The two organisations behind the drive for more Integrated Education in Northern Ireland have welcomed the fact that the Integrated Education Act becomes operational from 26 October 2022). The Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) and the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) are delighted that the Department of Education will now be required to prepare, publish and maintain an Integrated Education Strategy by April 2023. This date is hugely significant because it will be 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement which held a commitment to ‘encourage and facilitate’ Integrated Education.

Whilst the number of children attending an Integrated school has doubled since 1998, this is largely a result of the efforts of parents and schools themselves, rather than any strategy or planning by government. Each Integrated school has been created by parents either by setting up a new school or by parents voting in favour of their child’s school becoming Integrated through the process called ‘Transformation’.

The new Act will require the Department of Education to “support” as well as “encourage and facilitate” Integrated Education. It will require “identifying, assessing, monitoring and aiming to meet the demand for the provision of Integrated Education within the context of area planning and the overall sustainability of the school estate and “providing sufficient places in Integrated schools to aim to meet the demand for Integrated Education”. The Department must lay the strategy, and each revision, before the Northern Ireland Assembly.

At every stage of the Act, representatives from Integrated Education organisations connected with politicians on all sides to highlight the educational, societal and economic benefits of educating more children of all traditions together in an Integrated school. From presenting to the Education Committee, to engaging with stakeholders and supporters, the IEF, NICIE and the Integrated AlumNI worked hard to support the Bill at all levels.

Tina Merron, Chief Executive of the IEF commented:

“For 40 years Integrated Education has continued to grow and develop. However, despite evidence of unmet parental demand, there has been no strategy in place by government to try and meet such demand. Many communities still have no choice of an Integrated school at all and many existing Integrated schools are heavily oversubscribed. Hopefully that will change now with the Integrated Education Act. As recent evidence has shown, whenever parents are asked if they would like their school to become an Integrated school, the overwhelming majority have said yes. There have been 17 positive parental ballots held in schools held since 2019, resulting in the creation of six more Integrated schools and others awaiting a final decision from the Minister of Education.”

Roisin Marshall from the Council for Integrated Education remarked,

“As we reflect on the Integrated Education Act coming into force, we take stock on how far we have come to get to this point and the drive of those brave parents, pupils and teachers who took a leap of faith 40 years ago.  We encourage our politicians to show the same courage as they develop their strategy and look forward to their commitment in the support, encouragement, and facilitation of Integrated Education in Northern Ireland.  This will over time lead to the education system in Northern Ireland strategically planning for all those parents who would prefer an Integrated Education for their children to be able to access it.”