AQW 28135/22-27


Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford


Tabled Date: 04/06/2025
Answered On Date: 09/06/2025
Priority Written: Yes


Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for an update on the number of children with a statement of special educational need awaiting a school placement for the start of the 2025-26 academic year.


Answer:
Climate change and sustainable development are topics which are already covered at every level within the current Northern Ireland Curriculum.
In addition, in November 2023, my Department commissioned the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) to greater embed sustainability and climate change education into the current curriculum by undertaking a Climate Change and Green Growth Project. Key achievements to date include:
A Climate Change Expert Group has been established comprising experts and stakeholders from the Department of Education, the Department for the Economy, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Keeping Northern Ireland Beautiful, Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University, and practitioners and other experts in this field.
The development of a Sustainability Hub, available on CCEA’s website, to provide information and support for teachers, stakeholders and young people.
The development of four videos which can be used to encourage discussion and critical reflection on the nature and role of Education for Sustainable Development across the curriculum.
Members of the expert group also analysed a sample of CCEA qualifications to identify to what extent sustainability matters are covered in the specifications and assess the scope for further embedding of climate change, green growth and sustainability concepts.
More broadly, the findings of the independent Strategic Review of the Northern Ireland Curriculum have just been published. The report identifies significant weaknesses in the current curriculum, which had not been formally reviewed in over 17 years. It recommends that my Department develops a new curriculum framework for Northern Ireland which has greater specificity about the important knowledge, concepts and skills that children should learn at each stage of their education. I have established a Curriculum Taskforce to lead on this work who will work collaboratively with educators across Northern Ireland to translate the review’s recommendations into a practical, ambitious curriculum framework.