IEF Highlights of 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) wants to thank you for your ongoing support and share some of our key highlights of the year. 

It has been encouraging to see Integrated Education continue to grow in Northern Ireland, with 76 approved Integrated schools providing excellent, high-quality, inclusive learning. There are currently over 28,690 pupils enrolled in Integrated schools. These children and young people are learning with, about and from each other every day, learning to celebrate, not fear, religious and cultural diversity.  This is an incredible achievement for a grassroots, parent and school led Movement. For every child that started the first planned Integrated school, Lagan College, there are now a 1,000 more.  

2025 also presented some major challenges. The IEF was extremely disappointed by the Minister of Education’s decision to refuse Integrated status for Bangor Academy & Sixth Form College, Rathmore Primary School and Culmore Primary School. Despite the Minister’s decisions, the IEF stands in full solidarity with the schools impacted and will continue to support them. We were further frustrated that proposals from All Children’s, Braidside, Bridge and Spires Integrated Primary Schools regarding nursery school provision were also rejected.  

Despite these disappointing developments, we were delighted that three Nursery Schools were approved to become Integrated through the Transformation process – Magherafelt NS, Ballymena NS and Downshire NS.   

In January, the IEF was able to host a very uplifting special event, ‘Journeys of Transformation,’ at the Belfast Harbour Commissioners. This event invited schools who have transformed to Integrated status, as well as schools currently undergoing the process, to share their experiences.  The schools shared very personal journeys of the Transformation process and the positive impact that Integrated Education has had on their students and wider communities. 

In March, the IEF was invited to present to the NI Assembly Education Committee alongside our colleagues in the Council for Integrated Education (NICIE). The IEF continues to engage with representatives from all political parties and invites all elected representatives to come view Integrated Education first-hand by visiting their local Integrated school. 

September was a significant month when we received the outcome of legal action against the Department of Education regarding its original Integrated Education Strategy, which was published in 2023.  The High Court ruled the Strategy was unlawful as it did not include targets and measurable benchmarks in accordance with the requirements of the Integrated Education Act (2022).  While regretful that a legal challenge was necessary in the first place, the process helped secure a few improvements to the original strategy, as well as additional Departmental funding for implementation.  

Throughout the year, the IEF has supported a series of important research projects: 

• In March, we launched ‘Faith and Belief in School’.  This guidance document is the result of a research project commissioned by IEF, NICIE and the Association of Principal Teachers in Integrated Schools (APTIS) and completed by Dave Thompson in 2024, which engages with the challenges facing Integrated schools in relation to faith and belief practices in our changing cultural context.   

• Also in March, the IEF also welcomed the publication of research ‘Exploring Religious Balance in Integrated Schools’ by Ruth Flood Associates. This research looked at how issues of religious balance are managed and perceived within Integrated schools. 

• At the start of April, the Future Schools Toolkit for Post-Primary was published.  This Toolkit which was developed 2024-2025 by the research team from the School of Education, Ulster University and commissioned by the IEF, was made possible by a grant provided by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO).   

• In June, the IEF welcomed the publication of ‘The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Integrated Education Transformation Process’ by Queen’s University Belfast.   

• In November, research by Queen’s University Belfast ‘Social Attitudes and Integrated Education’ found that Integrated Education is associated with assisting many positive social attitudes among learners, including greater respect for diversity and stronger relationships across communities. 

• 2025 also saw the publication of the final papers as part of the ‘Transforming Education’ series by Ulster University.  The ‘Transforming Education’ project examines several aspects of our divided education system through a range of briefing papers and infographics.  In early 2026 we look forward to all the papers being published in one extensive compilation. 

The IEF Outreach Team has had a very busy year with a large number of outreach and engagement activities across Northern Ireland.  They have had the opportunity to engage with people from different backgrounds and in many different areas to raise awareness of the Integrate My School campaign, as well as the benefits of Integrated Education more generally. 

In October, we held our first ever Nursery school conference.  This conference focused on ‘Transformational Spaces’ and was a huge success with high levels of interest from Nursery Schools from all sectors. Following on from this success, we have planned a Primary School conference for early 2026. 

Alongside this work, the IEF launched our new regular giving programme: Friends of the Integrated Education Fund this year. Previously known as the ‘Ten Club’, this initiative offers supporters a meaningful way to make a lasting impact through regular monthly contributions. 

Fundraising event highlights include our annual supporter’s dinner at the House of Lords as well as our Stand Up for Integrated Education Comedy Gala in the Ulster Hall.  

Thanks to all our donors the IEF is currently managing around 150 ‘live grants’ totalling over £800,0000 to support Integrated schools and those working towards Transformation. We are so thankful for our committed donors, without whom we would not be able to do the work that we do. 

We are also immensely grateful for the continued support of both the British and Irish Governments.  The IEF is proud to be a grantee of the Northern Ireland Office as well as a Strategic Partner of the Reconciliation Fund in Ireland.  

The IEF is delighted to support the creativity of students through the Carson Awards, sponsored by Tony Carson and also students going on to attend Further and Higher Education and University through the Lincoln Awards sponsored by Geraldine Hughes and Conor Allen. 

The Integrated Movement has always been driven by demand from parents and schools for Integrated Education. Currently just over 8% of children and young people attend an Integrated school. In December, the Department of Education revealed the results of their latest demand survey, where 55% of respondents stated their preference for Integrated Education, compared to just 17% who did not. It is clear that there remains a huge gap between demand and supply. The IEF will continue to work tirelessly to close the gap between the demand for Integrate Education and the current provision, so that every parent who wishes to choose Integrated Education for their child can do so. 

To conclude the year, you may have noticed our advertising campaign, narrated by our great friend and supporter Liam Neeson and funded through a private donor.  Last year the campaign was a huge success, with 62% of the adult population in Northern Ireland having seen the TV advert.  The campaign is running again over the Christmas period.  We want to thank Cranmore IPS and Hazelwood IC for kindly allowing us to film the advert in their schools. 

Thank you for all your support and best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.