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Department of Education
Irish: An Roinn Oideachais;; Ulster-Scots: Männystrie o Lear
Department overview
Formed	June 1921 (as Ministry of Education)
Preceding Department	Dublin Castle administration;
Jurisdiction	Northern Ireland
Headquarters	Rathgael House, Balloo Road, Bangor, County Down, BT19 7PR
Employees	609 (September 2011)
Annual budget	£1,894.6 million (current) & £114.7 million (capital) for 2011–12
Minister responsible	Paul Givan;
Department executive	Mark Browne, Permanent Secretary;
Website	www.education-ni.gov.uk

The Department of Education (DENI) (Irish: An Roinn Oideachais; Ulster-Scots: Männystrie o Lear)^[4] is a devolved Northern Irish government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister of Education.

Aim

The department's overall vision is "to ensure that every learner fulfils her or his potential at each stage of development". Its key stated priorities are: raising Standards for all; closing the performance gap, increasing access and equality; developing the education workforce; improving the "learning environment"; and transforming education management.^[5]

Responsibilities

The department is responsible for the following levels of education:^[6]

pre-school
primary
post-primary
special

Until 2016 the former Department for Employment and Learning was responsible for further and higher education policy in Northern Ireland.^[7] Further and higher education are now the responsibility of the Department for the Economy.

The Department of Education also covers:

youth policy
community relations within and between schools
teacher education and salaries

As an organisation, its key functions include advising the minister on the determination of education policy, framing legislation, accounting for the effectiveness of the education system, allocating, and monitoring and accounting for resources.

Through the Education and Training Inspectorate, it evaluates and reports on the quality of teaching and learning and teacher education.

Administration of the education system is delegated to a single combined authority, funded by the department:

Education Authority

Its main counterpart in the United Kingdom Government is the Department for Education.^[8] The main counterpart in the Irish Government is the Department of Education.^[9]

The Department also contains the Education Training Inspectorate which has responsibility for inspections for educational institutions.^[10]

History

A Ministry of Education was established at the foundation of Northern Ireland in June 1921 and was subsequently renamed the Department of Education under direct rule, introduced in March 1972. An education ministry was also included in the Northern Ireland Executive briefly formed in 1974. The department's remit under direct rule was much wider, incorporating cultural and sport policy (now held by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure) and further and higher education (now held by the Department for Employment and Learning).

Following a referendum on the Belfast Agreement on 23 May 1998 and the granting of royal assent to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive were established by the United Kingdom Government under Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Department of Education (with its reduced remit) was therefore one of the six direct rule Northern Ireland departments that continued in existence after devolution, following the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

A devolved minister took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule ministers from the Northern Ireland Office:

between 12 February 2000^[11] and 30 May 2000;^[12]
on 11 August 2001;^[13]^[14]
on 22 September 2001;^[15]^[16]
between 15 October 2002^[17] and 8 May 2007.^[18]

Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption. On 11 January 2012, the First Minister and deputy First Minister, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness respectively, announced their intention to abolish the Department for Employment and Learning.^[19]

Its functions would be "divided principally" between the Department of Education and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment "in an agreed manner". The proposal was resisted by the Alliance Party,^[20] which viewed it as "power grab" by the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, but was approved on 18 January 2012.^[21] No timescale for the abolition was outlined and the department remained in operation, as of late March 2012.

From 2 December 1999 to 25 May 2016, the department was headed by Sinn Féin legislators. It was not until 25 May 2016 that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)'s Peter Weir became the first non-Sinn Féin politician to head the Northern Ireland Department of Education.

In 2020, the Department established the Exceptional Circumstances Body to consider applications from parents where it is claimed that a child must attend a specified post-primary school, and no other post-primary school, for exceptional reasons.^[22]

Ministers of education

	Minister	Party	Took office	Left office
	Martin McGuinness	Sinn Féin	29 November 1999	11 February 2000
Office suspended
	Martin McGuinness	Sinn Féin	30 May 2000	14 October 2002^[23]
Office suspended
	Caitríona Ruane	Sinn Féin	14 May 2007	4 May 2011
	John O'Dowd	Sinn Féin	16 May 2011	30 March 2016
	Peter Weir	DUP	25 May 2016	2 March 2017
Office suspended
	Peter Weir	DUP	11 January 2020	13 June 2021
	Michelle McIlveen	DUP	14 June 2021	27 October 2022
Office suspended
	Paul Givan	DUP	3 February 2024	Incumbent

Direct rule ministers

During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the Northern Ireland Office/Education Secretaries of the British Department for Education were responsible for the department:

George Howarth (2000)
Jane Kennedy (2002–04)
Barry Gardiner (2002–04)
Angela Smith (2005–06)
Maria Eagle (2006–07)

References

^ "Northern Ireland Quarterly Employment Survey Historical Data". Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
^ "Budget 2011–15" (PDF). Department of Finance and Personnel. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
^ "Permanent Secretary". Retrieved 9 May 2024.
^ Depairtment o Leir is also used by the North/South Ministerial Council.
^ Northern Ireland Budget 2011–15, page 48
^ About the Department of Education
^ DEL: About the Department Archived 19 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ Department for Education: About the Department
^ Department of Education: Functions
^ "Home Office (Tier 4) Educational Oversight Inspections: Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). Education Training Inspectorate. Education Training Inspectorate. 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2024. The ETI has been approved by the Home Office to provide Educational Oversight in Northern Ireland
^ Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Commencement) Order 2000
^ Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2000
^ Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) Order 2001
^ Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2001
^ Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) (No.2) Order 2001
^ Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) (No.2) Order 2001
^ Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) Order 2002
^ Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2007
^ "Justice 2012 – Stormont Castle proposals". Northern Ireland Executive. 11 January 2012. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
^ "Ford says cutting Department for Employment and Learning could damage economy". Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
^ "Justice 2012 – The Way Forward". Northern Ireland Executive. 18 January 2012. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
^ "Parental right of appeal to the Exceptional Circumstances Body". Department of Education. Department of Education. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2024. The Department has established an independent Exceptional Circumstances Body (ECB) to consider applications from parents where it is claimed that a child must attend a specified post-primary school, and no other post-primary school, for exceptional reasons. Further information and an application form can be found on the nidirect website:
^ Office suspended for 24 hours on 11 August 2001 and 22 September 2001