Case Studies

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“It’s a gradual process, an evolving process. You move slowly and you take people with you – when things are ready to change, they change…”

Principal, Transforming Post-Primary School.

WHAT BEING INTEGRATED MEANS IN ONE URBAN, MEDIUM SIZED, CONTROLLED INTEGRATED COLLEGE.

At this controlled integrated college the Board of Governors, whole school staff and pupils all believe in integration in practice. A core aim of the school community is to make every effort to help pupils feel comfortable about difference, to celebrate the diversity within the staff and pupil body and employ such diversity as a positive resource.

The plurality of the communities which make up the local area is reflected at any given time in the school population. Integration for the school means all communities, all nationalities, all abilities and all socio-economic backgrounds working and learning together. There is a Staff Integration committee which explores new ways to celebrate the diversity of faith and cultural identities within the school community.

That the college is integrated can be felt throughout the school and is successfully conveyed through displays of pupil work and school policies. The ethos is reflected in the pastoral care provided, curricular and extra-curricular activities offered and regular whole school events and initiatives which celebrate local and world-wide religious and cultural diversity. In addition, the college library and other resources are multi culturally inclusive. Governors, teaching and non-teaching staff are provided with additional, specific training in order to support the delivery of the integrated ethos.

 


“We have always been a very friendly school, and fairly mixed. The idea of transformation to integrated status was to formalise this, to make the school known more widely as a school for all sections of the community.”
Parent Governor, Transformed Primary School

 

HOW IT ALL BEGAN FOR ONE RURAL, MEDIUM SIZED, CONTROLLED INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL.

The process was initiated by the school Board of Governors and lasted nearly two years. During this period much of the work focussed on discussing the transformation option, sharing information about what this would mean for everyone involved and ultimately asking the parents to vote on the proposal to transform.

During this time the school Board of Governors hosted a number of meetings for all the key stakeholders. The school Principal held a seminar for the governors and the whole school staff as well as an information evening for the governors, whole school staff and all the parents who were addressed by representatives from NICIE, the school’s ELB and an existing integrated primary school. The school Principal then held a further information session for governors, the whole school staff and parents. Following these meetings and some further informal discussions with a range of stakeholders the Board of Governors unanimously resolved to hold a ballot for the parents to vote on the governors’ proposal to transform to controlled integrated status.

The ballot result was positive and the Board of Governors then submitted their Development Proposal for transformation to their ELB. In the Proposal the school outlined the rationale behind their decision which included that the school was originally established as a non-denominational school to educate children of all religions. The culture of trust, with respect for other people’s beliefs, ideas and traditions was already embedded in the school’s ethos. In transforming to integrated status, the governors believed that the school would be returning to its original purpose: integrated education for the children of the village and the greater surrounding area. Five months later the proposal was approved by the Minister of Education and the following September the school opened its doors to existing and new pupils of the new Controlled Integrated Primary School.

For Further Information

If you require any further information about the IEF, the Grants for Schools Exploring Transformation, or the Grants for Schools Transforming please do not hesitate to contact the IEF Grants Officer, Sara Shields, by email to sara@ief.org.uk or by telephone on 028 9033 0031.