and mutual understanding, physical development and movement, and the world around us.
At secondary level, the revised statutory key stage 3 curriculum (11- to 14-year-olds) also emphasises the development of skills and capabilities through nine learning areas. These comprise learning for life and work (which includes education for employability; local and global citizenship; personal development; and home economics) and general learning areas (the arts; language and literacy; environment and society; modern languages; mathematics and financial capability; science and technology; physical education; and religious education). All of the general learning areas must also contribute to learning for life and work.
The key stage 4 curriculum (14- to 16-year-olds) offers schools the flexibility to tailor provision to the individual needs of students by comprising the core elements of learning for life and work; religious education; physical education; and skills and capabilities. Under this ‘Entitlement Framework’ schools are expected to provide all young people with access to a guaranteed minimum number and range of applied (vocational) and general (academic) courses (set at 24 for key stage 4 and 27 for post-16 education). In each case, at least one third of the courses must be general and one third applied. The Entitlement Framework will come into effect in September 2009.
Religious education and collective worship are a compulsory element of the curriculum, although parents have the right to withdraw children from these activities.
Religious education must be taught in all publicly funded schools according to a common core syllabus, which is drawn up with the agreement of the main churches.
At primary level, the curriculum includes ‘personal development and mutual understanding’. This focuses on two strands: personal understanding and health (emotional development, learning to learn, health, relationships and sexuality education); and mutual understanding in the local and global community. In secondary education, the curriculum includes 'learning for life and work' comprising education for employability, local and global citizenship, and personal development.
Textbooks are not officially prescribed, but are usually decided by the class teacher, in consultation with the principal and subject leaders. Publicly funded schools provide textbooks for students during compulsory phase education.
Although, in general, compulsory booklists do not exist, there are some prescribed texts which students must study to meet the requirements of examination syllabuses.
Linked to the revised curriculum, being introduced during the period 2007-2010, the previous statutory assessment arrangements for children in key stages 1-3 (ages 4-14) are being replaced by standardised, individual annual reports known as ‘Pupil Profiles’. Teachers are required to report to parents at the end of each school year on the level of attainment each pupil has achieved in the statutory cross-curricular skills of communication, using mathematics and using ICT. They must also provide qualitative comments on progress in each learning area and on the development of thinking skills and personal capabilities.
Assessment on completion of compulsory education (16) usually involves the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Traditionally taken in academic subjects, and increasingly available in a range of applied (vocational) subject areas, GCSE qualifications are usually required for access to further study. ‘Entry-level’ qualifications are also available for students who, on reaching compulsory school leaving age, are judged not to be ready for GCSEs or similar qualifications.
The main qualifications offered in post-compulsory education in schools are GCE ‘A’ Levels, GCE Advanced Subsidiary qualifications and GCE 'A' Levels in Applied Subjects. Success in these qualifications is usually required for university entrance. Other institutions providing post-compulsory education offer a vast range of general, academic, vocational and recreational courses and qualifications.
All teachers employed in publicly funded schools in Northern Ireland must have ‘eligibility to teach’ status. This is normally achieved by completing an initial teacher education (ITE) course accredited by the Department of Education (DE). There are two main (traditional) routes which lead to recognition as a qualified teacher: the ‘concurrent route’ leading to the Bachelor of Education degree, and the ‘consecutive route’ leading to the award of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education, PGCE.