Schools in Northern Ireland

Almost all public schooling in Northern Ireland is split along sectarian (Protestant/Catholic) lines.

Controlled (effectively Protestant) schools are owned by the state, but governed in accordance with the Church's ethos. Maintained (Catholic) schools are owned by trustees and the employment of teachers is controlled by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools. All running and capital costs are paid by the state.

There are a small number of Integrated Schools, which seek to offer a balanced curriculum without religious discrimination.

Controlled schools

Governance	Managed and funded by the Education Authority through school Boards of Governors. Primary and secondary school Board of Governors consist of representatives of transferors - mainly the Protestant churches - along with representatives of parents, teachers and the Education Authority. Controlled nursery, grammar and special school Board of Governors consist only of representatives of parents, teachers and the EA . There are no transferor governors.
Religious education	Must be ‘based on the Holy Scriptures’ of Christianity and taught in accordance with the core syllabus produced by the four main Christian churches. Only inspected at the request of the Board of Governors. Schools are legally obliged to give ministers of religion access to pupils to deliver RE.
Collective worship	Will be Christian by default but should be ‘undenominational’.
Relationships and sex education (RSE)	Must be taught ‘in harmony with the ethos of the school and reflect the moral and religious principles held by parents and school management authorities’.
Admissions	Although schools cannot select pupils on the basis of religion or belief, the majority of pupils are usually from Protestant families.
Staff/employment	Equality law exemptions allowing teachers to be employed and promoted on religious grounds abolished from 2024. However, the ability to employ teachers on religion or belief grounds of there is a ‘genuine occupational requirement’ will be retained.
Funding/capital	Funded by the Education Authority.

Maintained schools

The majority of maintained schools are Catholic. The table below applies to Catholic Maintained schools.

Governance	Managed by Boards of Governors nominated by trustees - mainly Catholic - along with parents, teachers and EA representatives. The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools is responsible managing the Catholic Maintained sector and is the employing authority for teachers in Catholic Maintained schools.
Religious education	Use their own faith-based programme which the Catholic Church argues is compliant with the core syllabus produced by the four main Christian churches. Only inspected at the request of the Board of Governors. Teachers who teach RE, including all primary teachers, must have the Catholic Certificate in Religious Education. Schools are legally obliged to give ministers of religion access to pupils to deliver RE.
Collective worship	In line with Catholicism.
Relationships and sex education (RSE)	Must be taught ‘in harmony with the ethos of the school and reflect the moral and religious principles held by parents and school management authorities’.
Admissions	Although schools do not generally select pupils on the basis of religion or belief, there is no explicit legal protection against this. Criteria favouring pupils whose family members previously attended the school tends to favour Catholic pupils.
Staff/employment	Equality law exemptions allowing teachers to be employed and promoted on religious grounds abolished from 2024. However, the ability to employ teachers on religion or belief grounds of there is a ‘genuine occupational requirement’ will be retained. Teachers who teach RE, including all primary teachers, must have the Catholic Certificate in Religious Education.
Funding/capital	The Catholic schools trustee service is funded by DE to provide support and advice to trustees on area planning.

Integrated schools

In integrated schools, pupils from Protestant and Catholic backgrounds are educated together in an inclusive approach. They aim to support, protect and advance an ethos of diversity, respect and understanding between those of different cultures and religious beliefs and of none, between those of different socio-economic backgrounds and between those of different abilities. Despite their high demand, there are still relatively few integrated schools in NI.

Governance	Managed by a Board of Governors consisting of trustees or foundation governors along with parents, teacher and Department of Education representatives.
Religious education	Must be taught in accordance with the core syllabus produced by the four main Christian churches. Only inspected at the request of the Board of Governors. Schools are legally obliged to give ministers of religion access to pupils to deliver RE.
Collective worship	Will be Christian by default but should be ‘undenominational’.
Relationships and sex education (RSE)	Must be taught ‘in harmony with the ethos of the school and reflect the moral and religious principles held by parents and school management authorities’.
Admissions	The purpose of these schools is to allow children from Catholic, Protestant and other backgrounds to come together with other traditions to improve their understanding of one another, their own cultures, religions and values. For this reason, integrated schools attempt to achieve a balanced intake of children from different backgrounds by aiming for 40% of pupils from Catholic families, 40% from Protestant families, and 20% from families of other religions and beliefs. Parents are therefore asked to provide their religion or belief as part of the application process.
Staff/employment	The Board of Governors is the employing authority and is responsible for the employment of staff. The school tries to employ teachers from a diverse range of backgrounds, similar to its approach to admissions. Equality law exemptions allowing teachers to be employed and promoted on religious grounds abolished from 2024. However, the ability to employ teachers on religion or belief grounds of there is a ‘genuine occupational requirement’ will be retained.
Funding/capital	The Department of Education has a legal duty to encourage integrated education. With funding from the Department, the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) promotes the strategic development of Integrated schools and provides advice and guidance to all Integrated schools, both Controlled and grant maintained.

Voluntary grammar schools

Depending on their management, grammar schools can be Catholic or non-denominational.

Governance	Managed by a Board of Governors, constituted in line with each school's scheme of management - usually representatives of foundation governors, parents, teachers, the Department of Education and in most cases Education Authority representatives.
Religious education	Controlled by the Board of Governors. Must be taught in accordance with the core syllabus produced by the four main Christian churches. Only inspected at the request of the Board of Governors. Schools are legally obliged to give ministers of religion access to pupils to deliver RE.
Collective worship	Catholic grammar schools conduct Catholic collective worship. In all other grammar schools, the collective worship should be ‘undenominational’.
Relationships and sex education (RSE)	Must be taught ‘in harmony with the ethos of the school and reflect the moral and religious principles held by parents and school management authorities’.
Admissions	Usually selective on academic ability. Although grammars do not generally select pupils on the basis of religion or belief, there is no explicit legal protection against this.
Staff/employment	The Board of Governors is the employing authority and is responsible for the employment of all staff in its school. Equality law exemptions allowing teachers to be employed and promoted on religious grounds abolished from 2024. However, the ability to employ teachers on religion or belief grounds of there is a ‘genuine occupational requirement’ will be retained.
Funding/capital	Vary in the rates of capital grant to which they are entitled depending on the management structure they have adopted, with the vast majority entitled to capital grants of 100 per cent. The Governing Bodies Association is funded by Department of Education to provide support and advice to Voluntary Grammar schools on area planning.

Independent schools

Independent schools, sometimes called "private" or (confusingly) "public" schools, are those which are not funded by the state. Most in Northern Ireland are Christian.

While the NSS does not oppose independent faith schools, we believe that all independent schools, whatever their ethos, should be fully compliant with the law and prioritise children's education and welfare above any religious considerations.

All independent schools must register with the Department of Education. Schools which fail to do this (unregistered schools) are breaking the law.

Governance	Independent in their governance.
Religious education	No legal requirement to teach RE, and those which do may teach any form they like. There is no legal right of withdrawal.
Collective worship	No legal requirement to hold collective worship, and those which do may hold it in any form they like. There is no legal right of withdrawal.
Relationships and sex education (RSE)	No legal requirement to teach RSE. There is no parental right of withdrawal where taught.
Admissions	The school can freely discriminate against pupils and their families on the basis of religion or belief, even when undersubscribed.
Staff/employment	There is no legal requirement for staff to have teaching qualifications. Equality law exemptions allowing teachers to be employed and promoted on religious grounds abolished from 2024. However, the ability to employ teachers on religion or belief grounds or there is a ‘genuine occupational requirement’ will be retained.
Funding/capital	Usually charge fees.