Skip to main content
European Commission logo

Eurydice

EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice
Teaching and Learning in Primary Education

United Kingdom - Northern Ireland

Last update: 29 April 2021
On this page

This article covers the teaching and learning of pupils in primary education ages 4-11, in the Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1 and 2 (ISCED 1).

Curriculum, subjects, number of hours 

The school curriculum comprises all learning and other experiences that each school plans for its pupils, reflecting its particular needs and circumstances.

The legal basis for the (2007) Northern Ireland Curriculum is The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. Section 4 of this Order specifies that pupils of compulsory school age in grant-aided schools are entitled to a curriculum which:

  • is balanced and broadly based
  • promotes the spiritual, emotional, moral, cultural, intellectual and physical development of pupils at the school and of society  
  • prepares pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life by equipping them with appropriate knowledge, understanding and skills.   

The Northern Ireland Curriculum includes the overarching curriculum aim of empowering ‘young people to develop their potential and to make informed and responsible choices and decisions throughout their lives’ (see page 4).

This aim underpins the accountability framework that applies to all grant aided primary schools and influences their decision making. The accountability framework includes:

  • the school inspection system
  • the publication annually, in the prospectus of each school, of information about the school’s curriculum and performance, including achievement data related to assessments at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 (ages 8 and 11).

Historical note: Broad aims for the school curriculum were first established by the Education Act (Northern Ireland) 1947, but there was no government control over the curriculum until The Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 introduced the Northern Ireland Curriculum. This legislation included the aim of giving all pupils an entitlement to a balanced and broadly based curriculum, and set standards for pupil attainment to support school accountability.

Responsibilities 

Responsibility for the school curriculum is shared.

The Department of Education (DE) has overall responsibility for the primary school curriculum. Under The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, the DE determines the minimum content of the areas of learning to be taught at each key stage. It sets this out as the ‘knowledge, understanding and skills relevant to each of the contributory elements’ within an area of learning.

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) oversees the curriculum and assessment and advises the DE on the curriculum to be taught in primary schools. This is under the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.  The CCEA is a non-departmental public body which reports to the DE.

The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), established under The Education Reform Northern Ireland Order 1989 is the advocate for Catholic-maintained schools in Northern Ireland. It contributes to curriculum policy, and works with the DE and the three other main Christian churches (Church of Ireland, Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church) in defining the curriculum for religious education.

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) is responsible for primary school inspection. The quality of the curriculum – including breadth, balance and appropriateness – contributes to the school inspection judgement on the quality of provision. The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 forms the legal basis of the ETI’s work.

The Education Authority (EA) is responsible for ensuring that efficient and effective primary education services are available to meet children’s needs. It also provides curriculum advice and support to schools. Established under the Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2014, it replaced the five former Education and Library Boards and is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Education.

Schools are responsible for planning and delivering the whole school curriculum for their pupils and for ensuring that it meets statutory requirements. Responsibility is shared between the board of governors and the principal (headteacher). Individual teachers are also responsible for planning lessons that meet statutory requirements.

Requirements 

The school curriculum comprises all learning and other experiences that each school plans for its pupils, reflecting its particular needs and circumstances.

The language of instruction is normally English, except in Irish-medium schools where it is Irish.

The Northern Ireland Curriculum does not constitute the whole curriculum for schools. Schools are free to include other subjects or topics of their choice in planning and designing their programme of education.

Under The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, grant-aided schools must offer pupils in primary education a curriculum which includes:

Northern Ireland Curriculum 

The Northern Ireland Curriculum comprises:

  • areas of learning
  • cross-curricular skills
  • thinking skills and personal capabilities.

The Education (Curriculum Minimum Content) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 sets out the statutory requirements for the minimum content to be covered for each area of learning for each key stage of the Northern Ireland Curriculum.

The Education (Other Skills) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 specifies the additional curriculum content (e.g. thinking skills and personal capabilities) of the Northern Ireland Curriculum.

There are six statutory areas of learning for the Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 of primary education:

  • the arts
  • language and literacy 
  • mathematics and numeracy
  • personal development and mutual understanding 
  • physical development and movement (called 'physical education’ at Key Stages 1 and 2)
  • the world around us.

There is no statutory requirement to teach a modern language at primary school, but schools are encouraged to teach additional languages under the ‘language and literacy’ area of learning. Material is available to assist primary teachers to develop and integrate an element of foreign language teaching into their classroom.

The acquisition of skills and capabilities through the areas of learning forms a central part of the curriculum. These comprise the cross-curricular skills and thinking skills and personal capabilities.

The cross-curricular skills are:

  • communication
  • using mathematics
  • using ICT.

The thinking skills and personal capabilities comprise:

  • thinking, problem-solving and decision-making
  • self-management 
  • working with others
  • managing information
  • being creative.

For more detailed information on the areas of learning and skills within the curriculum, see Curriculum Foundation Stage and Curriculum Key Stages 1 and 2.

Religious education 

All grant-aided primary schools must teach religious education (RE) and must also provide a daily act of collective worship, which typically means a school assembly of a reverential or reflective nature. The daily act of collective worship is usually broadly Christian.

Schools must provide RE according to a core syllabus drawn up with the agreement of the four main churches. This provides a common core, which schools are free to build upon in a way that suits the needs of their pupils and the ethos of the school. The core syllabus is mostly Christian in nature, but also includes morality education and other world religions. Statutory requirements regarding the core syllabus are set out under Section 11 of The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and The Education (Core Syllabus for Religious Education) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007.

Non-statutory guidance on RE in primary schools is available from the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). It aims to help teachers make effective use of the core syllabus and assist in planning for RE throughout the school.

Parents have the right to withdraw their children from all or part of RE and / or collective worship under Section 21 of The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986. In following statutory requirements and publishing information about the RE provided, schools must also publish the arrangements for parents to exercise their right to withdraw their children from RE and / or collective worship. This is required under the Education (School Information and Prospectuses) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.

Relationships and sexuality education 

The Department of Education (DE) requires all schools to teach relationships and sexuality education (RSE) and to develop their own policy for how they will address RSE within the curriculum. In primary education, RSE is a statutory component of the ‘personal development and mutual understanding‘ area of learning. Further information is provided in DE Circular 2013/16.

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) issued revised guidance for schools in 2015, Relationships and Sexuality Education Guidance: An Update for Primary Schools. The DE also published Circular 2015/22 advising schools about the CCEA guidance and highlighting best practice in this subject area.

Drugs education 

During compulsory education (ages 4 to 16), all schools have a legal duty to provide drugs education in the curriculum. In primary schools, it is part of the statutory area of learning ‘personal development and mutual understanding’. It is also a statutory requirement for every grant-aided school to have in place a drugs education policy and to publicise this in its prospectus. 

Department of Education (DE) Circular 2015/23 sets out requirements for schools for the teaching of drugs education, and on handling drug-related incidents on school premises. The CCEA has also produced detailed guidance for schools (revised in 2015) to help them to create a meaningful policy for drugs education.

Careers education 

In the primary curriculum, careers education focuses on helping children to raise their aspirations and make connections between their learning and the world of work, rather than on choosing a career. Careers education is delivered through the areas of learning ‘the world around us’ and ‘personal development and mutual understanding’, which both offer opportunities for children to learn about the world of work and career pathways and to develop careers-related skills.

The Northern Ireland Executive's strategy for careers education is set out in Preparing for Success 2015-2020.

Time allocation/number of hours 

The amount of time to be devoted to each subject in any key stage cannot be prescribed. This is determined under Section 10 of The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. Consequently, organisation of the school timetable and the allocation of hours to subjects are decided by the school.

There is, however, a minimum requirement of one half hour (30 minutes) of religious education per day (or two-and-a-half hours each week) in primary education under The Primary Schools (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1973.

Teaching methods and materials 

Teaching methods and learning materials are not officially prescribed but are decided by teachers and schools.

Individual teachers are responsible for planning lessons that meet statutory requirements; setting appropriate learning objectives / outcomes; and planning lessons that enable all pupils to meet learning objectives. Learning in the Foundation Stage (children aged 4 to 6) is predominantly play-based.

While the areas of learning within the curriculum are set out separately, teachers are expected, where appropriate, to integrate learning across the six areas to make relevant connections for children. Children too, are encouraged to make connections in their learning and to see the interrelationships between areas. The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) provides resources for teachers to help pupils understand the connections between different areas of the curriculum.

Providing opportunities for children to acquire the cross-curricular skills of communication, using mathematics and using ICT, as well as developing thinking skills and personal capabilities, also requires teaching across the curriculum.

There are no prescribed textbooks for primary pupils; textbooks are selected by the class teacher in consultation with the principal and subject coordinators (classroom teachers who have additional responsibility for a particular subject area). Textbooks are produced by commercial publishers and do not require government approval.

Grant-aided schools may not charge for the cost of materials, books, instruments or any other equipment used by pupils.

All schools have a range of ICT tools available for use by teachers and pupils. These may include computers / laptops; tablets and other handheld devices; digital and video cameras; interactive whiteboards; and virtual learning environments.

Schools and teachers make decisions about teaching methods and materials in the context of national standards and guidance as outlined below.

Frameworks and guidance 

Teachers are expected to demonstrate 27 Professional Competences (pages 13-15 of Teaching: The Reflective Profession, 2011) organised within three broad areas:

  • professional values and practice
  • professional knowledge and understanding
  • professional skills and application.

The Professional Competences also require teachers to have a knowledge and understanding of a range of behaviour management strategies to establish an effective learning environment; to promote a standard of behaviour that enables all pupils to learn; and to be able to pre-empt and deal with inappropriate behaviour in line with schools’ policies and what is known about best practice.

Schools decide how much and how often homework is set, reflecting the school's circumstances and its pupils' needs.

Although it is not a statutory requirement for schools to give homework, the Professional Competences set an expectation that teachers should plan for out-of-school learning and activities that ‘consolidate, build on, enrich, personalise and extend pupils’ learning’.

Although teaching methods and learning materials are not prescribed, the CCEA provides guidance, resources and support materials for teaching the Northern Ireland Curriculum.

 

Article last reviewed April 2021.