Paul Givan: Why I turned down schools’ proposals for integrated status

On Wednesday, I turned down proposals for Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College and Rathmore Primary School to transform to become integrated schools.

As minister for education, the final decision as to whether a school transforms to become an integrated school rests with me. This follows a detailed process which includes consideration of the views of a wide range of stakeholders.

Since becoming education minister, I have approved five applications for transformation to controlled integrated status and I have taken the opportunity to visit many integrated schools and nurseries across Northern Ireland.

I know that my decision will be disappointing for the two schools, the pupils and parents who supported the proposals for integrated education.

I thought it important, therefore, to set out the reasons that I declined the applications.

When I take decisions on these proposals, I work within a very clear legal framework as integrated education is defined within the law.

I am under a statutory duty to encourage, facilitate and support the development of integrated education.

However, I am also prohibited in law from approving the transformation of a school to becoming an integrated school unless it is likely that the school would provide integrated education.

Integrated education is described in law as including the education together of reasonable numbers of both Protestant and Roman Catholic children or young persons; those who are experiencing socio-economic deprivation and those who are not; as well as those of different abilities.

What precisely constitutes reasonable numbers is not defined legally.

However, the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education’s statement of principles states that each integrated school aspires to an annual intake of at least 40 per cent of pupils from a perceived Catholic background and at least 40 per cent of pupils from a perceived Protestant background.

This aspiration has been a core feature of integrated education since its inception and is reflected in admissions criteria for some integrated schools across Northern Ireland.

The approach is a recognition of the importance of religious balance in developing parity of esteem and confidence for both communities and cultures.

There is a similar aspiration for this balance within the Board of Governors and teaching staff in integrated schools.

In the last ten years, Rathmore Primary School has averaged around three per cent of its children enrolling from a Catholic background. The numbers are similar for Bangor Academy.

Given the extremely limited current and historic enrolments from the Catholic community at both schools and the availability of many other options in the area, including both Catholic maintained and other integrated schools, it would appear highly unlikely that reasonable numbers could be achieved.

Also, the proposals were not able to set out how they could achieve reasonable numbers from the minority community going forward and no evidence was provided of practical steps taken to attract pupils from different cultures and religious beliefs.

These proposals raise important questions about the nature and direction of integrated education in the 21st century.

Having reasonable numbers from both communities has from the outset of the movement been a distinctive feature of integrated education, which is in turn reflected in the law.

Indeed, the sector has historically raised concerns about the results of transformations which do not safeguard some sort of numerical balance between different communities.

At system level, integrated education has and continues to achieve a balance of religious backgrounds: with 35 per cent of children being from a Protestant background, 34 per cent from a Catholic background and 31 per cent of children being recorded as other or no religion.

Yet increasingly there are new questions to be answered, particularly if this is to change in the future.

What does it actually mean for a school with children drawn largely from one community background to be in an integrated school?

That is why my department is committed to conducting a wider review of the operation of the transformation process to ensure that it is working effectively; to consider how it can best develop and promote the integrated ethos for transforming schools; and to ensure it is continuing to work well to support the development of integrated education.

l Paul Givan is Stormont minister for education