Integrated education in Northern Ireland refers to the bringing together of children, parents and teachers from both Catholic and Protestant traditions in childhood education: the aim being to provide a balanced education, while allowing the opportunity to understand and respect all cultural and religious backgrounds.

History

In 2017 the Northern Ireland government commissioned a report to detail the development of Integrated Education, so as to decide on structures and processes to support the effective planning, growth and development of a more integrated education system, with a framework of viable and sustainable schools.

Since 1974 the All Children Together (ACT) movement had been lobbying against the segregation in schools in Northern Ireland. The Education (Northern Ireland) Act, 1978 (Dunleath Act) contained a provision that allowed existing schools to transform to integrated status, but none succeeded.

By 1987, there were seven newly established integrated schools, and Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) was formed as a charitable organisation to co-ordinate efforts to develop integrated education, and to support parent groups through the process of opening new schools.

The Alliance, Sinn Fein, SDLP, Green Party and People Before Profit all supported the bill, whilst the DUP and UUP did not. The Act requires the Education Authority to assess demand for integrated education.

The act was described as being "imprecise".

The act requires the Department to increase the number of integrated school places and set targets for the number of children being educated in them.

The department published the first report under the act in 2024. The report described increasing the numbers of places in oversubscribed integrated schools and also described a "Call for Transformation" scheme to allow existing schools to formally become integrated. He said that schools had been "let down" after 10 building projects had their funding withdrawn after £150 million was reallocated in HM Treasury's £3.3 billion financial package for the restoration of the power-sharing executive.

Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education

The Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE), a voluntary organisation, promotes, develops and supports integrated education in Northern Ireland.

NICIE’s Statement of Principles go beyond just the education of Protestant and Catholic children in a single building. NICIE aims to create a shared ethos and environment that welcomes and that celebrates all traditions. Schools should have a mixed staff, board of governors and pupils. It celebrates inclusion and fosters creativity in schools. It fosters "an environment where governors, staff, parents – and, in age-appropriate ways, pupils – can engage with social, political and religious debates explicitly and in a sharing and inclusive way." with 95% of pupils attending either a maintained (Catholic) school or a controlled school (mostly Protestant, but open to all faiths and none), both funded by the state by varying amounts. In addition there is pressure to open more Irish medium schools, where in 2007 there was surplus of places in existing schools. The churches in Northern Ireland have not been involved in the development of integrated schools. Integrated schools have been established by the voluntary efforts of parents.

Current situation

The first integrated school, Lagan College, was established in Belfast in 1981, in 1985, three more integrated schools opened in Belfast. , there were 65 integrated schools comprising 20 post-primary colleges and 45 primary schools. 27 are Controlled Integrated. Existing controlled schools voted to ‘transform’ and 38 are Grant-Maintained Integrated, new schools, created by the local parents, the last of which, Rowandale Integrated Primary School in Moira, County Down, was established in 2008.

In March 2022, the Integrated Education Bill was passed.

Criticisms

Integrated schools were sometimes criticised as being "middle-class" or accused of "social engineering". Then Monsignor Denis Faul criticised integrated education, insisting that Catholic parents were required by canon law to send their children to Catholic schools and also claimed the schools were a "dirty political trick" inspired by the British Government. Speaking out against integrated education, the Free Presbyterian Church described it as a "front for ecumenism and the secular lobby".

In July 2021, John O'Dowd said during the second stage debates of the Integrated Education Bill that while integrated schools promote inclusivity "there's only one or very few play Gaelic games. There's none promote the Irish language. I will correct myself: I think that there is one. The identity in it is not neutral - in many of them it is British." He also said "You can pay homage to the Crown but to no-one else".

See also

  • List of integrated schools in Northern Ireland
  • Education in Northern Ireland
  • Segregation in Northern Ireland
  • Educate Together

References

  • Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education
  • Integrated Education Fund
  • Conflict Archive on the Internet - Education in Northern Ireland