Congratulations to our very own Baroness May Blood on winning the Community Relations Council Good Relations Award 2021. The IEF is delighted that she has won given her commitment to Integrated Education for over 20 years. (more…)

Liam Neeson expresses his pride as Northern Ireland’s first Catholic school converts to integrated status.

He addressed all parents and schools who have undertaken the rigorous voting process as part of the Integrated Education Fund’s (IEF) ‘Integrate My School’ campaign.

The actor has been an advocate of integrated education in Northern Ireland for many years and has worked with the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) as an ambassador to champion the process of transformation. More recently he fronted the charity’s ‘Integrate My School’ campaign which was launched four years ago in a bid to make Northern Ireland’s education environment a more inclusive one. (more…)

During January 2021, independent polling company Lucid Talk completed a micro-poll on education among parents in East Belfast. Responses were received from a representative sample of over 200 parents living in the area with at least one child under the age of 12. The results, which show substantial support for integrated education, were launched at an online event hosted by Lucid Talk and the IEF on Thursday 25 March 2021. The event was attended by people from a range of backgrounds and organisations, including parents, political representatives and community organisations. (more…)

The University of Ulster, School of Education, UNESCO Centre held an online event to launch the ‘Transforming Education in Northern Ireland – Briefing Papers Collection’. The event was attended by representatives of many of Northern Ireland’s leading educational stakeholders as well as business and civic leaders.

The ‘Transforming Education in Northern Ireland – Collection’ brings together twelve Briefing Papers that explore the obstacles and challenges which impact upon the delivery of education in Northern Ireland. Links to all of these individual papers as well as ‘Transforming Education in Northern Ireland – Briefing Papers Collection’ are available below. (more…)

Education Minister, Peter Weir, has approved a development proposal that will make Seaview Primary School, Glenarm, the first ever Catholic school to transform to integrated status.

Welcoming the news, Tina Merron, CEO of IEF, said:
“This is a great day for the parents, pupils and the wider school community who have campaigned for a number of years to have an integrated primary school in their village.

Seaview took the first steps to become integrated with a parental vote that showed 95% support for the school to go through the process termed “transformation” and so become officially integrated. The Minister’s decision to approve the Seaview development proposal may provide some optimism for schools still waiting on the Minister’s decision.”

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A poll of East Belfast parents has shown that most would prefer a school for their children which is openly welcoming to pupils from all sections of the community, with 76% of those questioned saying they would support their local school becoming integrated. (more…)