“Our curriculum review is not a ‘copy and paste’ from England,” senior Northern Ireland civil servant tells Assembly members
The Parliament buildings, Stormont, seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Image: iStock/Getty Images.
“Knowledge-rich” reforms are drawing support from across the political spectrum internationally, committee told.
A senior civil servant overseeing far-reaching reforms of Northern Ireland’s education system faced criticism yesterday that they were overly influenced by Conservative initiatives from England, but hit back to deny the claims.
Suzanne Kingon, director of investment and infrastructure at Northern Ireland’s Department of Education (DE), told the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Education that its “TransformED” reform programme had been “designed in Northern Ireland, for Northern Ireland”.
The response came after Ms Kingon faced scepticism from committee members from Sinn Fein and Alliance about the level of philosophical and personnel influence on the process from England, one quoting from Education Uncovered’s reporting of these developments last week.
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By Warwick Mansell for EDUCATION UNCOVERED
Published: 11 December 2025
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