Northern Ireland
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Education policy in Northern Ireland is run by the Northern Ireland Department of Education.
The administration of education policy in the Britain began in the 19th century. Official mandation of education began with the Elementary Education Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) for England and Wales, and the Education (Scotland) Act 1872 for Scotland. Education policy has always been run separately for the component nations of Britain, and is now a devolved matter (by the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, the Scotland Act 1998, and the Government of Wales Act 1998 - each as amended).
As there is no devolved government for England, the administration of education policy for the nation has been carried out by a number of different British central government departments since the 19th century. Key events in Education in England have been the Elementary Education Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 75), the Education Act 1902, the Education Act 1944, and the Education Reform Act 1988.
Before the latter-part of the 19th century education was a private matter, and there was no governmental policy lead. Some education services were provided by the Church (dating back to a Papal proclamation in the 11th century).
A Committee of the Privy Council was appointed in 1839 to supervise the distribution of certain Government grants in the education field. The members of the Committee were the Lord President of the Council, the Secretaries of State, the First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. From 1857 a Vice President was appointed who took responsibility for policy, leading to the creation of the Education Office .
With the 1870 Act the Education Office was given the task to manage the national process and commission local school boards in boroughs and parishes where they were requested.
The Board of Education Act 1899 took effect in 1900, renaming the Education Office to the Board of Education was created which managed the national process and commissioned local school boards in boroughs and parishes where they were found to be needed.
The Education Act 1902 formalised the relationship between central government and education delivery by abolishing the 2568 school boards set up by the 1870 Act, and transferring their duties (and schools) to local government (borough and county councils) in a new guise as local education authorities.
The Education Act 1944 changed the system of education in England by forming the Tripartite System wherein secondary schools were mandated in one of four forms (Grammar, Comprehensive, Secondary Modern, and Secondary Technical schools), and renamed the Board of Education to the Ministry of Education .
The Department of Education and Science (DES) was created in 1964 as the merger of the Ministry of Education with that of the Ministry of Science following the Prime Minister Harold Wilson's focus on the "white heat of technology".
The 1988 Act brought in the concept of external validation of teacher performance and a support framework for teachers to use as the core of their syllabus, in the form of the National Curriculum.
In 1995 the DES was merged with the Benefits Agency and split off the Office of Science and Technology to become the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE).
After the 2001 General Election, the DfEE and the Department for Social Security were combined and re-split into the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department for Work and Pensions.
In 2007, when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, he split the education ministerial portfolio into two. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was formed with board responsibilities for children up to the age of 14, and for some aspects up to 19, taking on some social care responsibilities from the Department for Health. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) took over responsibility for all higher and further education and science policy, taking on the Government Office for Science, which by then included the Office of Science and Technology that had split off from DES in 1994.
In 2009, DIUS was merged with parts of the Department of Trade and Industry to form the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), but with no change in the scope of its education policy remit.
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2010) |
Education policy in Northern Ireland is run by the Northern Ireland Department of Education.
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2010) |
Education policy in Scotland has always been run on its own lines. Since devolution it has transferred from the defunct Scottish Office to the Scottish Executive.
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2010) |
Education policy in Wales was run as with that of England until devolution in 1998. Since then it has been run under the Welsh Assembly Government.
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to the area, thus granting them a higher level of autonomy.
There has not been a government of England since 1707 when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist as a sovereign state, as it merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of Great Britain continued from 1707 until 1801 when it merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which itself became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) in 1922 upon independence for most of the island of Ireland.
Further education in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It may be at any level in compulsory secondary education, from entry to higher level qualifications such as awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational, competency-based qualifications through awarding organisations including City and Guilds, Edexcel (BTEC) and OCR. FE colleges may also offer HE qualifications such as HNC, HND, foundation degree or PGCE. The colleges are also a large service provider for apprenticeships where most of the training takes place at the apprentices' workplace, supplemented with day release into college.
The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the education system as well as children's services in England.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, also referred to as the Health Secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
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Politics of England forms the major part of the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with England being more populous than all the other countries of the United Kingdom put together. As England is also by far the largest in terms of area and GDP, its relationship to the UK is somewhat different from that of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The English capital London is also the capital of the UK, and English is the dominant language of the UK. Dicey and Morris (p26) list the separate states in the British Islands. "England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark.... is a separate country in the sense of the conflict of laws, though not one of them is a State known to public international law." But this may be varied by statute.
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The department is run by the Secretary of State for Transport, currently, Mark Harper.
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The Department of Education (DENI) is a devolved Northern Irish government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister of Education.
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was a UK government department created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the Department of Education and Skills and of the Department of Trade and Industry. Its head office was based at Kingsgate House, 66-74 Victoria Street, London SW1, which has now been demolished. In June 2009 it was merged into the newly formed Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. It was responsible for adult learning, some parts of further education, higher education, skills, science and innovation.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). It was disbanded on the creation of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 14 July 2016.
The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education, apprenticeships, and wider skills in England.
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