Department of Education

Department of Education Vision

The vision we have for the future is of an education system that is recognised internationally for the quality of its teaching and learning and for the achievements of its young people and of an education service that has at its centre a focus on the needs of children and young people.

Put simply, we want to see

“Every young person achieving to his or her full potential at each stage of his or her development.”

Role and Functions

The Department’s primary statutory duty is to promote the education of the people of the north of Ireland and to ensure the effective implementation of education policy. The Department’s main statutory areas of responsibility are 0-4 provision, primary, post-primary and special education and the youth service.

The Department is accountable through its Minister to the Assembly for the effective delivery of its statutory functions and for the effective use of the public funds for which it is responsible. It is supported in delivering its functions by a range of Arm's Length Bodies, each of which is accountable to the Department.

Our Corporate Goals

We have identified five corporate goals – two overarching goals and three enabling goals - that support the vision we have for education here and the wider vision for economic and community growth that is captured in the Programme for Government.

The two overarching goals are:

• Raising standards for all; and
• Closing the performance gap, increasing access and equity.

The three enabling goals reflect the three priority areas through which we will work to achieve the overarching goals.  They are:

• Developing the education workforce;
• Improving the learning environment; and
• Transforming the governance and management of education.

For further information, please see the DE Corporate Plan for 2012-15.