Education Minister Paul Givan has published a Department of Education Position Paper on Integrated Education, setting out clarification on the legal framework and measures to support schools considering moving to integrated status.

The paper responds to a recent court judgment and to transformation applications that have raised important issues about how integrated education law is interpreted and applied. It also proposes a refreshed approach to collecting information used to assess whether schools have reasonable numbers of Protestant and Roman Catholic pupils, aimed at better supporting schools aspiring to transform.

Paul Givan said: "Integrated education was established to bring together children from Protestant and Roman Catholic backgrounds in a society historically marked by division. The requirement for reasonable numbers of pupils from both traditions is a core element of integrated education and a statutory requirement embedded in legislation.

"The reality is that many schools seeking to transform face significant challenges in demonstrating how they will achieve and sustain meaningful representation from both communities. In many cases, demographic factors and historic patterns of enrolment make this a difficult hurdle to overcome."

The position paper cites evidence that many schools which have already transformed have struggled to secure and maintain a balanced intake over time. The Department reports that 31 of 33 transformed schools had a minority community population of less than 25% in 2025/26. To tackle these challenges, the Department has launched the Integrated Education Support Programme, a structured three-year initiative designed to help schools develop relationships, practices and community engagement to attract and sustain enrolments from both traditions before applying for transformation.

Paul Givan continued: "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.

"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 Department also plans to revise how information is gathered to assess community background. Proposals will be developed to introduce a community background category alongside existing data, enabling schools and the Department to better gauge progress towards meaningful integration.

In conclusion the Minister said: "If Northern Ireland is to fulfil the original vision of Integrated Education, the priority must be to create more opportunities for children from different traditions to learn together in meaningful numbers and in ways that have a lasting impact on communities across Northern Ireland."

Further information is available in the Position Paper at: www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/written-ministerial-statement-position-paper-integrated-education