To ask the Minister of Education whether his Department has the power to direct a school that uses admissions criteria not in keeping with DE Circular 2022/15.

The power to set admissions criteria lies solely with the Boards of Governors (BoGs) of individual schools and does not lie with my department. My department does, however, in accordance with Article 16B of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, issue guidance on the transfer process, including on the type of admissions criteria that are recommended and that are not recommended. Article 16B (3) requires BoGs to “have regard to” this guidance, however, as adherence to my department’s recommended admissions criteria is not compulsory, it would not be appropriate to direct a school to change its admissions criteria simply because they depart from those that are recommended.

It should be noted that the latest version of the DE Circular 2022/15 is Circular 2024/18.