AQO 190/09

Mrs Naomi Long
Alliance Party
East Belfast

Tabled Date: 09/09/2008
Answered On Date: 22/09/2008
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for her assessment of the transformation criteria for integrated schools.

Answer:

Agus mé ag breathnú iarratais ar aistriú chuig stádas imeasctha caithfidh mé na rudaí seo a chur san áireamh: inmharthanacht fhadtéarmach na scoile; an dóchúlacht go mbainfidh an scoil an leibhéal riachtanach imeasctha amach; agus an tionchar a d’fhéadfaí bheith ag an aistriú stádais ar scoileanna eile sa cheantar.

In assessing an application for transformation to integrated status I must consider the long-term viability of the school; the likelihood that the school will achieve the required level of integration; and the possible impact of transformation on other schools in the area.

Transformed schools are expected to have minority community representation of 10%, in their first year of transformation, and demonstrate that this will increase to 30% over time. This, I believe, presents schools with an achievable target initially, but one that provides a strong basis from which to meet the longer-term requirement of a realistic level of mixing.

None of this matters, of course, if a school is not viable in the long term, or is likely to have a significant impact on the enrolment of other schools in the area. It is my job to balance the wishes of parents with the need to provide children in all sectors with a high-quality educational experience. It is my belief that the Sustainable Schools policy and the proposals for Area Based planning, currently out for consultation, will provide the strategic context within which the wishes of parents, and the needs of children, across all sectors can be accommodated.