This article describes the administration and governance of the education system in Northern Ireland at central level.

Since devolution in 1998, the Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive have been responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government for Northern Ireland and has responsibility for education.

Public education in Northern Ireland is administered centrally by the Department of Education (DE), which is supported by a number of bodies, and by the Department for the Economy (DfE), which was formed in May 2016.

The DE and the DfE are staffed by permanent civil servants and each is headed by a Permanent Secretary. Each Department has a Minister, through whom it is accountable to the Northern Ireland Assembly for the effective delivery of its statutory functions and for the effective use of the public funds for which it is responsible.

Administration and governance of education are characterised by a high degree of autonomy, with individual institutions implementing and administering centrally determined policies and also having their own statutory powers and responsibilities. For information on the responsibilities of individual institutions, see the article on ‘Administration and Governance at Local and/or Institutional Level’. 

Department of Education

The Department of Education (DE) is responsible for the central administration of all aspects of education and related services in Northern Ireland, except the higher and further education sectors, which are the responsibility of the Department for the Economy. The DE’s main areas of responsibility are pre-school, primary, post-primary and special education, the youth service, the promotion of community relations within and between schools, and teacher education and salaries.

The Department’s most recent draft Business Plan, for 2020/21 at the time of writing, guides its actions.

The Plan for 2020/21 sets out its main aim as that of supporting Outcome 12 of the Northern Ireland Executive’s Outcomes Delivery Plan (December 2019), which is that ‘We give our children and young people the best start in life’. The delivery plan is derived from the draft Programme for Government 2016-21. Outcome 12, which focuses in particular on support for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and improving early years education, is supported by the DE’s six corporate goals:

• Ensuring continuity of learning for children and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Improving the wellbeing of children and young people, including supporting those who are vulnerable or who have special educational needs
• Increasing access and improving the learning environment for all
• Raising standards and tackling underachievement to ensure learners get the best possible education
• Developing the education workforce
• Transforming the education system to ensure high quality, sustainable education for the 21st century

There are 18 strategic objectives within the corporate goals, including to:

• support education establishments to return to normal working, in line with scientific advice
• provide sufficient places for vulnerable children and children of key workers during school closures
• support and promote positive physical and emotional health & well-being in children and young people
• ensure tailored or specialist support is provided to those children and young people who need it
• improve outcomes for families and children through high quality affordable childcare
• expand the network of sustainable schools
• encourage, facilitate and promote shared education and encourage and facilitate integrated and Irish-medium education
• secure the greatest effectiveness of the education workforce
• develop capacity and increased coherence in the arrangements for teacher professional learning.

The Department of Education also has lead responsibility for developing a new Children and Young People's Strategy for 2019-2029. The aim of the Strategy is 'to work together to improve the well-being of all children and young people in Northern Ireland - delivering positive long lasting outcomes'.

Department for the Economy

The Department for the Economy (DfE)’s main responsibilities include further and higher education, student support, employment and skills programmes including apprenticeships, and employment rights. The DfE’s most recent Business Plan, for 2020/21, guides its actions. It outlines the work being carried out by the Department to limit the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic for businesses and workforce alongside pre-existing commitments to support the Northern Ireland economy. Strategic Objective 2 of the 2020/21 plan is to 'enhance education, skills and employability' and actions/commitments under this objective include to:

• work in partnership with stakeholders to support the effective introduction of the planned reforms to NI’s vocational education and training system in September 2021
• review and update the Further Education Essential Skills Policy
• offer careers guidance interviews to all pupils in their final year of compulsory education; and deliver careers guidance interventions to adults

Supporting bodies

The Departments are supported in their roles by the following agencies and public bodies.

Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI)

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) is part of the Department of Education. It is responsible for providing independent inspection services and policy advice to the DE and the DfE. For further information, see the article on ‘Quality Assurance in Early Childhood and School Education’.

Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA)

The DE and DfE are also supported by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). The CCEA is an arm's length body with a remit, as set out in the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998, to:

• keep under review all aspects of the curriculum, examinations and assessment for grant-aided schools and further education colleges, and to undertake statutory consultation on proposals relating to legislation
• advise the Departments on matters concerned with the curriculum, assessment, examinations and external qualifications, and accredit and approve qualifications
• conduct and moderate examinations and assessments, ensuring that standards are recognised as equivalent to standards of examinations and assessments conducted by other bodies or authorities exercising similar functions in the UK
• publish and disseminate information relating to the curriculum, assessment and examinations
• develop and produce teaching support materials for use in schools;
• carry out research and development.

The CCEA is also responsible for the development of educational technology and the production of multimedia resources.

Education Authority

The Education Authority (EA) is responsible for ensuring the provision of efficient and effective pre-school, primary and post-primary education and youth services. It is a non-departmental body, sponsored by the Department of Education, which became operational on 1 April 2015, when it replaced the former five regional Education and Library Boards. In accordance with the Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2014, the services provided by the EA include:

• ensuring that there are sufficient schools to meet local needs
• acting as an employer for teachers in some legal categories of schools (see the article on ‘Administration and Governance at Local and/or Institutional Level’)  
• enforcing school attendance
• providing a curriculum advisory and support service to schools
• improving the accessibility of school premises for disabled pupils and increasing their access to the curriculum
• providing transport to and from school
• providing school meals services, including free school meals for eligible pupils
• assessing students’ eligibility for financial assistance (grants and loans) towards higher education tuition fees and living costs. 

While the EA is a central level organisation, it provides services through offices located around Northern Ireland.

General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI)

The General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI) is responsible for maintaining a register of teachers working in grant-aided schools; approving qualifications for the purpose of registration; regulatory functions relating to unprofessional conduct and serious professional misconduct; and advising the DE on registration, standards of conduct, training, career development, and performance management of teachers. The GTCNI is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the DE.

Council for Catholic maintained Schools (CCMS)

The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) is the advocate for the Catholic maintained schools sector in Northern Ireland. Set up under the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, its main role is to promote high standards of education in its schools and to ensure the coordination of the Catholic maintained school system in Northern Ireland. The CCMS:

• employs teachers in the Catholic maintained schools sector
• advises boards of governors on criteria for school admissions and supports them in the determination and review of the curriculum
• draws up schemes for pupil exclusion
• ensures provision for children with special educational needs (SEN) in Catholic maintained schools
• promotes and supports the effective management of Catholic maintained school provision
• contributes to policy across the Northern Ireland education sector on a wide range of issues such as curriculum review, pre-school education, pastoral care and leadership.

Membership of the CCMS is by appointment and recommendation. There are four categories of members: Department of Education (DE) representatives (appointments); trustee representatives (recommendations by the Bishops); parents’ representatives (drawn from the local community on a voluntary basis); and teachers’ representatives (drawn from the teaching community on a voluntary basis).

Controlled Schools’ Support Council (CSSC)

The Controlled Schools’ Support Council (CSSC) represents the controlled schools sector, which comprises around half of all schools in Northern Ireland. It works with the Department of Education, the Education Authority, other sectoral bodies, and schools. Its key areas of focus include:

• advocating on behalf of individual schools and the controlled schools sector
• developing and maintaining the ethos of the controlled schools sector
• supporting the Education Authority regarding the appointment and training of governors
• assisting schools to raise levels of achievement
• looking at development plans for changes to school provision.

Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta

Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG) promotes, facilitates and encourages Irish-medium education at pre-school, primary and post-primary level. Its principal activities include:

• planning for the creation of new Irish-medium schools
• assisting parents and groups who wish to establish Irish-medium provision in their area
• promoting standards of good practice in Irish-medium schools
• co-ordinating the activities of those involved in Irish-medium education
• acting as the representative body for the Irish-medium education sector.

Article last reviewed December 2020.