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Northern Ireland: Integrated Schools

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Blood, for introducing the subject with considerable information and passion. I want to begin by making a general point. In all divided societies, schools always face a paradox. On the one hand, there is what is expected of them by way of healing the wounds and divisions that characterise divided societies. At the same time, their propensity to do so is greatly limited, for two reasons. Children come to school bringing all kinds of prejudices that they have learnt from their parents and, although they learn something at school, when they go home at the end of the day, whatever they have learnt—the good that has been done—is negated by parental prejudices and remarks. The question is: on what do we rely? We cannot wait until social divisions get sorted out but, at the same time, we cannot expect schools to perform miracles. It is in that context that we should approach the question of integrated education, or integrated schools, in Northern Ireland. I greatly welcome the popularity of integrated schools in Northern Ireland. Although only 5 per cent of pupils go to such schools, almost 60 per cent of parents want to send their children to them. That shows that, increasingly, integrated schools are acquiring democratic legitimacy and considerable popularity. But unless we realise the kind of problems that they face, we are likely to run the danger of expecting far too much from integrated schools. I want to raise six questions for the Minister. First, the number of integrated schools is inevitably limited. That is for obvious reasons—not because of reluctance on the part of the Government but for purely financial considerations. As a result of demographic changes, there are 50,000 empty places, which is likely to rise to 80,000 within the next three or four years. One always wants to use the facilities of existing schools, rather than open new schools. Obviously, the question arises: what should be our priority and how do we cope with the financial problem that that poses? Secondly, integrated schools do not necessarily mean integrated education, just as segregated schools do not necessarily mean segregated education. One may lead to the other, but the two need not be equated. We might have integrated schools, in the sense that they accommodate both Catholic and Protestant pupils, but do they provide the kind of education that we want? Here, the important question is: what is an integrated education? We know what is an integrated school, but what is an integrated education? There are two very different views and we need to be very careful what we ask for. Integrated education has been greatly in demand in the United States in the aftermath of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Israelis have been wanting to concentrate on integrated education to accommodate the 17 per cent of their population constituted by Arab minorities, which is both Christian and Muslim. If we consider all those experiments, including those in Northern Ireland, there are two different approaches. One is that, in integrated schools, one does not talk about differences; one talks only about generalities such as mutual respect, but one does not raise controversial questions. On the other hand, there is the opposite approach, which is to recognise differences and divisions and work through them. It is to get pupils to talk about their differences even if, occasionally, the temperature rises, and to get them to resolve their differences by understanding where they come from. I think that our approach in Northern Ireland has, by and large, been that of ignoring differences rather than getting schools to help children to work their way through deep historical divisions. Thirdly, in an integrated school, we have to ask what kinds of teachers are available. So far as I can see, teachers have not undergone any kind of specialised training in integrated education. They, too, are the product of sectarian schools. Some teachers in integrated schools also seek employment largely because it is easier to be promoted, for the very simple reason that these schools are relatively new. I am sometimes told, and the research I have seen seems to suggest, that teachers sometimes lack commitment. I am not saying that they do or do not; I am saying simply that we need to address this question because I very much want integrated schools to succeed in providing integrated education. Fourthly, if we are to have integrated primary schools, we will obviously have to have a similar number of integrated secondary schools, because otherwise parents will have the problem of wondering whether there enough spaces in secondary schools for children who have gone to integrated schools. If not, parents might be discouraged from sending children to them. My fifth worry is the way in which certain subjects come up again and again and need to be taught in integrated schools. I have seen research done by various academics, including friends of mine at Queen’s University, Belfast, which suggests that two subjects—religious education and history—have proved to be the most contentious. It is very important that we find proper ways of teaching these two subjects in particular and develop appropriate textbooks and pedagogical methods. My sixth point is that when sectarian schools transform themselves into integrated schools—I am delighted that they do, and I hope they will do so in larger numbers—the question arises: do the ethos and culture change as well? It is not enough for a sectarian school to accommodate a certain percentage of minority students from either of the two communities; it is also important that their teachers undergo a different kind of training. The ethos also has to change so that the schools become genuinely integrated schools. I have not said all this with a view to criticising integrated schools; on the contrary, I have said it precisely because they are the only way of dealing with the deep divisions of Northern Ireland. We should therefore address this question so that they can deliver the kinds of result that we expect of them. While these integrated schools flourish and develop in large numbers along the lines that I have outlined, we have a problem; sectarian schools are bound to remain for some time to come and will not be easily transformed into integrated schools. What do we do in the mean time? I shall make three suggestions. First, it is very important, as all the research has pointed out and as the noble Baroness, Lady Blood, rightly emphasised, that there is greater systematic collaboration between different sectarian schools. This can take the form of an exchange of pupils for part of the time, as happens in Israel and as has happened in the United States, an exchange of teachers, common sports, shared summer camps and shared campuses. We have not paid sufficient attention to the possibility of an exchange of teachers and schools. It is also important that boards of governors of sectarian schools have members drawn from other communities. Secondly, much of the curriculum should be in common. I see no reason why different kinds of sectarian schools, while emphasising different kinds of ethos, should not have 90 or 95 per cent of their curriculum in common. After all, our concern is to ensure that they produce citizens who are perfectly at ease with each other. Thirdly—I may be slightly controversial here—it might be useful to take a second look at the employment law that allows schools to employ teachers from their own denominations. I see the point of that, but it may sometimes be worth asking whether a Protestant teacher, for example, is unequipped to teach English literature, mathematics or science in Catholic schools, or vice versa. As I said—I shall end by ensuring that I am not misunderstood—integrated schools are the only way forward. They will not perform miracles by themselves, because changes have to take place in the wider society, but, so long as we retain a bifocal approach, there is a good chance of success.