NEWS RELEASE – For Immediate Release
Tuesday 22nd October 2013
NICIE commends the radical statement made by Minister O’Dowd this morning in his response to the Advancing Shared Education Report. He challenged separation whether by religious belief, socio economic status or educational needs, noting that such separation is bad for children, bad for society and is damaging, unnecessary, and avoidable.
He clearly placed the model of integrated education as an important one in advancing the wider route towards sharing and challenged all schools to play their part in moving towards making sharing an accepted reality at every stage of the education system, from early years to postgraduate study.
The Minister’s statement accepts the moral and societal imperative that children should be educated together. The Minister reaffirmed his support for Integrated Education and re-asserted his commitment to fulfilling the statutory duty to ‘facilitate and encourage Integrated Education’. This is encouraging for those parents seeking places in oversubscribed integrated schools and for those parents who want to see an integrated choice in their area.
As importantly in his statement, the Minister opened up routes for those schools who want to be recognised as integrated. Those schools which pride themselves on their diversity and on their work in recognising this diversity can now through a non -bureaucratic procedure be recognised as integrated. This will enable schools to be recognised for the work they do, whether this is in special schools, in nursery schools or in those schools which have mixed populations. NICIE looks forward to working alongside schools who now will want to follow this pathway to integration through change of ethos.
Noreen Campbell, CEO of NICIE said:
“NICIE welcomes the Minister’s statement on Advancing Shared Education. The Minister itemised the educational benefits sharing brings: respect for diversity and good relations, building equality and a confident community. He described his vision: one of education without barriers; good schools where children learn, grow and develop together, schools where sharing is the accepted normality.
This is the vision which motivated the founders of integrated schools; this is the reality to be found in integrated schools.
The minister places the child at the heart of the educational process. He recognises the need to move beyond sectors and beyond selection. He opens up a new means for schools to respond to parental preference for integrated education. In his speech, the Minister challenges an education system segregated by religion and also by income and argues forcefully for the need for change on both counts. This surely is a vindication for the founders of Integrated Education who rejected all such division when they set up their integrated all ability schools, schools characterised by equality, respect and diversity.”
Bernie Kells, project manager of Sharing Classrooms:Deepening Learning Project,(SC:DL) funded by IFI said: “NICIE has built up considerable expertise through its SC:DL project in supporting teachers teaching in shared classrooms and looks forward to continuing this work in the future. ”
ENDS
For further information or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson please contact Noreen Campbell, Chief Executive Officer at (028) 9097 2910 or mob. 07878721327 or via email to ncampbell@nicie.org.uk
Notes to the Editor
1. In Northern Ireland, about 93% of children attend schools which are either exclusively or predominantly Catholic or Protestant. The first integrated school, Lagan College, opened in 1981 with 28 pupils. There are currently 62 integrated schools in Northern Ireland, 20 second level colleges and 42 integrated primaries, educating over 21,000 pupils.
2. A recent Millward Brown Ulster Omnibus Survey found that 82% of people in Northern Ireland believe that Integrated Education is important to the peace and reconciliation process and 64% would support a request to transform the status of their existing school to become an integrated school
3. Integrated schools are co-educational, accept children from all levels of ability and social backgrounds and practice a child-centred approach to teaching methods.
4. Established in 1987, The Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) is a voluntary organisation that was set up to develop, support and promote Integrated Education in Northern Ireland. The underpinning principles of Integrated Education is that by bringing Catholic, Protestant and children of other faiths together in a shared learning environment, they can learn to understand, respect and tolerate their differences. For more information please visit www.nicie.org
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