Quality and Standards in Human Services in Ireland - the NESC ...

STAKEHOLDER RESPONSIBILITIES 26The Education Act 1998 sets out the responsibilities of three stakeholder groupswho are individually and collectively responsible for the setting and achievement ofstandards and accountability in primary and post-primary education in Ireland: (i)the Department of Education and Science, in particular the Inspectorate Division; (ii)Boards of Management (BOMs) and Patrons of Schools; and (iii) the NationalCouncil for Curriculum and Assessment.The maintenance of standards 12 and accountability in individual primary and postprimaryschools is central to the achievement of education policy in Ireland. TheEducation Act 1998 delineates the responsibility of the Minister for Education andSkills with regard to quality assurance within the education system generally. Inparticular, Section 13 of the Act specifies the role of the Inspectorate Division of theDepartment of Education and Skills. Section 14 of the Act clearly identifies theresponsibilities of primary and post-primary school BOMs in the achievement ofstandards and accountability.The following section outlines the roles and responsibilities of a number of sectionswithin the DES, in particular the role of the Inspectorate Division, school BOM, theNational Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and the Teaching Council,with regard to the achievement of standards and accountability in the Irish schoolsystem.3.1 Department of Education and SkillsAs stated previously, the DES has overall responsibility for education policy and forthe administration of the education system in Ireland. The following sectionsdescribe several key sections/divisions within the Department who haveresponsibilities in relation to the achievement of standards and accountability inIrish schools. For the purposes of this report the role and responsibilities of theInspectorate Division is elaborated in more detail than the other sections/divisionsin light of its engagement and interaction with schools, teachers, pupils, parents andBOMs through a range of monitoring, inspection and evaluation arrangements.12Educational standards has a meaning quite separate to the use of the term in other sectors and services.Generally, in education, the term is taken to mean the levels of achievement attained by learners, which is onlyone indicator of system quality.