This chapter outlines the principal characteristics of the education and training system in Northern Ireland. It describes the fundamental principles, national policies and legislative basis for early childhood education and care, school education, higher education, and further and adult education and training. It sets out the organisation of the education system and its structure, explains the policy for lifelong learning and describes the national qualifications framework. It also outlines the administration and governance framework at national, local and institutional levels, basic statistics on education institutions, and the organisation of private education.

The Northern Ireland Executive has overall responsibility for the education system in Northern Ireland and, within it, two departments have responsibility for different phases of education:

• the Department of Education (DE) oversees pre-primary, primary and post-primary education and the youth service
• the Department for the Economy (DfE) oversees further education, employment and skills programmes, and higher education.

Historically, the school system has reflected traditional religious divides in society, with Roman Catholic children being enrolled in Catholic maintained schools and Protestant pupils being taught in controlled schools. There are also formally integrated schools, which bring together children and staff from Catholic and Protestant traditions, as well as those of other faiths, or none. The DE has a statutory duty to encourage and facilitate the development of integrated education. In addition, there is a commitment to 'shared education', which involves children and young people from different religious beliefs and socio-economic backgrounds being educated together.

Supporting bodies

While the Department of Education (DE) and the Department for the Economy (DfE) are supported by the central and local decision-making, regulatory and/or advisory bodies described briefly below, publicly funded educational institutions at all levels enjoy a high degree of autonomy, counterbalanced by a strong system of accountability. The DE works with:

• The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), an arms-length body of the DE, which is responsible for advising government on the curriculum and for developing, regulating and awarding qualifications.
• The Education Authority (EA), which has responsibility for ensuring that efficient and effective primary and post-primary education services are available to meet the needs of children and young people. A non-departmental public body (NDPB) sponsored by the Department of Education, the EA replaced the former five regional Education and Library Boards (ELBs) in April 2015.
• The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), which provides the upper tier of management for Catholic maintained schools, with the primary objective of raising standards.
• The Controlled Schools’ Support Council, which represents the controlled schools sector and aims to raise standards, improve governance arrangements and develop the ethos of schools in the sector.
• The General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI), which maintains a register of all teachers working in grant-aided schools, and provides advice to the DE on teacher registration, training, career development, performance management and standards of conduct. It is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Education (DE).
• The Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE), which promotes and supports the integrated model of education. This involves pupils from both Protestant and Catholic traditions, and those of other faiths and none, being educated together.
• Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG), which is the representative body for Irish-medium education.

Quality assurance

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI), part of the Department of Education, inspects both schools and further education colleges. It publishes reports for each inspection and the Chief Inspector also publishes a report on a biennial basis.

The Department for the Economy works with the universities and colleges in Northern Ireland which, like schools, enjoy a high degree of autonomy. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) provides quality assurance services in Northern Ireland as it does across the UK. This includes maintaining the UK Quality Code, which supports good practice in higher education.

Article last reviewed December 2020.