Debate contribution: Integrated Education Provision: South Belfast

Debate contribution by Ms Paula Bradshaw on 14 January 2025.

MLA

Ms Paula Bradshaw

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

14 January 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Integrated Education Provision: South Belfast

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4736877

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I will not need anywhere near that, but I appreciate Members taking the time to join me in the Chamber this evening to debate the topic. I want to focus specifically on the issues facing integrated education provision in South Belfast. I do not believe that, during this debate, we need to rehearse what recently happened with the schools in North Down. MLAs can return to that at another time. It is important to emphasise that successive surveys reinforce that integrated education provision is inadequate in Northern Ireland and specifically in South Belfast. To be clear, no one in my party is talking about enforcing integrated education. Many parents choose state or maintained schools for very good reasons. Indeed, I was among them in sending my children to Belfast Royal Academy, for example. What we are talking about, however, is parental choice. When it comes to parental choice, the availability of integrated education provision in South Belfast falls short. For example, Lagan College, which is admittedly based just over the constituency boundary in Strangford, has a huge intake from South Belfast and, every year, has nearly double the applications for admissions than it has places to fill. That has been the case for many years, yet progress on securing a site for the proposed 600-pupil, mid Down integrated post-primary school is still to be publicly announced. We need to see a firm commitment from the Minister that he will proceed at pace when that site is found. Back in 2019, the Community Conversation report, which was produced by the Integrated Education Fund and Ulster University and focused on the Castlereagh and Carryduff areas, stated:

"it was considered that an additional Integrated post-primary school could help meet the demand for post-primary places in that sector."

Six years on, I note that the last update on that from the Minister was in September 2024 to my party colleague Nick Mathison, in which he stated:

"Land and Property Services have conducted a site search and have identified two sites. My department has been working with stakeholders to determine the scope of works for the appointment of an Integrated Consultant Team (ICT) for the project. On completion of this work, the procurement process will be initiated."

I hope that the Education Minister can provide us with an update on that today and indicate whether, given the ongoing growth of the population in that area of South Belfast and the fact that 250 pupils will be joining from Blackwater Integrated College, he believes that a 600-place school will be big enough to meet current and future demand. Moving to primary-school provision, I should note that pressure for primary-school places has been eased to a small degree through the triumph last year of the conversion of Cairnshill Primary School to integrated status. The principal and the school community worked so hard to achieve that for the parents who voted for the conversion in such high numbers. Not to underestimate those efforts, I highlight the challenges that the principal and the school community at Forge Integrated Primary School have faced and continue to face in making their move from the current site on Carolan Road, which is adjacent to Wellington College. As a side note, I mention the proximity of the two schools because I am sure that Wellington College would, no doubt, be able to expand with minimal disruption onto the Forge Integrated Primary School site, if and when it becomes available, thereby addressing some of its own challenges with the huge demand on its confined site. Turning back to Forge Integrated Primary School, in 2016, it was announced that the school would take forward plans to relocate to the former Knockbreda High School site along the Knock dual carriageway. Since that time, the principal has tried to keep the project moving forward at pace, despite facing many challenges along the way, not least the COVID pandemic. The two most enduring issues are the significant delay in getting planning permission, which is moving into its fifth year, and the challenge of ensuring that all aspects are ready for the development so that, when the opportunity for funding arises, everything is in place. It should be noted that it is envisaged that the new build will include an autism support centre for Key Stage 1 pupils and a general learning support centre for those at Key Stage 2. No one in the Chamber will fail to appreciate how much demand there is for those new learning units in South Belfast. Minister, I appreciate your coming to the Chamber. I would like to know what support you can and will provide to Forge Integrated Primary School to progress its proposals. I hope that you can help it to address long-standing queries with DFI Roads and help the scheme to progress at the pace that it deserves after eight years.

815 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:50 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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