The Northern Ireland curriculum

The NI Curriculum was phased in after 1990, following the introduction of the National Curriculum in England and Wales. It was drawn up by the NI Curriculum Council, which later merged with the Council for Examinations and Assessment to form the CCEA (the Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment). 

The Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 sets out the minimum educational entitlement for pupils aged from four to sixteen years and requires schools to provide a curriculum for all pupils that: 

'promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, intellectual and physical development of all pupils at the school and thereby society; and prepares such pupils for the opportunities and experiences of adult life'. 

The curriculum is defined in terms of four Key Stages which cover the twelve years of compulsory schooling. The only difference from the Key Stages in England and Wales is that Key Stage 1 spans four years (rather than three), and Key Stage 2 spans three years.

In addition to the NI Curriculum, schools can develop additional curriculum elements to express their particular ethos and meet the individual needs of their pupils. 

Key Stages

The four key stages are outlined in Table 2.

Table 2: Key Stages

Science is taught at all four Key Stages. At Key Stages 1 and 2, it is taught through the learning area of 'The World Around Us,' which comprises geography, history, science and technology. 

1) Key Stages 1 & 2 (KS1 and KS2)

The curriculum for KS1 and KS2 includes:

• Religious Education  
• English 
• Mathematics  
• Science and Technology  
• History and Geography (known as the Environment and Society) 
• Art and Design, Music and Physical Education (Creative and Expressive Arts) 
• Irish (in Irish speaking schools only)  

There are 4 educational cross-curricular themes (education for mutual understanding, cultural heritage, health education and information technology). The cross-curricular themes are not separate subjects but are woven through the main subjects of the curriculum. 

2) Key Stages 3 & 4 (KS3 and KS4)

Compulsory for KS3 and KS4 are: 

• Religious Education 
• English  
• Mathematics 
• Science and Technology 
• The Environment and Society (one of History, Geography, Business Studies, Home Economics, Economics, Politics) 
• Creative and Expressive Studies (Art and Design, Music and Physical Education) 
• Language Studies (French, German, Italian, Irish or Spanish)  

Six educational themes (four as in KS1 and KS2, plus economic awareness and careers education). 

The structure of the curriculum

As in England and Wales, each subject in the NI Curriculum has a Programme of Study, which sets out the opportunities that should be offered to all pupils, subject to their age and ability, in terms of knowledge, skills and understanding at each Key Stage. 

Teachers use the Programme of Study as a basis for planning schemes of work. Each programme has Attainment Targets which define the expected standards of pupil performance in terms of level descriptors. These provide the basis for judgements on pupils' attainment at the end of each Key Stage.

Assessment

There is a statutory assessment in specified subjects for all pupils aged: 

• eight, 
• eleven and 
• fourteen. 

Teachers are required to make formal assessments of pupils' work at age eight and eleven. This is done through a series of short assessment tasks involving 20 - 30 minutes work by pupils, undertaken at a time chosen by the teacher. Pupils are not required to sit formal tests. Schools are required to tell parents which level their child has reached in these subjects. In addition to the statutory assessment at age 11, pupil may opt to take the transfer test (11+).

At age 14 there is statutory assessment of English, Irish (in Irish speaking schools), Mathematics and Science. This takes two forms: teacher assessment and end of KS3 subject tests. The results of these are reported to parents. At the end of KS4 pupils are entered for public examinations.

Inspection