Demand Report Statement
The work to assess and meet parental demand for Integrated Education must continue.
The Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) welcome the publication of the first report to assess parental demand for Integrated Education: ‘Integrated Education Demand: Evidence, Insights, and Limitations’.
Sean Pettis, CEO of NICIE stated: “One of our goals is to enable an Integrated Education option for every family that want to choose it. The report confirms that this is still not a reality. Evidence through both surveys and parental ballots for Transformation show that support for Integrated Education remains high, with 55% of respondents in the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey stating they would prefer an Integrated school.”
The report highlights that the number of children in Integrated schools continues to grow every year. Currently 8.3% of children are educated in an Integrated school. NICIE notes that measuring demand is a complex task, bringing together a range of different sources of information, which are weighted and valued in different ways. The report itself concludes there is ‘no single measure of demand for Integrated Education’ and that ‘all findings should be considered indicative and subject to refinement as further evidence and years of data become available’.
For NICIE, parental ballots continue to be an important vehicle of demand for Integrated Education. As the report highlights, since 2013, 35 schools have balloted parents, with 32 of them returning a ‘Yes’ vote in favour of Integration. Our own analysis shows these ballots had an average turnout of 70% with an average ‘Yes’ vote of 85%. While not all proposals following a yes vote are successful, this democratic mechanism has been critical in turning parental demand into Integrated places.
In fact, 36 of the existing 76 Integrated schools became Integrated through the balloting process. Transformed schools enrol around 34% of all children attending Integrated schools, with the remainder at schools started by parent-led groups, who forged a different educational experience for their children.
Pettis further outlines: “Admissions data is important because it records actual parental behaviour. But parents can only choose Integrated places where those places exist and are accessible. Every Integrated place now captured in admissions data exists because parents and communities first created that choice, either through parent-led campaigns to establish new Integrated schools or through Transformation ballots. That is why NICIE believes there is a compelling argument for giving ballots and surveys appropriate evidential weight alongside admissions data”.
NICIE recognises the demographic reality set out in the report that the total school-age population is projected to fall by 8.2% by 2030/31. That context matters and must inform future planning. Falling numbers of school aged children will impact on schools of all types. The report also shows that the number of children educated in Integrated schools continues to grow, rising by 38.2% since 2009/10. It also notes ARK’s finding that Integrated schools have a lower proportion of unfilled pupil places than non-Integrated schools.
Demographic change means every part of the education system has to think carefully about the future. For NICIE, families should have access to the type of education they want for their children. The evidence in this report shows that Integrated Education continues to grow, and that demand must be understood not only by counting admissions for existing places, but by looking at access, awareness, geography and broader parental preference.
NICIE believes Integrated Education has an important role to play in supporting wider education priorities. The Department of Education’s recent Five-Year Education Budget Strategy consultation rightly highlights the need for a smaller, more sustainable and financially efficient school estate. The Independent Review of Education also called for more learners to learn together, including through increasing the number of Integrated schools.
These priorities should not be seen separately. Where parental demand is evidenced, Integrated Education can help support sustainable area planning and effective use of public resources. It can also enable more children and young people to learn with, from and about those from different backgrounds, helping to build peace and reconciliation. For NICIE this is at the heart of the purpose of measuring demand – encouraging, facilitating and supporting a high quality, child-centred Integrated Education.
We are committed to working with, schools, our partners, local communities and the Department of Education to make this happen. NICIE thanks the Department for this first step and their wider strategy for Integrated Education, ‘Vision 2030’.
ENDS
The Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) is the Department’s primary Arm’s Length Body in supporting Integrated Education. The Department funds NICIE to encourage, facilitate and promote Integrated Education. NICIE carries out a support role for all Integrated schools, a representative function for Grant Maintained Integrated schools, as well as supporting schools considering transformation and for at least 5 years post-transformation. NICIE also plays a leading role in the development of new schools. It represents Integrated Education at all levels of the Area Planning structures which look strategically at where sustainable, high quality educational provision is needed in each area for each phase of education. NICIE also works with other partner organisations to support ethos development in existing Integrated schools; provide anti-bias training and support to existing Integrated schools; and support schools considering transforming to Integrated status.
Contact details:
Emma Hume
