New education strategy launched
In March 2025, the Department of Education published TransformED NI: A Strategy for Educational Excellence in Northern Ireland, setting out its framework for reform across the education system.
The strategy responds directly to the 2023 Independent Review of Education and reflects a selection of accepted recommendations through its stated policy goals and priorities.
The strategy outlines a series of actions to be pursued over the current Assembly mandate and beyond, structured around five key areas: curriculum reform, assessment and qualifications, teacher professional development, school leadership, and tackling educational disadvantage. These are positioned in response to structural pressures on the system and a documented need for a more coherent, evidence-informed approach to policy.
A number of the Independent Review’s key recommendations were accepted by the Department at the time, and most have been incorporated into the TransformED strategy. These include commitments to raise the age of participation in education, carry out major curriculum reform, invest in early years provision, improve SEN support, and address educational disadvantage.
For example, a review on curriculum reform, a central component of the strategy, is ongoing, with a statutory curriculum framework due by autumn 2026. Similarly, the commitment to raise the age of education participation to 18 is confirmed as a legislative intention, subject to further policy development.
The strategy acknowledges the growing role of early years education in reducing outcome disparities and states that it will align with the forthcoming Executive’s early learning and childcare strategy, due to be published later in 2025.
SEN transformation is integrated across multiple reform strands but is led operationally through a separate SEN Reform Delivery Plan. Actions to combat disadvantage are visible throughout the document, including targeted efforts to close attainment gaps and increase access to high-quality learning experiences.
Proposals recommended in the review but not part of the new strategy include reform of the transition process to post-primary education and the establishment of a single education department. Proposals to reconfigure the school network are acknowledged in principle but are not accompanied by specific delivery actions.
In total, of the nine recommendations accepted or endorsed by the Department, seven are either directly incorporated into the strategy or referenced as complementary policy strands.
Policy pillars
The TransformED NI strategy is structured around five policy pillars, intended to drive system improvement:
- Curriculum reform: A review of the Northern Ireland Curriculum was commissioned in 2024, with final recommendations expected in mid-2025. A new curriculum taskforce will lead the development of the statutory curriculum framework. The Department’s stated intention is to introduce a more “coherent, knowledge-rich” curriculum that aligns with international benchmarks and local policy aims.
- Assessment and qualifications: The strategy highlights the lack of standardised data at primary and lower secondary levels and proposes to reform assessment and performance monitoring. Vocational qualifications and performance measures are also under review, with an emphasis on improving public understanding and alignment with progression pathways.
- Teacher professional learning: A revised ‘Learning Leaders’ strategy is scheduled for publication in 2026, with a focus on structured professional development and improved induction. A dedicated fund of £27 million over three years will support school-level training, with a new procurement framework being introduced. A separate education research function will be established by 2027 to support the evidence base for policy and practice.
- School leadership: A revised qualification for headship will be introduced from the 2026/27 academic year, alongside new professional development programmes for experienced principals and middle leaders. These initiatives aim to address gaps in leadership preparation and succession planning across the school system.
- Tackling disadvantage: The strategy identifies tackling socioeconomic disparities in attainment as a core objective. This includes raising the performance of Free School Meal-eligible pupils, expanding early years access, and integrating inclusive practices into professional development and curriculum design.
Governance and implementation
Delivery of the strategy will be overseen by a newly established TransformED Programme Board. This group will be chaired by a senior Departmental official and include representation from key delivery bodies including the Education Authority (EA), CCEA, CCMS, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI), and Higher Education Institutions.
Progress will be reported through an annual progress report, with the first due in May 2026. Oversight will also be informed by inspection evidence and independent evaluation. Advisory input is to be provided by an international ministerial advisory panel and an academic panel, both established to support implementation.
Delivery plan
The TransformED NI Delivery Plan, published in April 2025, outlines the actions required to implement the strategy’s core elements. The plan includes timelines, estimated costs, delivery partners, and performance indicators across more than 20 reform areas.
Workforce and learning investment
A monitoring framework for teacher supply and demand will be implemented by the 2026/27 academic year. Financial incentives for shortage subject areas including maths, science, and technology is to be introduced, with an annual budget of £1.5 million. A revised core content framework for initial teacher education is due for consultation by the end of 2025.
Teacher induction will become a statutory requirement, with expanded content phased in over three years beginning in September 2025. The programme is costed at £1 million annually.
A centrally administered teacher professional learning fund will allocate £27 million between 2025 and 2028, beginning with an initial outlay of £7 million in year one. Guidance and a procurement framework will be developed in partnership with the EA.
Curriculum
Development of the new statutory curriculum framework is budgeted at £2.4 million. Implementation costs will be scoped during the design phase. Proposals to reform key stage assessments and qualifications are included, although specific legislative timelines are not provided.
The Department is also reviewing the scope and usage of vocational qualifications in schools. This will inform revisions to performance reporting and curriculum options post-16.
Innovation
A new headship qualification has been allocated £1.25 million in funding over three years. Programmes for current school leaders and middle managers will be developed for rollout in 2026/27. A leadership newsletter is scheduled to be distributed monthly starting from September 2025 at a cost of £30,000 per annum.
A pilot initiative for collaborative professional learning clusters is set to be launched in 2025/26 with £500,000 in allocated funding. Additional pilots, including subject-specific learning communities and an online Science of Learning programme, are scheduled to proceed during the same period.
Evaluation and research
A new education research function will be established by 2027, with operating costs estimated at £2 million per year. This unit will be co-located with NISRA and supported by a steering group drawn from the Department, EA, Higher Education Institutions, and other partners. Evaluation of all major initiatives will be carried out by ETI or independent providers.
Minister of Education Paul Givan MLA says: “In this strategy for transforming teaching and learning, I set out an ambitious reform programme to deliver educational excellence in Northern Ireland.
“My vision for education in 2032 is for a modern, forward-looking education system, scaffolded by a sustainable funding model, guided by robust evidence and evaluation, and informed by learning from international best practice. It is an education system which is truly life transforming, which breaks down barriers and narrows inequalities, allowing every young person to achieve their full potential and in which every child has the chance to make the most of their abilities and become the best version of themselves.
“To achieve this new vision for educational excellence will require a partnership of many: school leaders, teachers, governors, parents, businesses, and others. It will require us to lead change together. We need to renew and redouble our work across our education system, delivering evidence-informed policies supported by high-quality and cost-effective services.”
