Integrated Education Fund

Influential figures from the world of business, commerce and civic society joined wellknown faces in calling for a better future for all our young people. TV presenters Andrea Catherwood and Eamonn Holmes, stage and screen stars Geraldine Hughes and Joanna Lumley, celebrated comedian Frank Carson and former world snooker champion Denis Taylor added their names to an open letter which  attracted plenty of attention when it was published in the three daily Northern Ireland papers in September. Altogether 75 people issued a respectful but urgent request for a radical rethink of our education system.

Baroness May Blood, Campaign Chair of the IEF says “Many influential people have been more than willing to add their voices to a call for a commission to look at education in Northern Ireland. We in the Integrated education Movement want to see a system which encourages and rewards cross-cultural learning and sharing. We are calling on the Executive, and all the MLAs, to make education reform a priority for the sake of all our futures.”

Other names on the list include Trevor Ringland and Brian Friel as well as prominent business leaders and the Institute of Directors.

The next step is to show the politicians how strongly the general public is behind the campaign. We know from this year’s Ipsos MORI Attitudinal Survey, and the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, that the majority of people would support more sharing and integration in schools. Anyone who supports the aims set out in the open letter can add their name to the list. We have set up a dedicated microsite giving more information and with the facility to sign up: www.oneschoolofthought.org.uk

Take a look, read the letter carefully, and add your name. We want to re-present the letter to the Assembly showing the depth and strength of public support for education reform.

Getting involved is very simple: click, read and sign. Log on to www.oneschoolofthought.org.uk and read the open letter which kicked off the campaign, the comments from supporters, and our plan of action. Then, to join the campaign, just add your name, email address and postcode on the Get Involved page.

If you feel you can do more, the easiest action is to share the link with all your email contacts and ask them to sign up.

You can also write to your local politicians urging them to act on the wishes of voters who support more integration and meaningful sharing for our young people. If you want to organise a local meeting to discuss the best way forward for schools in your area, the IEF can help.

It’s simple – the more people get involved, the more the Assembly and the Executive have to take notice.

The One School Of Thought campaign calls on our politicians, as a matter of priority, to reach consensus on growing an education system fit for the 21st century in which all children learn and are taught together in their local schools.

Pledge your support for the campaign online today at www.oneschoolofthought.org.uk