TACOT:IE - Formal Integrated Schools - A Planned Approach

Formal Integrated Schools

b. A Planned Approach

27. The Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education, funded by DENI has the key role of providing financial and other support to new and existing integrated schools as well as to parents who want integrated education for their children. To date this support has been provided in response to local demands and the Council has not adopted a pro-active policy to promote integrated education.

28. It is estimated that, through natural growth, there will be 14,000 pupils in 44 existing integrated schools by 2000 (4% of the school population). The trustees of the Integrated Education Fund have now launched a development plan which assumes the creation of a further 20,000 new integrated school places by the year 2008 bringing the total to 34,000 (10% of the total school population). Key elements of the development plan include:

i. The appointment of a full-time Director from September 1998;

ii. A fund-raising strategy, developed in consultation with Charity Consultants, aimed at raising £10m over the next 10 years. Work on this strategy has been initiated with the financial support of an independent donor;

iii. The development of a clearer public relations strategy to promote integrated education amongst parents and the wider community;

iv. A funding scheme to support the improvement of integration in practice through development, evaluation and dissemination activities.

29. It is, however, important that such a development plan is taken forward in the context of a strategic approach to the promotion of a culture of tolerance which gives equal recognition to the contribution of other sectors, and that the process is open and transparent for all the partners in the education system even though their priorities and responsibilities are quite different, ie·NICIE's role is to promote and support integrated education; ·CCMS's role is to promote and support education with a Catholic ethos, and to co-ordinate the planning of school provision in the Catholic maintained sector. ·Boards have responsibility for the strategic overview of school provision and,. together with DENI, have a duty to try to meet the wishes of all parents.

30. Under the present legislation, Education and Library Boards are the local education and library authorities for their areas and have a strategic responsibility "to ensure there are sufficient schools for providing primary and secondary education'. As' indicated earlier (paras 10-12) it is now necessary to assess demands (by way of community audits) for all forms of education in major new housing developments and in planning provision in other areas. This function is exercised by the Boards in consultation with other partners and it is suggested that machinery should be established in each Board area to enable Boards and NICIE to discuss their respective strategies for school development and to collaborate as appropriate. The Transferors would wish to be part of such arrangements both within Education and Library Boards and within schools and consider it important that the Transferors Representative Council has a co-ordinating role for these interests. CCMS and Trustees are content that the current methodologies for assessing school needs within the maintained sector are appropriate and will continue to liaise with Boards on the provision of Catholic maintained schools.

Demand
A planned approach
Transformation
New schools
Pre-school
Post-16 provision
Grammar provision