Early childhood education and care
Private and voluntary sector providers, including day nurseries, playgroups and childminders, operate in the early childhood education and care sector and are financed by fees. They must be registered and annually inspected by Early Years Teams based in the five Health and Social Care Trusts which provide integrated health and social care services across Northern Ireland.
Some of these providers may also receive some government funding in respect of places they provide under the Pre-school Education Programme for three-year-olds in their final year before compulsory education. Most places under the programme are part-time: 2.5 hours per day, 5 days per week, over at least 38 weeks during the period September to June (see the article ‘Organisation of Programmes for Children over 2-3 years’ for further information).
In 2020/21, 750 institutions provided funded pre-school education (Source: Annual Enrolments at grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland 2020/21, p. 4).
Schools
The private schools described below charge fees and receive no support from public funds, although they may benefit from tax concessions.
This article does not cover grant-aided schools, which are part of the landscape of public provision. See the article on ‘Administration and Governance at Local and/or Institutional Level’ for further information.
Although the term ‘private schools’ is in common use, the legal framework refers to ‘independent schools’. The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, as amended by Section 30 of The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, defines an independent school as ‘a school at which full-time education is provided for pupils of compulsory school age (whether or not such education is also provided for pupils under or over that age), not being a grant-aided school’.
Of the 1134 schools in Northern Ireland in 2020/21, 15 were independent schools. (Source: Table 1: Annual Enrolments in Schools and in Funded Pre-school Education in Northern Ireland 2018/19Annual Enrolments in grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland 2020/21)
Funding
Independent schools do not receive any direct public funding. They are funded through tuition fees paid by parents and income from investments. Independent schools which have charitable status are able to take advantage of tax concessions. Like all charities, independent schools must by law demonstrate that they are for the public benefit.
Regulation and quality assurance
Independent schools are subject to government regulation as set out in the statutory framework for independent schools in The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, as amended by The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. They must be registered with the Department of Education (DE) and are inspected regularly by the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI). Full details of the registration process are available from the DE.
Independent schools must also comply with all public policies and legislation designed to safeguard the welfare of children and young people, public health and safety.
Curriculum
The curriculum in independent schools is the responsibility of the proprietor of the school and they do not have to follow the statutory Northern Ireland Curriculum. Independent schools must, however, offer a curriculum that is suitable for the age, aptitude and ability, and any special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils in the school. The curriculum is one of the major aspects considered in a school inspection. In addition, applications for registration as an independent school in Northern Ireland must include full details of the proposed school timetable.
Teachers
Conditions of employment for teachers in the independent sector are drawn up by the proprietor of the school and may make reference to, or be independent of, the conditions applicable to teachers in the publicly funded sector. However, they are subject to general employment legislation.
Although salary scales are usually similar to those of teachers in the publicly funded sector, they may be lower or higher.
It is normally assumed that teachers in independent schools will take an active part in the extra-curricular life of the school and this may be stated explicitly in their terms of contract.
Independent schools are not bound by the teachers’ professional competences, nor by the regulations on performance management (see the article on ‘Continuing Professional Development for Teachers’). Teachers in independent schools are also not required to have 'eligibility to teach' status (see the article on ‘Initial Education for Teachers’).
Higher education
There are no private universities in Northern Ireland.
There are, however, four small religious colleges which are classed as alternative providers of higher education, as they receive no public funding but do have an affiliation with the publicly funded Queen’s University Belfast. More information on these four providers is available in the article on ‘Types of Higher Education Institutions’.
Adult education and training
There are no private further education colleges offering preparation for university entry in Northern Ireland.
Providers of private further education include training providers offering short vocational and professional education programmes.
Private training providers are entirely autonomous, although they generally offer a range of nationally recognised qualifications.
Training providers who are Tier 4 visa sponsors for overseas (non-EEA / Swiss national) students must receive a satisfactory review or inspection by a publicly recognised inspection body approved for Tier 4 purposes. In Northern Ireland this is the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI).
The British Accreditation Council (BAC) is the national accrediting body for private post-16 education in the UK. The Council aims to improve and enhance standards in independent further and higher education through its comprehensive quality assurance and accreditation scheme.
Article last reviewed December 2020.