5. Northern Ireland – Statistics
5,460 square miles
1.7m population
1,308 schools
6 Regional Colleges
Further & Higher Education
2 university colleges
2 universities
5 Education and Library
Boards
337 356 pupils
20 198 teachers
6. Education in Northern Ireland
Department of Education
CCMS
Education & Library Boards
Catholic Council for Maintained Schools
NEELB Youth Council for Northern Ireland
WELB
BELB Staff Commission for ELB’s
ELB NICCEA - Northern Ireland Council for
ELB SEELB
SELB Curriculum Examinations & Assessment
Association of Governing Bodies Council for Irish Medium
NICIE- Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education
7. Education Administration
Department of Education (DE)
Main government department that oversees central administration. It is
responsible for:
Strategic planning and management of education
Curriculum content and delivery
Allocating funding to the Education and Library Boards
Covering capital costs for most schools
Education and Library Boards (ELBs)
5 Education and Library Boards which are the local education
authorities and library authorities for their areas. They have a statutory
duty to provide education, youth and library services to their
populations.
8. Education Administration
Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS)
Promotes and co-ordinates Catholic education in Northern Ireland.
It is responsible for employing teachers in Catholic maintained
schools.
Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment
(CCEA)
Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment authority for Northern
Ireland.
Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE)
Promotes integrated education and facilitates the provision of integrated
schools in Northern Ireland.
9. Education Administration
Comhairle na Gaelscolaiochta (CnaG)
Promotes Irish Medium education throughout Northern Ireland
Governing Bodies Association (GBA)
Association of governing bodies of voluntary grammar schools
10. Education in Northern Ireland
School Management
Controlled
Maintained
Voluntary
Grant Maintained Integrated
Irish Medium
Independent
11. Northern Ireland - School Management Types
Pre-school Years 1-7 Years 8-12/14
Controlled Nursery Primary Secondary
Grammar
Maintained Nursery Primary Secondary
Voluntary Grammar
Grammar
Grant Nursery Primary All ability
Maintained
Integrated
Irish Medium Nursery Primary All ability
Independent Nursery Primary All ability
13. Education in Northern Ireland
Types of school
Special
Secondary
Grammar
Nursery
Primary
14. Northern Ireland - Stages of Education
Age Year
21+
20
Further and Higher S
19 Education p
Post 16 18 Y14 e
17 Y13 c
16 Y12
Key Stage 4
15 Y11 Grammar Secondary
All i
14 Y10 Ability a
Key Stage 3 13 Y9 Schools Schools
12 Y8 Schools l
Transfer Procedure S
11 Y7
Key Stage 2 10 Y6 c
9
8
Y5
Y4
Primary h
Key Stage 1 o
7 Y3
Foundation
6
5
Y2
Y1
Schools o
4
l
Nursery Nursery Schools/Classes s
3(2)
15. Northern Ireland Curriculum
http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/
Aims and Objectives
Empower young people to develop their full
potential
Young people should develop as an:
Individual
Contributor to society
Contributor to the economy and environment
16. Curriculum Organisation - Primary
The Arts (Art and Design; Music; Drama)
Language and Literacy (including Talking and Listening; Reading
and Writing; Drama)
Mathematics and Numeracy (including development of mathematical
concepts and numeracy across the curriculum)
Personal Development (including emotional development; health and
safety; relationships and sexuality education; moral thinking; values)
Physical Education (including knowledge, skills and understanding in
a range of physical activities)
The World Around Us (including Geography; History; Science and
Technology)
Religious Education
Developing skills: Literacy; Numeracy; ICT; Thinking
17. Curriculum Organisation – Post Primary
Learning for Life and Work (including Citizenship; Employability;
Personal Development including PSHE and Home Economics)
The Arts (Art and Design; Music; Drama)
English (and Irish in Irish Medium Schools)
Environment and Society (History; Geography)
Modern Languages
Maths (including Financial Capability)
Physical Education
Science and Technology (Science; Technology and Design)
Religious Education
Developing skills: Communication; Using Mathematics; ICT;
Personal and Interpersonal; Critical and Creative Thinking
18. Major focus of change
• Introduction of Learning For Life and
Work
• Development of personal skills and
capabilities
• Reduction in subject content – local
flexibility
• Changing pupils learning experiences
and teaching methodologies
19. EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYABILITY
LEARNING FOR LIFE WORK
Personal Development
Home Local and
Global
Economics
Employability Citizenship
Support the development of the skills and qualities required by
young people in a rapidly changing world - socially, economically and
environmentally
Encourage the development of life long learners
Provide sufficient flexibility to allow schools to diversify to meet
the specific needs of individual young people
20. LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Challenging
Relevant
Varied &
&
learning Skills
Engaging
enjoyable
approaches integrated
Curriculum
links Offers
Culturally
Choice
diverse Enquiry
Ongoing
based Media
reflection
Rich
Investigating
Positive & Active &
Supportive Problem
reinforcement
solving Hands on
environment
21. Thinking,
Problem-Solving,
Decision-Making
Managing Information
Being Creative
&
Working with Others Self-Management
23. Entitlement Framework
Key Stage 4 and Post-16
The Entitlement Framework requires schools to expand
their breadth of provision to offer a wide range of options
at Key Stage 4 and post-16.
This must include a vocational dimension:
Key Stage 4: 24 subjects, a third of which vocational
Post-16: 27 subjects, a third of which vocational
24. Specialist Schools
Schools for the Future
A Policy for Sustainable Schools
25. Specialist Schools
Objectives
• To provide opportunities for pupils to benefit from wider
learning experiences and to ensure maximum impact of the
available expertise and resources, by promoting co-
operation and collaboration among schools and between
schools and Further Education colleges.
• To provide parents with greater choice among a range of
schools, which have differing areas of focus.
• To raise standards and realise performance improvement
for all young people.
• To develop links between schools, their local communities
and the economy to ensure that all young people are given
a strong foundation for lifelong learning and work.
26. Specialist Schools
Specialisms for Northern Ireland include:
Arts ( performing, visual, media, drama)
Art and Design
Business and Enterprise
Engineering
Health and Social care
Humanities
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Languages
Leisure and Tourism
27. Specialist Schools
Mathematics
Mathematics and Computing
Music
Science
Sport
Technology
Rural and Environmental Studies – under consideration
Specialisms must comprise minimum 2 and maximum 3 contributory
subjects
Yr 1 – 12 schools - ICT (4); Languages (1); performing arts (3);
Science (2); Business Enterprise (1); Music (1)
SEELB area: 1 Languages and 2 Humanities Specialist Schools
29. Education in Northern Ireland
Qualifications
University or Further Education Qualifications
Post 16 General Certificate of Education (GCE) ‘A’,
‘AS’ Levels - Age 18,; Applied and Vocational
Qualifications
Key Stage 4 General Certificate of Secondary Education
(GCSE) - Age 16 ; Applied and Vocational Qualifications
Key Stage 3 Assessment Age 14
Tests in English, Mathematics & Science
Key Stage 2 Assessment Transfer Age 11 (Transfer test ended)
Key Stage 1 Assessment Age 8 (Computerised INCAS tests)
30. Related Web Sites
South Eastern Education and Library Board www.seelb.org.uk
Department of Education www.deni.gov.uk
Council for Curriculum Examinations and Assessment www.ccea.org.uk
Council for Catholic Maintained Schools www.onlineccms.com
NI Council for Integrated Education www.nicie.org
Comhairle na Gaelscolaiochta www.comhairle.org
Governing Bodies Association www.governingbodiesassociation.com
Staff Commission for Northern Ireland www.staffcom.org.uk
Youth Council for Northern Ireland www.ycni.org
Regional Training Unit www.rtuni.org
Northern Ireland Revised Curriculum www.nicurriculum.org.uk
Strategic Review of Education www.deni.gov.uk/review_of_education.pdf
Review of Public Administration www.rpani.gov.uk
