Shared campuses for schools could be “an important step towards more meaningful integration”, according to NI Conservatives’ education spokesperson, Mae Burke.
“NI Conservatives support initiatives which encourage greater sharing and integration in schools, across our communities in Northern Ireland”, Mae explained. “It is a positive step for the Department of Education to invite schools to bid for funds to set up joint campuses. Support has already been secured for a campus at Lisanelly, in Omagh, and the Department is taking applications with a view to setting up ten more campuses within the next five years.”
“This is something which has been happening for some time in Scotland, where thirty five sites see students from Catholic and non-denominational schools eating, playing and working on special projects together. It’s not a substitute for full integration or the integrated sector, but it is a step in the right direction. We’d like to see these shared campus initiatives attempting to involve whole communities, including parents. There has to be a commitment to spread shared learning across as many aspects of school life as possible, while protecting a certain amount of autonomy for individual schools.”
“NI Conservatives believe in promoting a culture in education which celebrates diversity, reduces division and promotes excellence. It is important to ensure that young people leave school with excellent qualifications certainly, but also with skills and attitudes that equip them to compete for employment in a global market and help them to show tolerance and understanding to people from different backgrounds and traditions.”