Jointly Managed Community Schools

The UU ‘Transforming Education’ project is aimed at stimulating debate among educationalists, decision-makers and the wider public and this is the 22^nd paper to be produced in the series.

One of the paper’s authors Dr Stephen Roulston, Research Fellow at Ulster University, said:

“The focus of this briefing paper is the Independent Review of Education’s (IRE) recommendation that Northern Ireland (NI) should have Jointly Managed Community Schools.  The panel recommended ‘a significant growth in jointly managed community schools’ and reported their ‘wish to see the option of attending… a jointly managed community school within a realistic travelling distance available to all families as soon as possible’.  It argued that this would provide all learners at all stages with ‘the opportunity to learn alongside individuals from other communities and backgrounds in the same classroom’.

Whatever the motivation for the recommendation to establish Jointly Managed Community Schools, that proposal does signal an aspiration.  The IRE panel’s message is unambiguous: ‘the aim of all learners learning together should be energetically pursued.’

Of course, all of this may come to nothing as any decision on Jointly Managed Community Schools lies with the Minister of Education.  Whatever that decision will be, the IRE panel, (appointed by the Minister) has concluded that NI should have more schools where children are educated together in the classroom. Jointly Managed Community Schools may add to the system’s complexity but also, should that proposal be accepted, are likely to increase the number of truly diverse schools which may well be to the benefit of NI.”

Commenting on the paper, Paul Caskey OBE, Chief Executive of the IEF, said:

“This paper on Jointly Managed Community Schools is the latest in a series examining different aspects of Northern Ireland’s education system.  The purpose of the ‘Transforming Education’ series is to stimulate debate among teachers, educationalists, decision-makers and the wider public. 

The IEF welcomes this publication which examines the important concept of Jointly Managed Community Schools. What a Jointly Managed Community School is and how it works is certainly worthy of further analysis.  The paper offers a valuable comparative analysis of community schooling models from Scotland, the United States, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel and Northern Ireland—each with differing levels of success.

The IEF will continue to work to explore ways in which more children can be educated together.”

The 22^nd ‘Transforming Education’ Briefing Paper, ‘Jointly Managed Community Schools: what are they and what could they offer?’, will be distributed to politicians, key stakeholders and influencers and can be accessed online at www.ief.org.uk.