Every primary school in Northern Ireland now has a Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) Fund attached to its budget, and every school leader is asking a version of the same question: how do we spend it so that it actually changes something? Rather than a single inset day that’s forgotten by the following term, a growing number of schools are choosing professional learning that strengthens the curriculum itself, builds lasting expertise in staff and improves outcomes for children.
The timing makes this decision harder, not easier. The Strategic Review of the Northern Ireland Curriculum, published in June 2025, found a need for a clearer, more coherent and more specific curriculum, with stronger progression and a shared entitlement for pupils. The Department of Education is now consulting on the proposed Northern Ireland Curriculum 2028, with the consultation open until 30 September 2026 and a phased implementation for September 2028. For many school leaders, that raises an obvious worry: how do we prepare for curriculum change now, without creating unnecessary work later?
This is where the two questions meet. Spent well, TPL funding doesn’t just tick a professional development box this year. It can be the thing that gets your curriculum ready for what’s coming.
More than a consultant, and more than a curriculum
Cornerstones Education was created by primary leaders, for primary schools, and our Curriculum Professional Development Programme is built around that same principle. Schools don’t simply get access to a consultant, and they don’t simply get a curriculum. They get a curriculum with support for implementation and professional development of all staff. Implementing a new curriculum takes more than planning resources. It takes confidence, shared understanding, and ongoing professional learning so that every member of staff can deliver high-quality teaching. That’s why the programme is designed as a journey rather than a one-off purchase, with experienced curriculum advisers providing 1:1 online guidance at every stage.
That journey runs through four stages. It starts with Discover, where a free Curriculum Audit gives your school a personalised report on strengths and areas for development, followed by a conversation with a curriculum adviser to shape a clear, ambitious vision. Plan turns that vision into a curriculum model that fits your school’s context, whether that’s mixed-age classes or your own existing projects, alongside realistic timescales. Develop is where staff confidence is built through whole-school training, subject leader development and curriculum leadership coaching, because confident teachers deliver great curricula. Sustain keeps that improvement alive for the long term, with ongoing coaching, mentoring and curriculum updates so the change doesn’t fade once the initial training ends.
A curriculum built for where Northern Ireland is heading
The Cornerstones Curriculum for Northern Ireland has been mapped against Northern Ireland’s learning entitlements, giving schools a streamlined, manageable framework that already reflects the direction of the proposed Northern Ireland Curriculum 2028: knowledge at the heart of learning, clearly defined subject content, and structured sequences that show how learning progresses over time. Our curriculum reflects those same principles, with a strong focus on substantive and disciplinary knowledge, carefully sequenced learning, oracy and discussion, creativity and problem solving, sustainability, and diversity and representation, whilst still building the foundational ideas in each subject area before children move on to deeper learning.
This includes a complete progression of skills and knowledge across the primary curriculum, from the foundation stage to the end of primary education. Our coherent, sequenced content and resources support learning across subject areas, including history, geography, science, art & design, technology & design and much more.
Assessment that keeps pace with Northern Ireland’s own changes
Our platform, Maestro, brings planning, teaching, assessment and analysis together in one place, built around a comprehensive skills and knowledge progression framework. This matters more than ever as Northern Ireland moves towards a more coherent statutory assessment system. In April 2026, the Department of Education published its Policy Framework for Statutory Assessment, setting out a planned pathway from Year 1 to Year 10 that includes baseline, phonics, reading fluency, literacy, numeracy and multiplication checks. Maestro’s live formative assessment, alongside quizzes and tests, gives teachers a clear picture of what children know, understand and can do, without adding to their administrative workload.
As James Foxwell, Headteacher at Romanby Primary School, puts it: “I really like the fact that the assessment is tied in. We used a different assessment platform years ago. Maestro makes it simpler, having it all on one platform, and it is a big selling point for me when I’ve got a really tight budget. I can say that, instead of paying ยฃ6,000 for a tracking system and adopting a curriculum, it’s combined, a lot cheaper, and it’s value for money!”
Is this the right use of your TPL funding?
If your school is reviewing its curriculum, preparing for the changes ahead, developing subject leaders, or simply wanting greater staff confidence and consistency, and you’re looking for implementation support rather than another isolated training day, this is exactly the kind of investment the Teacher Professional Learning Fund was designed for.
The full TPL Funding NI Booklet sets out the complete checklist, walks through all four stages of the Curriculum Professional Development Programme in detail, and includes further examples of our curriculum in action.
To find out more, or book your free curriculum conversation at www.cornerstoneseducation.co.uk. You can also reach us on +44 (0) 3333 20 8000 or at enquiries@cornerstoneseducation.co.uk.