Northern Ireland’s education budget needs another £291 million to meet special educational needs and close a yawning funding gap with England and Wales, a long-awaited independent review has found.
It also advocates curriculum reform, a reduction in academic selection after primary school, a greater mix of religious backgrounds in schools and a requirement to stay in education until the age of 18, among a number of far-reaching recommendations.
The Independent Review of Education in Northern Ireland, Investing in a Better Future, raises concerns about a “funding crisis”.
It finds that education in Northern Ireland needs £155 million to address a funding gap with England and Wales.
Meanwhile, £136 million is needed to meet the needs of pupils with statements of special educational needs.
‘Years of underfunding’
Review chair Keir Bloomer said education in Northern Ireland had “suffered from years of underfunding” and that the report’s recommendations could “radically reform” its education landscape.
He added: “Our analysis shows that recurrent funding for the Department of Education (DoE) has reduced in real terms by £145 million over the past 11 years while the pupil population increased by 7 per cent.
“During that time, per-pupil funding reduced in real-terms by around 11 per cent.
“These cuts are having a lasting and detrimental impact on learners, and need to be reversed.”
The panel also finds that education funding in Northern Ireland is inequitable compared with other parts of the UK.
Dr Bloomer said the 2023-24 budget was 2.5 per cent less than the year before and “compares unfavourably to the 6.5 per cent planned rise in the English schools budget”.
Education to age 18 should be compulsory
The report, published today following two years of work, makes 25 recommendations, including that all learners should, by law, remain in education, or some form of apprenticeship or training, until the age of 18.
This could involve full-time education or training, or spending at least 20 hours per week working or volunteering while in part-time education or training.
The report recommends that all schools should take steps to ensure a greater mix of religious background in their pupil population.
Some 177 “jointly managed community schools” could ultimately be created by merging schools from different sectors.
Radical reform ‘could save millions’
Such radical reform of the schools system network could save about £100 million for reinvestment in education, the report suggests.
The drive to reform the schools network follows concern about the number of small schools in Northern Ireland, with more than 245 primary schools below minimum thresholds for pupils, and 21 having fewer than 30 pupils.
The report also recommends a limit on the number of students transferring to post-primary schools based on academic criteria, as part of efforts to “reduce differences between academically selective and non-selective schools” and bring about “greater parity of esteem between different types of schools”.
Call to simplify qualifications system
The report advises that post-school education should be reformed to reduce costs and support lifelong learning.
This would include simplifying the qualifications system, expanding the number of university places and a single college governance model.
It also recommends the formation of a single unified department to oversee “learning and skills”, by merging some of the responsibilities of the Department for the Economy with the DoE.
DoE permanent secretary Dr Mark Browne said: “The recommendations made by the panel are wide-ranging, far-reaching and signal a significant change to existing policy and service delivery.”
He added: “Implementation of recommendations in the report would therefore require ministerial direction, executive agreement and, importantly, immediate additional resources, which the [review] panel has estimated at approximately £300 million.”
