Integrated education bodies challenge Givan over school refusals and new barriers

Northern Education Minister Paul Givan

Northern Ireland’s integrated education bodies have challenged Education Minister Paul Givan to explain how he will meet parental demand after expressing “enormous disappointment” at decisions to refuse integrated status to several schools.

The Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) and the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) said school communities were facing “a negative and devastating decision” at the start of the academic year, despite the work already invested in their applications.

Their joint statement follows the publication of a departmental position paper in which Givan proposed changes to how pupils’ community backgrounds are recorded and accused integrated education campaigners of having “lost their way”.

The disagreement centres on how schools demonstrate they can bring children from different backgrounds together—and whether the Department’s approach will support that ambition or make integrated status harder to achieve.

School communities face disappointment

NICIE and the IEF said they would take time to fully review the detailed ministerial statement, but wanted to respond immediately to the school refusals.

“However, we would like to express enormous disappointment at the decisions taken by the Education Minister to refuse Integrated status to several schools in Northern Ireland. Our thoughts are with the children, parents, staff, and wider school communities who were at the centre of these proposals.”

They added:

“Rather than being able to focus solely on welcoming pupils back and planning for a successful year ahead, these schools are having to deal with the impact of a negative and devastating decision at the start of a new academic year.”

The joint statement does not name the schools or give an exact number. Both organisations pledged to continue supporting the communities involved.

‘How exactly do they intend to meet parental demand?’

The organisations questioned how the Department would fulfil its responsibilities to families seeking integrated education.

“Parental demand for Integrated Education cannot be ignored. The Department of Education has a legal duty to not only measure demand, but it must also aim to meet that demand.”

They continued:

“This statement would indicate further barriers preventing schools from transforming to Integrated status. The question must be asked of the Department, how exactly do they intend to meet parental demand in these areas?”

Transformation is the process through which an existing school changes to integrated status. Givan’s position is that schools should demonstrate progress towards integration before seeking formal recognition.

Minister challenges transformation record

The Department’s paper reports that 31 of 33 transformed schools—93.9%—had a minority-tradition population below 25% in 2025/26.

Across all 71 integrated primary and post-primary schools in its analysis, 48—67.6%—recorded a fall in the percentage of pupils from the minority religion between 2024/25 and 2025/26. The remaining 23 recorded an increase.

Here, the minority tradition means the smaller Protestant or Catholic group within a school.

Givan writes:

“In recent years it is hard to avoid the conclusion that those campaigning for Integrated Education have lost their way - failing to deliver schools which meet the legal requirements and often making implausible claims regarding the likelihood of achieving ‘reasonable numbers’.”

‘Cannot be reduced to just numbers’

NICIE and the IEF defended the record of schools which had transformed.

“NICIE and the IEF are proud of the many schools who have undergone Transformation to Integrated status. The evidence suggests that the majority of these schools have succeeded in increasing their minority intake over time.”

They added:

“However, Integrated Education cannot be reduced to just numbers of Protestant and Catholic children alone. Many parents who chose Integrated schools do not fit into these traditional categories.”

The organisations said an intentional integrated ethos runs through every aspect of school life and is reflected in school governance, with board members setting the vision and ethos.

Different measures need careful comparison

The organisations’ claim about minority intake increasing over time does not directly answer the Department’s finding about a falling minority-religion share across whole schools in a single year. Intake concerns pupils joining a school; enrolment covers those already attending.

A falling percentage also does not necessarily mean fewer children from that group attended. Its numbers could rise while other groups grew faster.

Neither the 25% benchmark used in the Department’s analysis nor the sector’s 40% aspiration should be treated as a universal legal minimum. Those figures alone do not establish that individual schools are acting unlawfully.

The position paper does not include the underlying school-by-school dataset, while the joint response does not provide the figures behind its longer-term assessment.

Community background question proposed

Givan proposes adding a distinct community-background question alongside existing information about religion, with categories of Protestant, Roman Catholic or Other/None.

The distinction matters because families may identify with a community background without practising that religion.

The minister acknowledges weaknesses in the current information, stating:

“At present, available data does not always provide a sufficiently clear picture of community background and there has been some criticism of the approach.”

That creates an important qualification to the statistical debate: the Department is relying on religious-balance figures while proposing a different way to understand community mixing. No implementation date for the new question has been confirmed.

Building integration before formal status

The Department has introduced a structured three-year Integrated Education Support Programme to help schools develop relationships, practices and community engagement before applying for transformation.

Givan said:

“We are shifting the focus towards supporting schools to build integration before formal transformation takes place. Real integration is achieved through sustained engagement, community confidence and increasing participation from both traditions over time.”

He added:

“Transformation should recognise and formalise progress that has already been achieved, rather than begin it. Lasting integration is achieved through genuine cultural and demographic change, not simply through a change in school designation alone.”

The paper does not introduce a compulsory three-year waiting period for every application.

Legal duties at the centre of the dispute

The Department has a duty to encourage, facilitate and support integrated education. It must also be satisfied that a school seeking transformation would be likely to provide integrated education as defined in law.

That definition includes reasonable numbers of Protestant and Roman Catholic children, alongside children of different cultures, beliefs, socio-economic circumstances and abilities.

Citing recent Court of Appeal judgments, Givan argues that the reasonable-numbers requirement cannot be disregarded. NICIE and the IEF, meanwhile, are pressing the Department on how it will meet demand from parents within that framework.

The minister also raises mergers between schools serving different traditions as a possible route to greater integration, but identifies no specific proposals or schools.

Questions remain for families

NICIE and the IEF have yet to complete their review of the position paper. Their initial response makes clear that they will continue supporting schools through the disappointment of refusal.

For families in the affected communities, the immediate unanswered question is how their wish for integrated education can now be met. Neither the position paper nor the organisations’ response sets out a school-specific route forward.

The position paper is available on the Department of Education website⁠.