Curriculum Working Groups

Overview

The Department of Education is commencing a programme of curriculum reform.  This programme follows the Strategic Review of the Northern Ireland Curriculum  and the final report, “A Foundation for the Future: Developing Capabilities Through a Knowledge-Rich Curriculum in Northern Ireland”, which makes 21 recommendations and sets out the case for a new national curriculum framework, which is purpose-led, knowledge-rich, continuous and coherent, specific and focused, flexible and inclusive.

The Departmental response to the report was published on 9 July 2025 and sets out in detail how the Department will address the recommendations - including the establishment of a Curriculum Taskforce that will be responsible for designing the new statutory framework, developing an implementation strategy and recommending mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation. 

A key element of this Taskforce is a series of subject-specifc working groups, that will include a number of individuals including current teachers.  This opportunity relates to the appointment of teachers to these roles.  

Your privacy is important to the Department, and we will process your personal data in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 – General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  A copy of the Department’s Privacy Notice is available on our website www.education-ni.gov.uk.

Why your views matter

Teachers possess the knowledge of the subjects they teach. Throughout the Strategic Review of Education, many teachers, practitioners and educators provided valuable and insightful perspectives of their subjects, and it is clear that this contribution should continue in the redesign of the curriculum to ensure that this can be brought into the classroom.

Teachers and practitioners who apply to serve on these working groups will be instrumental in shaping the future of education in Northern Ireland by providing practical insights, contributing to the curriculum design, and ensuring that it aligns with real-world teaching and learning experiences.

The task is challenging. Contributing to the development of a new curriculum framework requires time, commitment and a willingness to engage in professional dialogue. Central is the ambition to create a “knowledge-rich” curriculum that provides learners with access to disciplined knowledge and builds deep understanding.

Members of working groups should adhere to the principles of curriculum reform, specifically that the new framework will be designed to be ‘knowledge-rich’ drawing on the coherent ‘powerful knowledge’ inherent in subject disciplines to ensure that the curriculum is coherent, cumulative and challenging.

In advance of the work commencing you may wish to read Hirsch (2016) Why  knowledge matters and Young and Lambert (2014) Knowledge and the Future School.