AQW 17971/22-27
Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford
Tabled Date: 11/11/2024
Answered On Date: 18/11/2024
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for a breakdown of the (i) actions; (ii) timetable; and (iii) staff resource investment to ensure his Department is fulfilling its statutory duties as outlined in the Integrated Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, in each year since 2022.
Answer:
Since 2022, my Department has undertaken a number of actions to meet the statutory duties set out in the Integrated Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. These actions are set out in the table below. Notably, the Department has, as required by the Act, published a Section 10 Report on the delivery of Integrated Education outlining how it has fulfilled its duties under the Act since its passage through the Assembly. In terms of staff resources, the Integrated Education Act Implementation Team was established within the Department to take forward implementation of the Act and its associated duties. It is of course supported by other policy teams, including the designated Irish Medium and Integrated Education Team, and supported by the Integrated Education implementation governance structure of the Steering and Working Groups. My Department also provides funding in excess of £600K per annum to the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education and continues to work with the Education Authority and ARK to investigate demand for Integrated Education. I also note the recently announced £730,000 financial commitment to the Integrated sector from the Northern Ireland Office to support ongoing work to develop Integrated Education. Action | Date | Resourced departmental Integrated Education Act Implementation Team | October 2022 | Published Strategy for Integrated Education | April 2023 | Integrated Education Action Plan Consultation | Launched August 2023 – closed November 2023 | Published Section 10 Report | April 2024 | Development of Admissions portal survey | October 2024 | Letter to S3 Bodies issued with a revised strategy and action plan ‘Vision 2030’ – for consideration and comments | Comments from S3 bodies by Nov 2024 | Future Actions | | Consideration of comments from S3 bodies | December 2024 | Finalise and publish revised Vision 2030 | January 2025 | Parent survey via School admission portal | February/March 2024 | Public consultation on Vison 2030 - Integrated Education Action Plan | Completed by end March 2025 | Review of public consultation on Integrated Education Action Plan | April 2025 | Prepare and publish a report on demand for Integrated Education | May 2025 |
|