25th Anniversary Of The Integrated Education Movement

EDM number 901 in 2006-07, proposed by David Anderson on 19/02/2007.

That this House congratulates the Northern Ireland Integrated Education Movement on its 25th anniversary; notes that the movement began with just 28 pupils in an old scout hut but now has 18,700 pupils in 61 schools which provide an academically excellent education that values and explores different identities, builds trust, respect and tolerance between communities and broadens horizons; recognises that integrated education, including in teacher training, should play a greater role in overcoming accumulated mistrust in a society where much of life is sharply segregated at an estimated annual cost of £1 billion in duplicated services and facilities; acknowledges that support for increased sharing in education is growing within Northern Ireland and elsewhere as exemplified by the recent congressional motion tabled by Representative Carolyn McCarthy and the Taoiseach's comments of 30th March 1999 that `there is a need actively to combat the segregation and exclusion which are a breeding ground for ignorance, intolerance and sectarianism. Integrated education has an important part to play in promoting partnership and mutual understanding'; welcomes Sir George Bain's Strategic Review of Education and its endorsement by the Secretary of State, who advocates abandoning the use of education as part of some wider political or social or religious division in favour of embracing the concept of sharing; and welcomes the integrated sector's openness to developing new ways of quality sharing, including federations, jointly managed schools and joint church schools as well as formally integrated schools.

This motion has been signed by a total of 37 MPs.