Integrated Education has grown from just 28 pupils in one school in 1981 to over 28,000 pupils in 76 Integrated schools across Northern Ireland today.
Since 1992 the IEF has been supporting the growth and development of Integrated Education through grant making, advocacy and engagement with parents, schools and local communities.
Thankfully the majority of parents have consistently supported the idea that children should be educated together. However despite overwhelming public support, no government in Northern Ireland has ever sought to plan for the creation of Integrated schools – their establishment has always been left to parents and schools.
The Integrated Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 requires the Department of Education (DE) not only to “encourage and facilitate” but also to “support” Integrated Education. It also places a legal duty on the DE and EA to identify, assess, monitor and aim to meet demand for Integrated Education through area planning and by ensuring sufficient places in Integrated schools, including consideration of future demand.
The DE has since produced a revised Integrated Education Strategy, Vision 2030. The original version was withdrawn following legal action by the IEF, as it lacked meaningful benchmarks and targets.
Department sponsored surveys show clear unmet demand. Although only 8.4% of children currently attend Integrated schools, public preference is significantly higher. In the 2025
Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, 76% of respondents who expressed a preference chose Integrated. In the 2025 DE Parental School Admission Survey, 31.2% of parents preferred Integrated Education and another 37.3% said they would not mind their children attending an Integrated school. While not all Integrated schools are oversubscribed, many are, and in some areas families have no realistic local Integrated option at all.
The gap between provision and public demand is evident. The IEF will continue working to ensure effective action is taken to expand Integrated Education and meet this demand.
We yearn for the day our charity will no longer be needed – a time when parental demand for Integrated Education is finally being encouraged and facilitated by government.
