Parents overwhelmingly endorse move to Integrated Status at County Antrim primary school

Andrew Norrie, Integrated Education Fund Dawn Boyd, principal for Straid Primary School.

Parents of children at a County Antrim primary school have voted overwhelmingly in favour of plans to begin the move to Integrated Status.

Straid Primary School, near Ballyclare, held the ballot recently with 100% of parents voting ‘yes’ to Integrated Status, a resounding endorsement for the school’s future plans.

In a joint statement, the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) and Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) welcomed the positive response to the parental ballot held at Straid Primary School, near Ballyclare.

Róisín Marshall, Chief Executive, NICIE said:

“The Council for Integrated Education welcomes the result of this ballot as evidence of the demand for Integrated Education within the parent body at Straid PS. We will continue to support the school to develop their vision of a sustainable Integrated Primary School serving all members of the local community”

Tina Merron, Chief Executive, IEF said:

“We welcome the positive result from the parental ballot held at Straid Primary School.

“This reflects the growing interest and demand for integrated education from parents, schools and local communities. Straid has traditionally only attracted pupils from mainly one side of the local community and it is clear that there is a real desire to reach out and welcome parents and children of all faiths and none into the school.”

The ballot was carried out by Civica Election Services, and every adult registered as a parent or guardian was eligible to vote in confidence on the school’s future.

The next step will be compiling a development proposal, which will be submitted to the Department of Education. The Minister for Education will then make the final decision.

Almost every school in the country can apply to Transform to Integrated Status and the parental ballot is the first step in this journey.

The Integrated Education Fund was established in 1992 to support parents, schools and governors through the process of founding an integrated school, or transforming an existing school to integrated status.

It is an independent charity that receives no government money, with all funding made through the generosity of donors and supporters both local and global.

It provides financial support to bridge the gap between government funding for new and transforming schools and what is actually needed, as well as advice and information on the transformation process.