Background and Policy Objectives
3.The Act makes provision about the support and provision of integrated education. It will also provide for reform and the expansion of integrated education. The sole topic of the Act is education.
4.In essence, integrated education is educating children and young persons in schools which promote an ethos of diversity, respect and understanding between those of different cultures and religious beliefs and of none in the same school on a daily basis.
5.The vast majority of children and young adults in Northern Ireland are educated in the Catholic Maintained or the Controlled sectors. This means that the system separately educates the majority of children and young persons. While the number of pupils in the integrated education sector has been increasing in recent years, total enrolments remain below 10 percent of the overall school system. The proposed Act would help integrated education grow its enrolments.
6.The Integrated Education Act has eight policy objectives