School Improvement

Strengthening Legislation on Inspection

The last decade has seen significant disruption to the statutory inspection process as teacher unions have included non-cooperation with inspection in their action short of strike directives to members.  Legislation dictates that schools must be open to inspection at all reasonable times, however in Northern Ireland, the law does not specify any sanction around obstructing or not cooperating with inspection.  

The Department therefore proposed to bring forward a Bill to make it an offence to obstruct inspection, addressing this legislative gap and aligning Northern Ireland’s legislation with that which has been in place for decades in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.  The Department issued a public consultation on this matter during 2025 and a draft Bill is ready to introduce with Executive agreement. Other options are also being explored to ensure that inspection can operate effectively and as intended at all times.

In line with the findings of the Supreme Court ruling on JR87, the Department is also currently working on amendments to inspection legislation to remove the exemption that currently exists which excludes Religious Education from the statutory inspection process.

Review of Accountability

TransformED further commits to commissioning an independent review of accountability arrangements in Northern Ireland, after the reviews of assessment, funding targeted at disadvantage and the independent review of workload complete. This will ensure it reflects the latest position in these areas and takes account of the findings of these key reviews. 

By end of March 2026, each of these reviews will have been completed and published.  The Department intends to develop a Terms of Reference for an independent review of accountability and make appointments to the panel by summer 2026 with an aim of completing the Review by January 2027. 

A key deliverable of the Review will be the development of a coherent accountability framework to demonstrate value to government, taxpayers and parents and drive improvement through responsibility and answerability by March 2027.

School Improvement Policy

The Department has undertaken a fundamental review of the current school improvement policy ‘Every School a Good School’ which was published in 2009.  This has included a Review of the School Development Planning process and a Review of the use of Baker Days and School Development Days.  Both reviews are complete, proposals have been approved by the Education Minister, Paul Givan, and work is underway to implement. 

The Department is working to develop an overarching new school improvement policy and operational support model for schools.  It is anticipated the new policy will issue for public consultation during 2026.

Leaders of Education Programme

To further support schools, the Department is working to develop a Northern Ireland Leaders of Education Programme. The programme will recruit experienced, strongly performing school leaders to provide targeted school improvement support to schools identified as requiring external support. They will provide coaching, mentoring and strategic guidance to raise standards and promote improvement.  A call for applications will issue during term 2 of the current academic year with a view to having the programme in place for September 2026.

Holiday Revision Support Programme

Funded through the RAISE Programme, the Department is delivering a Holiday Revision Support Programme during 2025/26, making funding available to all post primary schools who wish to run a revision scheme during the Halloween or Easter holidays in support of pupils who are imminently taking public examinations.  Schools have flexibility to design their own schemes to meet the needs of their individual context whilst ensuring students who need additional help, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds, receive extra tuition and resources.  The Programme is designed to raise overall standards, further narrow the attainment gap and therefore contribute to tackling educational disadvantage, another key commitment in TransformED.