New Legislation will encourage, facilitate and support the development of Integrated Education 

The Council for Integrated Education welcomes the passing of the ‘Integrated Education Bill’ through the Northern Ireland Assembly. Chief Executive Officer, Roisin Marshall stated:

“The passing of the Bill heralds a new phase for Integrated Education. The original legislation was created in 1989 and needed to be modernised to both better reflect the increasing diversity in our society and help meet growing parental demand for Integrated Education. We believe the Act will contribute to a shared society by enabling more children and young people to learn with and from each other by being together every day in school.”

The legislation advances many of the recommendations from the Independent Review of Integrated Education (2017.) The Integrated Education Act will broaden the definition of Integrated Education to better reflect the diversity already in Integrated schools, whilst honouring the founding principle of educating children together who identify as being from Protestant and Catholic backgrounds.

It enhances the responsibility on education bodies to assess and meet parental demand for Integrated Education including through an Integrated Education strategy. The Council for Integrated Education believes the Act will enable more children and young people to benefit from an Integrated Education and be more prepared to live well in a diverse world. 

The Council extends its thanks to the Bill sponsor, Kellie Armstrong MLA, as well as all the other MLAs, officials and agencies who participated in the scrutiny and debate surrounding the Bill.