Overall national education strategy and key objectives

Published on Eurydice (https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice)

Overall national education strategy and key objectives
Northern Ireland Assembly 2017-2022 mandate

An early election of the Northern Ireland Assembly was held on 2 March 2017. This followed the
resignation, on 9 January 2017, of the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and the subsequent
collapse of the power-sharing Executive. Following the election, the Northern Ireland parties were
unable to reach agreement on the formation of a new Executive. There followed a period of three
years in which there were no executive ministers and the Northern Ireland Assembly did not sit.

In early 2020, following an extended period of political talks, an Executive was formed and ministers
were appointed; DUP leader Arlene Foster was appointed Northern Ireland's first minister, while Sinn
Féin's Michelle O'Neill was appointed deputy first minister. The Northern Ireland Assembly reconvened
on 11 January 2020.

The return to devolved government in Northern Ireland was on the basis of a deal set out in New
Decade, New Approach [1], a document published by the UK Government and the Irish Government,
and endorsed by all five main political parties in Northern Ireland.

New Decade, New Approach sets out the immediate priorities for the restored Northern Ireland
Executive, including the following commitments on education:

      The Executive will resolve the teachers’ industrial dispute and address resourcing pressures in
      schools, to ensure that every school has a sustainable core budget to deliver quality education.
      The Executive will establish an external, independent review of education provision, with a
      focus on securing greater efficiency in delivery costs, raising standards, access to the
      curriculum for all pupils, and the prospects of moving towards a single education system.
      To help build a shared and integrated society, the Executive will support educating children and
      young people of different backgrounds together in the classroom.
      The Executive will establish an expert group to examine and propose an action plan to address
      links between persistent educational underachievement and socio-economic background,
      including the long-standing issues facing working-class Protestant boys.
      The Executive will deliver a new special educational needs framework to support young people
      with special needs to achieve their full potential.

The document also sets out the need for a shared and ambitious strategic vision for the future, to be
reflected in an outcomes-based Programme for Government. This will be published by April 2020 and
build on the outcomes from the previous Programme for Government (2016).

Decision making 2017-2020

In the absence of Ministers, guidance on decision-making for the Northern Ireland Departments was
provided by the UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The guidance [2], which was published in
November 2018, states that:

'… Northern Ireland Departments will need to take decisions and exercise functions in order to uphold
good governance and protect the public interest. This guidance is intended to support NI Departments
when considering taking and exercising those decisions and functions’ (p.1).

'Some decisions should not be taken in the absence of Ministers. NI Departments should therefore
first consider the public interest of having locally elected, accountable Ministers taking decisions. Any
major policy decisions, such as the initiation of a new policy, programme or scheme, including new
major public expenditure commitments, or a major change of an existing policy, programme or
scheme, should normally be left for Ministers to decide or agree.

NI departments should then consider whether there is a public interest in taking a decision rather
than deferring a decision during the period for Executive formation.

When considering whether there is a public interest in taking a decision in the absence of Ministers,
principles to be taken into account by senior officers in NI Departments include:

   1. the principle that it is a priority to maintain the delivery of public services as sustainably and
      efficiently as possible, working towards the previous Executive’s stated objective of improving
      wellbeing for all - by tackling disadvantage and driving economic growth.
   2. the principle that the priorities and commitments of the former Executive and Minister(s) should
      be followed unless there is an exceptional circumstance such as a significant emerging
      challenge, new strong objective evidence, or significant changing circumstances which lead
      senior officials to conclude that it is no longer in the public interest to do so.
   3. the principle that opportunities should be taken to work towards the 12 outcomes published in
      the Northern Ireland Executive’s 2018-19 Outcomes Delivery Plan [3], which is based on the
      draft Programme for Government developed in conjunction with the political parties of the
      previous Executive:

Outcome 1: We prosper through a strong, competitive, regionally balanced economy

Outcome 2: We live and work sustainably – protecting the environment

Outcome 3: We have a more equal society

Outcome 4: We enjoy long, healthy, active lives

Outcome 5: We are an innovative, creative, society, where people can fulfil their potential

Outcome 6: We have more people working in better jobs

Outcome 7: We have a safe community where we respect the law, and each other

Outcome 8: We care for others and we help those in need.

Outcome 9: We are a shared, welcoming and confident society that respects diversity.

Outcome 10: We have created a place where people want to live and work, to visit and invest

Outcome 11: We connect people and opportunities through our infrastructure

Outcome 12: We give our children and young people the best start in life’ (p.2-3).

On that basis, officials in the Department of Education (DE) [4], which is responsible for 0-4
provision, primary, post-primary [5] and special education and the youth service, prepared a
draft Business Plan [6] for 2019/20, for the consideration and approval of an incoming Minister. Used to
guide the Department’s actions, this plan sets out DE’s main aim as that of supporting Outcome 12 of
the Outcomes Delivery Plan and, in particular, providing support for children and young people from
disadvantaged backgrounds and improving early years education. The plan is supported by the DE’s
six corporate goals:

      improving the wellbeing of children and young people
      improving outcomes for all
      closing the performance gap, increasing access and equality
      developing the education workforce
      improving the learning environment
      delivering high quality education services.

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

      expand the network of sustainable schools
      encourage, facilitate and promote shared education [7] and encourage and facilitate integrated
      [8] and Irish-medium education
      improve developmental and learning outcomes for children and young people who are
      underachieving
      secure the greatest effectiveness of the education workforce
      develop capacity and increased coherence in the arrangements for teacher professional
      learning.

The Department of Education (DE) also has lead responsibility for the Children and Young People's
Strategy 2019-2029 [9], which aims to support the rights and improve the well-being of all children
and young people in Northern Ireland.

The Department for the Economy (DfE) [10]’s main responsibilities include further [11] and higher
education, student support, employment and skills programmes including apprenticeships, and
employment rights.

The DfE’s draft Business Plan [12] for 2019/20, again prepared for the consideration and approval of an
incoming Minister, and used to guide its actions until a Minister was appointed, includes a strategic
objective to 'enhance education, skills and employability'. Actions/commitments under this objective
include to:

      develop a skills strategy for implementation in 2020
      have developed and agreed a new ‘Pathways to Success [13]’ Priorities and Action Plan, to
      reduce the number of young people who are NEET (not in education, training or employment)
      develop, with the DE, a more strategic joined-up approach for 14-19 year old education by
      progressing the development of a joint DE/DFE ‘Transition of Young People into Careers 14/19
      Project [14]’.

Overview of the education reform process and drivers
The education policy making and reform process is complex, bringing together political objectives
with evidence and data and the views of experts and stakeholders, including education leaders and
practitioners.

Evidence and data

Policy making by the Northern Ireland Executive is framed by the Northern Ireland Civil Service Code
of Ethics [15], which embodies the core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
Objectivity is defined as basing advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence.

Evidence and data are important in the decision making process. The Northern Ireland Executive
regularly commissions research and analysis, including policy reviews. Research and analysis
[16] commissioned by the Department of Education Northern Ireland is publicly available.

Information from international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) provides comparative performance
measures for school education, and Northern Ireland has participated in: PISA 2018, 2015, 2012,
2009, 2006 and 2003; PIRLS 2011 and 2016; and TIMSS 2011, 2015 and 2019. See the Department of
Education’s international research [17] page.

The Department of Education has also participated in an OECD review of specific aspects of the
Northern Ireland education system. The OECD’s report [18] on student evaluation and assessment
systems was published in December 2013.

UK government resources

Policy making in Northern Ireland may also be informed by resources provided by UK government
departments, such as:

     HM Treasury [19]’s Green Book [20], which advises on how publicly funded bodies should prepare
     and analyse proposed policies, programmes and projects to obtain the best public value and
     manage risks
     Cabinet Office [21]’s Open Policy Making toolkit [22] which provides tools and techniques to create
     more open and user-led policy.

Equality duty

All policy making and legislative actions must comply with the Equality Duty in accordance
with Section 75 [23] of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Guidance [24] is provided by the Equality
Commission for Northern Ireland. Equality impact assessments provide a way for public authorities to
evidence compliance with the law, and impact assessments conducted by the Department of
Education are publicly available [25].

Shared society

A strategy, published in 2013, reflects the Northern Ireland Executive’s commitment to improving
community relations in the context of the country’s difficult political history. Together: Building a
United Community [26] placed responsibilities on all government departments. The strategy, together
with annual updates and other actions aimed at good relations, are available via the Executive
Office’s good relations and social change collection [27].

Scrutiny and audit

Statutory committees [28] of the Northern Ireland Assembly provide an important means of
scrutinising policy making.

      The Committee for Education advises and assists the Minister for Education, undertaking a
      scrutiny, policy development and consultation role with respect to the Department of Education
      [4], and playing a key role in the development and consideration of legislation.
      The Committee for the Economy plays a similar role with respect to the Minister for the
      Economy and the Department for the Economy [10] (responsible for higher education and further
      education and work-based learning).
      The Committee for Health plays a similar role in respect of the Minister for Health and
      the Department of Health [29] (responsible for childcare).

In addition, the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) [30] supports the Northern Ireland Assembly in its
task of holding the Executive to account for the way in which it spends public money.

Accountability

Across the education system, educational provision is shaped by the accountability and funding
frameworks, and data on student performance informs both institutional self-evaluation and external
inspection.

Article last reviewed September 2020.

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Source URL:
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/ongoing-reforms-and-policy-developments-76_it

Links
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/deal-to-see-restored-government-in-northern-ireland-tomorrow
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-decision-making-for-northern-ireland-departments
[3] https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/publications/outcomes-delivery-plan-201819
[4] https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/
[5] https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/glossary-75_en#PostPrimarySchool
[6] https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/draft-annual-business-plan-201920
[7] https://www.eani.org.uk/parents/shared-education
[8] https://www.nicie.org/
[9] https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/children-and-young-peoples-strategy-2019-2029
[10] https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/
[11] https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/glossary-75_en#FurtherEducation(FE)

[12] https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/publications/dfe-business-plan-2019-20
[13] https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/articles/pathways-success
[14] http://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/articles/transition-young-people-careers-14-19-project
[15] http://www.nicscommissioners.org/code-of-ethics.htm
[16] https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/type/researchanalysis?search=&Search-exposed-form=Go
[17] https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/topics/statistics-and-research/international-research
[18]
https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/oecd-review-evaluation-and-assessment-education-northern-ireland-and-
united-kingdom
[19] https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-treasury
[20] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-green-book-appraisal-and-evaluation-in-central-governent
[21] https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office
[22] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/open-policy-making-toolkit
[23] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/47/section/75
[24] http://www.equalityni.org/PublicAuthorities
[25] https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/type/impactassessments
[26] https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/publications/together-building-united-community-strategy
[27] https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/topics/good-relations-and-social-change
[28] http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/committees/
[29] https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/
[30] https://www.niauditoffice.gov.uk/