News

ESA Bill to receive second reading - (28/11/08)
Following its introduction to the Assembly on Tuesday 25 November the second reading of the ESA Bill has been scheduled for 8 December 2008. This will take the form of an Assembly debate...

ESA Bill passes first stage - (26/11/08)
The Education Minister Caitríona Ruane has introduced legislation to the Northern Ireland Assembly to establish the Education and Skills Authority (ESA) in January 2010...

January 2010 is new date for ESA - (21/11/08)
Education Minister Caitríona Ruane has confirmed that the Education and Skills Authority (ESA) will be set up on 1 January 2010...

RPA News now online - (18/11/08)
The latest edition of RPA News, published jointly by DE and ESAIT has now been issued and is available online. Among the areas covered in this edition are...

Every child should have access to an excellent education - (14/11/08)
On Wednesday 12 November, ESA Chief Executive (Designate) Gavin Boyd addressed the annual conference of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. This year's...

Next phase of workshops set for end Nov/early Dec - (10/11/08)
Invitations have now issued to the education sector organisations for a series of ESA workshops on future service delivery models, to run from 28 November to 18 December...

Transition Board holds October meeting - (03/11/08)
The ESA Transition Board met on Monday 13 October at ESAIT’s Forestview headquarters. The Board is chaired by Gavin Boyd and comprises John McGrath...

Minister sets out commitment to ESA at ANIELB conference - (17/10/08)
At this year's Association of Northern Ireland Education and Library Boards (ANIELB) conference the Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane, spoke about the key...

Research into staff experiences of the RPA in Health published - (14/10/08)
In early 2008, the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister funded independent research...

New recruits to ESAIT - (03/10/08)
At the beginning of October two new colleagues joined the Financial Planning Project in the ESA Implementation Team (ESAIT)...

Working together to make it better for every learner - (02/10/08)
ESA Chief Executive Designate Gavin Boyd has addressed the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)...

Latest ESAIT Update now online - (01/10/08)
The October edition of ESAIT Update has the latest information on areas such as location, structures and HR issues. The Update has now been circulated to the...

Bain publishes independent report on location of public sector jobs - (30/09/08)
Professor Sir George Bain has today published his report into future policy in relation to public sector jobs. In his report he recommends a pool of...

Gavin Boyd addresses Principals of Integrated Schools - (23/09/08)
On Tuesday 23 September, ESA Chief Executive Designate Gavin Boyd, had the opportunity to address Principals of Integrated schools at their annual conference in the Hilton...

Area-based planning consultation - (11/07/08)
Since the announcement regarding the Review of Public Administration (RPA) in November 2005, the Department of Education (DE) has been consulting with stakeholders...

New recruits to ESAIT - (07/07/08)
In recent weeks two new colleagues have joined the ESA Implementation Team (ESAIT)...

Designing ESA - feedback from workshops - (02/07/08)
During May and June ESAIT undertook 24 workshops involving 350 senior and middle managers from across the education sector...

Issue 1 of RPA News now online - (26/06/08)
The first issue of a news letter aimed at keeping a wide range of stakeholders up to date on the RPA in education has now been issued by the Department...

Communication action plan published - (17/06/08)
In early April staff from across the education sector organisations gave us their views on the effectiveness of ESAIT communications. The survey results highlighted...

School Governors give views on ESA - (13/06/08)
On 15 April and 21 May, school governors from across Northern Ireland attended conferences in the Hilton and the Killyhevlin hotels. Gavin Boyd was in attendance and...

Latest ESAIT Update now online - (29/05/08)
The May edition of the ESAIT Update has now been distributed to education sector organisations and is also available to download. This month’s edition includes latest news on...

New recruits to ESAIT - (23/05/08)
In recent weeks four new colleagues have joined the ESA Implementation Team (ESAIT)...

An education service managed regionally & delivered locally - (22/05/08)
On Thursday 22 May, ESA Chief Executive (Designate) Gavin Boyd was the key note speaker at the Ulster Teachers' Union Leadership Conference. Gavin took the opportunity...

The role of ESA in education reform - (15/05/08)
In an address to post-primary principals, ESA Chief Executive (Designate), Gavin Boyd, has set out how ESA will play its part in the process of education reform in the coming...

Gavin Boyd briefs Joint Consultative Forum - (13/05/08)
ESA Chief Executive (Designate) Gavin Boyd has briefed the Joint Consultative Forum on managing the change to the new organisation. Gavin also updated the group on the current...

Summary findings from communications research now online - (12/05/08)
From 31 March – 11 April 2008, the Central Survey Unit (CSU) of the Department of Finance and Personnel, on behalf of ESAIT, carried out a communications survey across the education RPA...

Workshops signal key phase in developing ESA - (02/05/08)
We are now entering a very important stage in the run up to the establishment of the Education and Skills Authority (ESA) in April 2009. As part of our change management...

Minister makes the case for change - (02/05/08)
In an article first published in the Belfast Telegraph on Tuesday 29 April, Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane sets out why she believes the creation of the...

ESA Transition Board holds first meeting - (01/05/08)
A top priority for the coming year is to take forward convergence activities and ensure a successful transition to the new Education and Skills Authority (ESA) while...

Staff at CCEA and CCMS updated on ESA implementation - (29/04/08)
At separate events on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 April, ESA Chief Executive (Designate) Gavin Boyd had the opportunity to talk to and take questions from staff in CCEA and CCMS...

Central governance role stressed at ICT Programme Board - (29/04/08)
The Board has been set up to oversee the funding and development of all major current and planned ICT projects across the education sector and ensure they meet the requirements of the new organisation...

Preparing Together for ESA – Launch Event 4th April 2008 - (07/04/08)
ESAIT is about to commence an extensive programme of engagement with senior and middle managers across the education sector. On 4th April, a launch event was held entitled ‘Preparing Together for ESA’...

Progress update from ESAIT – March 2008 - (07/03/08)
As the pace of change builds towards the implementation of ESA in April 2009, making sure all staff have access up to date and accurate information is increasingly important...

Central role for ESA in area based planning - (05/03/08)
In a statement to the Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday 4 March, Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane, confirmed the “central role” the Education and Skills Authority will play in area...

February briefing for ELB Chief Executives - (05/03/08)
At their latest meeting with ELB Chief Executives, Gavin Boyd and Will Haire covered areas such as change management, convergence and the legislation for ESA...

Gavin Boyd briefs Education Committee on progress - (22/02/08)
On Friday 22 February, ESA Chief Executive (Designate) Gavin Boyd joined colleagues from the Department of Education to brief members of the Northern Ireland Assembly Education Committee on progress...

ESAIT recruitment - location and travel expenses - (20/02/08)
Feedback to date has suggested that it would be helpful for potential candidates if additional clarification is provided around two related issues of location and travel expenses...

Minister announces funding for establishment of ESA - (14/02/08)
Education Minister Caitríona Ruane has announced she has secured £50 million to take forward the establishment of the Education and Skills Authority over the next three years...

January Briefing for ELB Chief Executives - (08/02/08)
Gavin Boyd and Will Haire joined the ELB Chief Executives at their monthly meeting on 14 January 2008 to provide an update on the RPA in education...    

Minister announces working groups on Education Quality and Children’s Services - (05/02/08)
In her statement to Chairpersons of the education sector organisations on 16 January, the Minister for Education, Caitríona Ruane, asked DE....

ESA confirmed in final Programme for Government - (04/02/08)
The creation of the Education and Skills Authority has been confirmed in the recently agreed Northern Ireland Executive Programme for Government 2008-11. Set out under the...

Engaging on change - next steps - (01/02/08)
Following on from his briefing to Chairpersons, Gavin Boyd has written to Chief Executives of the education sector organisations to set out the way forward on managing the change to ESA...

Guidance set out on decisions for the location of ESA jobs - (24/01/08)
The ESA Implementation Team has written to Chief Executives of the education sector RPA affected organisations to clarify the process by which future decisions will be made...

Presentation to General Teaching Council - (23/01/08)
On Friday 18 January Gavin Boyd met with the Council of GTC Northern Ireland to brief them on progress towards the Education and Skills Authority (ESA). During his presentation Mr Boyd set out the priorities...

Meetings of the Consultative Group for Financial and Accounting Systems project - (21/01/08)
Members and representatives of the Consultative Group have held two meetings to discuss the Financial and Accounting Systems project...

Setting the standard for an excellent service – ESA Competency Framework published - (18/01/08)
The Education and Skills Authority (ESA) will provide an excellent education service to enable all young people to reach their full potential...