Welcome to OCR Policy’s dedicated Northern Ireland page. This page looks at where government education policies in Northern Ireland differ to those in England and what this means for schools, colleges and OCR qualifications.
The Entitlement Framework is at the heart of Northern Ireland's Department of Education (DE) and Department for the Economy (DfE) 14 to 19 education policy. It aims to provide access for all students to a broad and balanced curriculum that enables them to reach their full potential, regardless of which school they attend or where they live.
A list of the OCR qualifications - GCSEs, A Levels, Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals - that can be used in the delivery of the Entitlement Framework is available to download. This list is updated annually.
Only the listed qualifications are approved for use in schools in Northern Ireland and it is the responsibility of schools to check that approvals are in place before any course is offered to students.
If schools wish to offer a qualification that does not appear on the current list, they can seek approval from the Department of Education.
Redeveloped Cambridge Nationals for first teach September 2022 will not be offered in Northern Ireland.
As part of of a wide-ranging review, the Department for Education in England is withdrawing funding approval for a range of key stage 5 vocational qualifications which do not feature any external exam component.
In all cases, there are alternative versions of these qualifications, which do include external examinations and continue to be funded in England and appear on England’s 16 to 19 performance tables.
However, as Northern Ireland has devolved administration arrangements, decisions to remove funding approval in England do not affect the availability of these qualifications in other parts of the UK.
All of OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical qualifications continue to be made available in Northern Ireland. Qualification review dates are summarised in the summary brochure.
We will continue to keep you informed of any changes we make regarding the impact of the Department for Education’s post–16 reforms, and Level 3 qualifications offered in Northern Ireland.
We have a range of events and materials for you to book or download.
We are committed to supporting our centres in Northern Ireland. We have recently held a 14 to 19 curriculum event to meet with centres delivering our qualifications. The event attracted over 40 schools and colleges, providing the opportunity to hear about policy changes in England and the impact on Northern Ireland curriculum delivery.
Where can I find more information on Northern Ireland-related matters?
Call our contact support centre on 02476 851509 or email on vocational.qualifications@ocr.org.uk and we will be happy to answer your queries.