---
title: "Integrated education report understates need for end to divided schooling"
date: "2026-05-21T13:40:49+01:00"
modified: "2026-05-21T13:40:53+01:00"
url: "https://humanists.uk/2026/05/21/integrated-education-report-understates-need-for-end-to-divided-schooling/"
post_id: 190778
categories: ["Northern Ireland"]
---

# Integrated education report understates need for end to divided schooling

![](https://i0.wp.com/humanists.uk/wp-content/uploads/Untitled-1200-x-628-px-7.webp?resize=1200%2C628&ssl=1)A new Department of Education report on integrated education risks understating the need for reform by placing too much weight on a narrow measure of parental demand, says Northern Ireland Humanists.

The Department’s [*Integrated Education Demand*](https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-05/Integrated%20Education%20Demand%20%20Evidence%20Insights%20and%20Limitations%20May%202026.PDF) report brings together admissions data, parental survey findings, ballot outcomes, and wider public attitude data. The report concludes that demand for integrated education is ‘present but uneven’, and gives greatest weight to first-preference admissions data as evidence of ‘behavioural demand’.

But Northern Ireland Humanists said the framing of the report obscures the wider picture. The report itself acknowledges that admissions data may understate demand where parents are affected by distance, admissions criteria, oversubscription, awareness of local provision, or doubts about whether a place is realistically available. It also records significant public support for children being educated together. While only 31.2% of parents surveyed said they would prefer their child to attend an integrated school, a further 37.3% said they did not mind. The [Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey](https://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2024/Education/PREFINT.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com) found that 55% of respondents would prefer an integrated school if deciding where to send a child.

The report also shows that integrated schools educated 28,617 pupils in 2025/26, just 8.3% of the school population, despite much wider levels of public support. Since 2014, 33 of 35 parental ballots on transformation have resulted in a majority in favour of becoming integrated.

The report comes only months after Education Minister Paul Givan [blocked](https://humanists.uk/2025/01/08/education-minister-refuses-to-let-schools-become-integrated-defying-80-parent-support/) bids by two North Down schools to become integrated, despite around 80% of parents supporting the move. A [subsequent court ruling](https://humanists.uk/2025/10/15/judge-rules-against-ni-schools-becoming-integrated/) upheld the Minister’s decision, prompting Northern Ireland Humanists to warn that the current law around integrated schools is not fit for purpose.

#### **Commenting on the report Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator, Boyd Sleator, said:**

> ‘Divided schools mean a divided society. The only solution is a single inclusive and secular education system and this is what our politicians should be working towards.
> 
> ‘This report presents demand for integrated education as patchy and localised, but that tells only part of the story. Parents are making choices within a school system that is already divided, where inclusive provision is limited, unevenly distributed, and often difficult to access. It is no surprise that admissions data alone does not capture the scale of support for educating children together.
> 
> ‘The fact that schools can win overwhelming support from parents to become integrated and still be blocked shows how badly reform is needed. The real question is not whether enough parents can prove demand, school by school and postcode by postcode. The question is why Northern Ireland continues to organise education around religious division at all.’

#### Notes

For further comment or information, media should contact Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator Boyd Sleator at <boyd@humanists.uk> or phone 07918 975795.

Read more about our work on [schools and education](https://humanists.uk/campaigns/current-campaigns/religious-schools/).

Read [*Integrated Education Demand*](https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-05/Integrated%20Education%20Demand%20%20Evidence%20Insights%20and%20Limitations%20May%202026.PDF).

[Read out response to the 2022 Integrated Schools Bill](https://humanists.uk/2022/03/09/northern-ireland-assembly-passes-integrated-education-bill/).

Northern Ireland Humanists is part of Humanists UK, working with the Humanist Association of Ireland. Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 150,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. We provide ceremonies, pastoral care, education, and support services benefitting over a million people every year and our campaigns advance humanist thinking on ethical issues, human rights, and equal treatment for all.