SDLP Education spokesperson Seán Rogers MLA has said that nominal support for shared education is not enough and has called for firm embedding in the curriculum.
Speaking in the Assembly today, he said: “We all agree that our schools need to move more and more toward models of sharing resources, facilities and educational experiences. As we attempt to create a shared society and shared communities, it’s vital that our young people are given every opportunity to share in their educational journey together.
“The principles of shared education must be firmly embedded in the curriculum. It’s about more than schools coming together for an annual hockey or football tournament, it must be deep, meaningful and sustained.
“A number of schools engaged in real sharing of resources have had funding cut as a result of an apparent link to Key stage statutory assessment. That is entirely counter-productive and will make the transition to a new educational dispensation more difficult. I look forward to the shared education bill coming before the Assembly in due course but it must be a comprehensive shift to a new settlement.”
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