The IEF welcomes the findings of the Inquiry into Integrated Education that was launched by the NI Affairs Committee in December last year.
At the outset of the Inquiry Sir Robert Buckland MP, the Chair of the Committee, outlined why this Inquiry was so important and what it aimed to achieve, stating:
‘Despite having public backing and the legislation to support them, integrated schools in Northern Ireland, with students from both Protestant and Catholic backgrounds, remain rare.
In new legislation last year, Stormont committed to the development of integrated education in Northern Ireland. With this new inquiry, we aim to find out what this looks like and establish the policy choices that will face Northern Ireland’s Department for Education as they turn to implementation of their plans.’
The Inquiry involved an appeal to the public for written evidence which resulted in 54 written submissions. There were three oral evidence sessions held, followed by a session with the NI Minister for Education in March 2024. Additionally, the Committee published an online survey to gather views from a wider audience, which received a further 463 responses.
The IEF welcome the acknowledgement by Chair Sir Robert Buckland that Integrated Education has been a parent-led, grassroots movement and that more strategic support was required:
‘The creation of integrated schools has largely been a result of parent-led action. 26 years after the Belfast Agreement/Good Friday Agreement, around 8% of the school population attends integrated schools. In accordance with the provisions of the Integrated Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 Act, a more strategic approach must be taken by the NI Department of Education. However, this needs to be properly resourced.’
With the recent publication of the Department of Education’s Integrated Education Section 10 Report, the IEF asserts that more needs to be done in relation to measurable targets and benchmarks, to support any strategy going forward.
Furthermore, the IEF has raised concern over the amount of finance that has been allocated to support the growth and development of Integrated Education, currently £50,000 per annum. This is compounded by recent cuts to Fresh Start funding, which impacts on a significant number of Integrated schools, as well as the Brookeborough Shared Campus. The lack of financial provision was raised by the Committee, with particular emphasis on the recent cuts to Fresh Start funding:
‘My Committee and I underscore the points we heard about the importance of investment in integrated education. At a time when the education system in Northern Ireland faces increased funding pressures, we highlight those calls made for the NI Office to honour its commitment to integrated education by allocating additional funding for integrated education projects previously promised under Fresh Start funding.’
Parental choice is highlighted as crucial by the Committee, alongside the need to accurately assess parental demand. The IEF is pleased that this has been raised by the Committee and it is clear that the Department need to act to support parental choice, which is inextricably linked to assessing demand fairly:
‘My Committee and I understand that assessing demand for integrated education is complex. We took evidence which called for you to work with stakeholders to further understand and address the discrepancies between the high level of inclination towards integrated education, as expressed in survey results, and parental preference, as expressed through admission decisions, particularly where data may be skewed by what are, in practice, the existing options available to parents.
Stakeholders also sought to underscore the importance of parental choice. We were told that all parents in Northern Ireland should have an integrated school within manageable travelling distance from their home.’
The IEF will continue to press for full implementation of the Integrated Education Act so that every parent that wishes to choose an Integrated school for their child will be able to do so.
*Integrated Education Fund written evidence for the Inquiry into Integrated Education is available online here. *
