Education Minister has announced the independent
panel to undertake the Review of Baseline School Funding Provided
Through the Common Funding Formula (CFF).
The panel has been established by the Minister to assess the
Baseline School Funding that schools require to operate
effectively and to determine if the funding currently
allocated to schools is sufficient to meet their basic needs. The
panel will also consider the merits of different funding models
for teaching costs.
The three members appointed by the Minister are: Chairperson –
, Members – Dr Eemer Eivers and
Edwin Barr.
Welcoming the establishment of the panel, Education Minister
said, “I am pleased to
announce the appointment of the independent panel who will take
forward this important review of Baseline School
Funding.
“Ensuring that the Common Funding Formula distributes the
available funding as effectively as possible for the benefit of
all pupils is a key priority. I am confident that the panel
members have a breadth of expertise and experience needed to make
a meaningful difference to the current funding model.
“I encourage everyone to support the work of the panel
and I look forward to the valuable insights this review will
bring.”
The appointments to the panel are as follows:
(Chairperson)- Peter finished his Civil Service
career in April 2025 as Permanent Secretary in the Department of
Health. He had previously been Permanent Secretary in the
Departments of Justice, Infrastructure and Culture, Arts and
Leisure. Peter's other public service roles included leading
major change programmes to enable the creation of Northern
Ireland Water and the devolution of justice and policing. He
also served as Principal Private Secretary to the Deputy First
Minister in the first Assembly after the signing of the Good
Friday Agreement.
Dr Eemer Eivers – Eemer is a research consultant
who specialises in evaluation, educational assessment and policy.
For over 10 years, she led the Republic of Ireland's
participation in international large-scale assessments such as
PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), PIRLS
(Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) and TIMSS
(Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). In
Northern Ireland, she was part of the independent panel that
conducted the last major review of the Common Funding Scheme and
prior to that she was a member of the Literacy and Numeracy
Taskforce. She has worked extensively with Malta's Education
Ministry and helped develop much of their very successful
national strategy to reduce early school leaving. She is also a
Board member of the Museum of Childhood Ireland, an all-island
charity.
Edwin Barr – Edwin graduated with a BA(Hons) at
Queen's University Belfast and completed a PGCE in primary
education at Stranmillis College. During his teaching career, he
attained a Diploma in the Advanced Study of Education and a
further Post-Graduate Certificate in Technology Education. He
also achieved the Professional Qualification in Headship. Edwin
has 35 years' experience in primary education as a teacher and
school leader. He served as Principal of Donaghadee Primary
School for 21 years leading a successful team in further school
improvement projects. Serving as an Associate Assessor for
several years, he worked with the Education and Training
Inspectorate in primary school inspections throughout Northern
Ireland.
The panel members have been commissioned to undertake the review
and report to the Minister by the end of November 2025.
Notes to editors:
1. The terms of reference for the Panel can be accessed
at: www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/review-baseline-school-funding-provided-through-common-funding-formula-panel-terms-reference
