PRESS RELEASE : Secretary of State announces appointment of members to the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) [February 2024]

February 5, 2024 admin 2024, Northern Ireland Office, Press Release

The press release issued by the Northern Ireland Office on 2 February 2024.

The Secretary of State, Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP, has today announced the appointment members to CCEA.

The Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP, has today announced the appointment of Ms Jackie Bartley, Dr Michael Johnston MBE, Ms Sheila McClelland, Professor Susan Morison and Ms Maire Thompson as new members of the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment. In the absence of Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive, these appointments were made under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2022.

The new members took up post on 2 February 2024 and will join Mrs Paula Leitch who was re-appointed for a further term of four years on 26 October 2023.

These new members will bring a wealth of private and public sector experience to the CCEA Council. The successful candidates have extensive backgrounds in such areas as governance, strategic decision making, professional knowledge, analytical thinking and working with others. Their significant knowledge and skills will play a key role in underpinning the work of the Council.

Biography

Ms Jackie Bartley is currently Principal of St Genevieve’s High School, Belfast. She was a teacher for the past 33 years and a school leader for 13 years and has been a member of several Department of Education Practitioner Groups. She has been the post primary Chairperson of the National Executive of the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) and has recently taken up the role of President. Ms Bartley has a thorough knowledge of the curriculum and qualifications, was formerly a co-opted Principal CCEA Council member and has worked closely with the CCEA Director of Education and her Team. She does not hold any other public appointments.

Dr Michael Johnston MBE is a former Chief Executive of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland. He is a former visiting Professor to the Ulster University Business School and Chairman of CAFRE’s College Advisory Group, a former Board member of the European Milk Forum and former Chairman of the International Dairy Federation’s Standing Committee on Marketing. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Dr Johnston is a Board member of Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health. He does not hold any other public appointments.

Ms Sheila McClelland is currently Chief Executive of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and is a Board member of Cooperation Ireland and a member of the Governing Body of Maynooth University. She was previously Director of Corporate Services at CCEA and was Chairperson of the Board of the Consumer Council (CCNI), a Board member of NI Co-operation Overseas (NICO) and was a NI committee member on the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Ms McClelland holds one other public appointment as a Board member of the Communities Relations Council for which she receives no remuneration.

Professor Susan Morison is Professor Emeritus and Honorary Professor of Healthcare Education at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). Formerly she was Director of Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Education, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Deputy Director of the QUB Dental School and Director of the DEL-funded, Centre for Excellence in Interprofessional Education (IPE). As Honorary Professor she undertakes unremunerated activities for QUB including PhD supervision, admissions interviews and contributes to healthcare education research projects. She has also been an Education Associate of the General Dental Council and served on a number of education-related committees. Professor Morison does not hold any other public appointments.

Ms Máire Thompson is currently principal of Hazelwood Integrated College. Newtownabbey, and formerly principal of Malone College, Belfast. She is an Associate Assessor with the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) and an Associate of the Association of Education Advisers (AoEA). She is a member of various educational stakeholder groups, including the CCEA Curriculum and Assessment Principals’ Group, the Excluded Lives Advisory Group and the A Fair Start Stakeholders’ Reference Group. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for services to Education by Ulster University in 2022, the same year that Hazelwood College won TES UK School of the Year. She was awarded the Pearson UK Principal of the Year in 2017. Ms Thompson does not hold any other public appointments.

Mrs Paula Leitch is a former Assistant Principal of the Belfast Model School for Girls and former member of the Belfast Education and Library Board. She is currently a Director of the Controlled Schools’ Support Council and a member of Stranmillis College Board.

Details of body

CCEA is a non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department of Education and is responsible for keeping under review all aspects of the curriculum, examinations and assessment for schools including developing, conducting and moderating qualifications and assessments, and developing resources to support the implementation of the curriculum. Further information about the work of the organisation can be found at www.ccea.org.uk.

Terms Of Appointment

The five new appointments will be from the date of appointment until 25 October 2027. The time commitment is approximately 2 days per month. Members are not remunerated but are eligible to claim travel and other expenses necessarily incurred while carrying out their CCEA duties. They are non-pensionable.

The one re-appointment commenced on 26 October 2023 until 25 October 2027.

Regulation

In the absence of Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive, these appointments have been made under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2022, and in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland (CPANI) Code of Practice.

Political Activity

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published. Ms Bartley, Dr Johnston MBE, Ms McClelland, Ms Maire Thompson and Ms Paula Leitch have not declared any political activity in the last five years. Professor Susan Morison has declared that during the last five years she has undertaken political activity as Woman’s Officer for the Labour Party in Northern Ireland (LPNI) from April 2023 to January 2024.

Notes to Editors

The Council’s membership comprises a Chairperson and 13 members all of whom are appointed by the Department of Education.
The recruitment competition was widely advertised including in the Public Appointments section of NI Direct. The competition was sought to fill vacancies on the Council.
Media queries should be directed to the Department of Education press office via email at press.office@education-ni.gov.uk
The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.