The Integrated education movement in Northern Ireland is an attempt to bring together children, parents and teachers from both Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions: the aim being to provide a balanced education, while allowing the opportunity to understand and respect all cultural and religious backgrounds. The , a voluntary organisation, promotes, develops and supports integrated education in Northern Ireland. The * is a financial foundation for the development and growth of integrated education in Northern Ireland in response to parental demand. The IEF seeks to bridge the financial gap between starting integrated schools and securing full government funding and support. It was established in 1992 with money from EU Structural Funds, the Department of Education NI, the Nuffield Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, as a financial foundation for the development and growth of Integrated Education. The Fund financially supports the establishment of new schools, the growth of existing schools and those schools seeking to become integrated through the transformation process. Funding is generally seed corn and projects are ‘pump primed’ with the objective of eventually securing full government funding and support.
Educational background
is highly religiously segregated, with 95% of pupils attending either a maintained school or a controlled school, both funded by the state- by varying amounts. Teaching a balanced view of some subjects is difficult in these conditions. The churches in Northern Ireland have not been involved in the development of integrated schools. The schools have been established by the voluntary efforts of parents. The first integrated school, Lagan College, was established in Belfast in 1981 by the campaigning parent group All Children Together. In 1985, three more integrated schools opened in Belfast offering parents in the city an alternative to the existing segregated schools.
Current situation
There are currently 62 integrated schools comprising 20 second-level colleges, and 42 primary schools. In addition, there are 19 integrated nursery schools, most of which are linked to primary schools. Initially, such schools met with considerable opposition from certain local politicians who were angry at an alleged favouritism in funding being shown to them by the Government. They felt the state controlled school system should be regarded as the true model of integration and that only the existence of maintained schools preserved a culture of segregation in Northern Ireland.
Perceptions
Integrated schools are sometimes criticised as being "middle-class" or accused of "social engineering" Father Denis Faul criticised integrated education, insisting that Catholic parents were required by Canon law to send their children to Catholic schools and also claimed the schools were a "dirty political trick" inspired by the British Government. Speaking out against integrated education, the Free Presbyterian Church described it as a "front for ecumenism and the secular lobby".
