Curriculum
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The Northern Ireland Curriculum was introduced in 2007 and covers all 12 years of compulsory education. It's a curriculum that focuses on the learning process and learners' needs, as well as their knowledge, understanding and skills.
The curriculum offers flexibility and specifies a minimum entitlement for all pupils. Schools have considerable scope to tailor this entitlement and to provide learning opportunities adapted to their own context and their pupils' needs.
Watch the short video below to find out more.
Where a child reaches the age of 4 on or between 1 September and 1 July, the child will usually start school at the beginning of the next school year.
Where a child reaches the age of 4 on or between 2 July and 31 August in the same calendar year, the child will start school in the September following their fifth birthday.
This means that children born in July, August and September are the oldest in the year group whereas those born in April, May and June are the youngest. Children who are the youngest in the class are sometimes called Young for Year children.
The School Age (Northern Ireland) Bill 2022 allows the parents/ guardians of Young for Year children to defer the start of pre-school and, in turn, primary school for their child for one year. If the child defers prior to starting pre-school, they will then start pre-school in September following their 4th birthday and primary school in September following their 5th birthday.
Deferral of primary school starting age is available on parental request to any child born between 1 April and 1 July and to any child due to be born after 1 April but born before this date. Deferral does not require an educational assessment.
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There are five compulsory key stages.
| Stage | Ages | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-School (not compulsory) | 3 - 4 | For children in the year before they start Year 1 |
| Foundation Stage | 4 - 6 | Years 1 & 2 |
| Key Stage 1 | 6 - 8 | Years 3 & 4 |
| Key Stage 2 | 8 - 11 | Years 5, 6 & 7 |
| Key Stage 3 | 11 - 14 | Years 8, 9 & 10 |
| Key Stage 4 | 14 - 16 | Years 11 & 12 |
You can select one of the stages above for a relevant overview and The Big Picture of the Curriculum.
Alternatively, for full details of the curriculum for primary schools, see The Northern Ireland Curriculum: Primary.
For full details of the curriculum for Key Stage 3, see the Statutory Curriculum at Key Stage 3: Rationale and Detail.
You can also view the key legislation behind the curriculum (statutory rule 46, 2007) at The Education (Curriculum Minimum Content) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 and other statutory documents in the Legislation and Circulars section.
