In 2022, we hosted design thinking workshops as part of a Nuffield Foundation project on advancing leadership development in the UK early years (EY) sector. Workshop participants asked us to do some research on the similarities and differences between the four nations. In a series of blogposts, we will discuss the key features of the leadership development landscape in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We aim to offer a snapshot of what each nation does when it comes to supporting leadership in EY and how they do it. While each nation refers to EY in their own ways, we use the term ‘EY’ throughout our blogposts in order to simplify the dialogue.

In this article, we consider three features of Northern Ireland’s EY leadership development landscape:

1. Qualifications required by EY leaders
2. How professional learning is supported in Northern Ireland
3. The future of leadership development in Northern Ireland

Qualifications required by EY leaders

The Northern Irish government requires EY leaders to achieve a Level 5 Diploma in Children’s Care, Learning and Development (Management). While this is the minimum requirement, leaders are also encouraged to achieve degree level qualifications such as a Bachelors or Masters degree in Early Childhood Studies.

The level 5 qualification is offered by local further education colleges across Northern Ireland as well as by sector bodies and training agencies. The Northern Council for Further Education, or the NCFE, is one of the bodies that provides this training. They expect programme participants to have leadership responsibilities upon entry as well as a level 3 qualification. Local councils provide funding to support EY leaders as they pursue this qualification.

How professional learning is supported in Northern Ireland

Early Years- The Organisation for Young Children is the main EY sector body in Northern Ireland. They currently deliver non-accredited leadership courses for EY leaders such as Recruitment and Selection of Early Years Staff and Support and Supervision of Early Years Staff. In the past, they delivered courses called Leadership and Outcomes, Compassionate Leadership, and Leading Resilience. These courses provide support for EY leaders by developing key leadership and management skills.

Additionally, some local council schemes provide funding for general leadership learning that EY leaders can participate in. While the training is not tailored specifically to EY leadership, the leadership skills taught are transferable to the EY sector.

The future of leadership development in Northern Ireland

The Northern Irish government is in the midst of undertaking several reviews that will impact the EY sector as a whole, including EY leadership development. The government is developing a new early learning and care strategy, creating a clear vision for the future of EY in Northern Ireland.  Moreover, the Strategic Planning and Performance Group are conducting a qualification audit and the government is undertaking a review of the qualifications needed to teach in government funded preschool programmes. The professional development of EY leaders will play a key part in this as decisions about qualifications are made.

Additionally, Early Years- The Organisation for Young Children recently published a strategic plan for their organisation for the years 2022-2026. They flagged continuous professional development for EY professionals as a priority within this strategy, showing that this will be a key focus over the next four years. Therefore, there may be more professional learning for EY leaders available in the near future.

Sharing learning

As we share learning across the four nations, we want to encourage your contributions in the comments below.

• Is this an accurate portrait of Northern Ireland?
• What have we captured well and what are we missing? How does Northern Ireland compare to your national context? What would you like to emulate or learn from?
• What are you taking away about leadership development?