Independent Panel to review Baseline School Funding announced

Date published: 3 July 2025

The panel has been established by the Minister to assess the Baseline School Funding that schools require to operate effectively and to determine if the funding currently allocated to schools is sufficient to meet their basic needs. The panel will also consider the merits of different funding models for teaching costs.

The three members appointed by the Minister are: Chairperson – Peter May, Members – Dr Eemer Eivers and Edwin Barr.

Welcoming the establishment of the panel, Education Minister Paul Givan said, 

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of the independent panel who will take forward this important review of Baseline School Funding.

“Ensuring that the Common Funding Formula distributes the available funding as effectively as possible for the benefit of all pupils is a key priority. I am confident that the panel members have a breadth of expertise and experience needed to make a meaningful difference to the current funding model.

“I encourage everyone to support the work of the panel and I look forward to the valuable insights this review will bring. ”

The appointments to the panel are as follows:

Peter May (Chairperson)- Peter finished his Civil Service career in April 2025 as Permanent Secretary in the Department of Health. He had previously been Permanent Secretary in the Departments of Justice, Infrastructure and Culture, Arts and Leisure. Peter’s other public service roles included leading major change programmes to enable the creation of Northern Ireland Water and the devolution of justice and policing.  He also served as Principal Private Secretary to the Deputy First Minister in the first Assembly after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

Dr Eemer Eivers – Eemer is a research consultant who specialises in evaluation, educational assessment and policy. For over 10 years, she led the Republic of Ireland’s participation in international large-scale assessments such as PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) and TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study).  In Northern Ireland, she was part of the independent panel that conducted the last major review of the Common Funding Scheme and prior to that she was a member of the Literacy and Numeracy Taskforce. She has worked extensively with Malta’s Education Ministry and helped develop much of their very successful national strategy to reduce early school leaving. She is also a Board member of the Museum of Childhood Ireland, an all-island charity.

Edwin Barr – Edwin graduated with a BA(Hons) at Queen’s University Belfast and completed a PGCE in primary education at Stranmillis College. During his teaching career, he attained a Diploma in the Advanced Study of Education and a further Post-Graduate Certificate in Technology Education. He also achieved the Professional Qualification in Headship. Edwin has 35 years’ experience in primary education as a teacher and school leader. He served as Principal of Donaghadee Primary School for 21 years leading a successful team in further school improvement projects. Serving as an Associate Assessor for several years, he worked with the Education and Training Inspectorate in primary school inspections throughout Northern Ireland.

The panel members have been commissioned to undertake the review and report to the Minister by the end of November 2025.