Education and a shared future - Schools Working …

1 Educationand a shared futureOptions for sharing and collaboration in Northern Ireland schoolsPhilip O SullivanIan O FlynnDavid RussellContents Introductio n3A Shar ed Fu ture?3 Shar ing: mo re is better than less5 The ar gume nt from identity5 The ar gume nt from reconciliation6 Shar ing: mo re is not always better than less7 The ar gume nt from identity revisited8 The ar gume nt from reconciliation revisited9 Wher e to fro m here?10 No rthe rn Irela nd13 Backgr ound and methodology13 Atti tudes to sharing18 Types of schools19 Rel atio ns be tween schools21 Deno minatio nal colla borat ion22Cr oss- com munity sharing24 Age-gr ouping f or s chools27 Comp arativ e Analysis 31 Shar ed Campus Schools in Scotland32 Backgr ound and methodology32 Cas e s tudy one Diocese of Glasgow35 Cas e s tudy two Diocese of Motherwell37 The v iews of an independent consultant38 The v iews of a North Lanarkshire councillor39 The v

2 Iews of a senior representative of the Diocese of Motherwell 40 Lesso ns f or Northern Ireland41 Jointly Managed Church Schools in England and Ireland43 Backgr ound and methodology43 Cas e s tudy one Somerset44 Cas e s tudy two Devon46 Cas e s tudy three Torba y48 Cas e s tudy four Laois , Ireland50 Lesso ns f or Northern Ireland 52 Mul ti-denominational Schools in Ireland53 Backgr ound and methodology53 The importance of context54 What is diff erent in a multi-denominational school?55Et hos and practice58 Lesso ns f or Northern Ireland 60 Conclusio ns and recommendations63 Appe ndices66 Appendix A: Projec t questionnaire66 Appendix B: Cate gorical v aria ble s for the sample of parents who to ok part in the 2007 consultation exercise70 Appendix C: A charter for Catholic Schools in Scotland71 Appendix D: Protocol for shared management campus schools72 Appendix E: Example of a Mission Statement of a Joi ntl y Managed Church School74 Appendix F.

3 Educate Together Charter75 References76 Notes on Authors and Acknowledgements802: 3In Nort he rn Ir el and t he pri nci pl e of sha ring is a c rucial component of thetransi tion f rom vi ole nt c onf lict to pe ace ful democr acy. Its significance issym boli ca lly ca ptur ed by t he const ituti onal and political settleme nts of theBel fast (Good F rida y) Agreem ent , Nort her n Ireland Act 1998 and St. Andrew sAgre em ent . Not only a re the quest ions of how and on what basis to shareaddre ssed by t hese doc um ent s, but c rucially, the reasons for doing so a nd theinte nded obj ec tives a re also de tai led.

4 Members of the Assembly are the reforecom pel led to st rive i n ever y pr act ica l way towar ds reconciliation andrappr ochem ent wi thin t he fra me work of democratic and agree d arrange ments .1 Gover nme nt m ini sters a re re quir ed t o operate in a way conducive to promotinggood com muni ty rel at ions and e qual ity of tre atm ent .2 Publ ic aut hori ties areobl iga ted to have rega rd t o t he desi rabi lity of promoting good relations betweenpersons o f di ffer ent re ligi ous bel ief, pol itical opinion or racial gr oup.

5 3 Sha ring is i nt ended t o be muc h mor e, i t se ems, tha n a pragmatic bargain. It is therai son d t re of an e nvisaged a nd em erging society . Determining what it means tolive togethe r, the refore , i s to sha pe t he structural and procedural foundations of apl ural ist Nor the rn Ir el and. And, i t is r easonable to assume, that following thecom mitment s m ade by e lect ed repr esentatives ,legisla tion, policies and financialsupport for shari ng would be guarant eed. A str ategic framew ork ,appropriatelyent itled A Share d future , cert ai nl y i ndi cated that this assumption might becorr ect.

6 AShared Fut urecom mitted gover nme nt to establishing over time anorm al , ci vic soci et y, in whi ch al l indi viduals are considered as equals, wheredi ffere nces a re resol ved thr ough dia logue in the public sphere, and wher e allpeopl e a re t reat ed i mpa rtial ly .4It c al led for a soci et y whe re t here i s e quity,respe ct for dive rsi ty a nd a rec ognit ion and ac ceptance of our inte rdependency .5A S hared Fu ture?Wh en peopl e f rom diff ere nt eth ni c, relig iou s o r n ati on al com muniti es havede cided to l ive tog eth er peacefull y, it beco mes n ece ss ary t o consi der both howmuch they are go ing to sha re and on what basis th is s ha ring mi ght oc cur.

7 To h elp answ er th ese quest ion s e lect ed re pre se nta ti ves ,and th os e w ho adv iseth em ,ma y d eci de th er e is a need for a str ateg ic fra mewor k one that sets adi rec tio n for public p olicy and aga inst wh ich th e effec tive nes s of governmentinitia tiv es to prom ot e sh arin g can be meas ured. But th is w ill no t al way s be th eca se. Sharing is, aft er all , a co mpl ex and even co mp lica ted b usiness, and theidea of dev elop ing a st ra te gic fr am ework th at de ter mines ho w and w hat t o sh ar emay be view ed as an un ne ce ssary con st ra int or li mi ta tion.

8 I nd eed, decisions ofth is sor t m ight j ust a r ead ily be m ade p iece meal th ro ug hon going d eli berati onsin res pons e to a give n a rea of pu blic policy an dwh ichaffor d d ecis ion-makers agr eater degree of fr ee do m and fl ex oduct ionBut A Share d future went furthe r tha n principledstatements a nd norm ative ide al s. I t also involve dcommitme nts t o undertaking difficult pr actica l worktackling the visi ble manife stations of division andaddre ssin g displa ys of secta rian a ggre ssion suc h as fla gs,para military m ura ls and ke rb-paintings.

9 Public spac e w asto be rec lai me d and m ade sa fe for me eting, pl aying, Working a nd livi ng toge ther, with a pa rticul ar foc us onprotec ting tow n and c ity c entre s a s neutral c ivic venues. A long-term appr oa ch was to be de veloped for addre ssingthe ne eds of i nte rfaces whe re violenc e betwe en themember s of dif ferent communit ies has bee n rec urre ted r esi dent ial are as wer e to be supported andbecome a c ent ral f oc us of housing policy and planning.

10 The duplica tion of public service provision as a result of the co nflict in a reas such a s he alth and tra nsport were to beaddre ssed. Oppor tuni tie s for sha red and inter-c ultur allear ning wer e to be provided in e duca tion, with civic-mindedne ss prom ote d through citiz enship tea ching, and a nunderstan ding of the complex history of Northern I relandencour aged t hrough a common school curric ul um. Finally,any governm ent fund ed projec t, whether single ide nt ity orcross- comm unity , w as to be teste d in re lation to thequality of outc ome s and its abil ity to promote the buildingof good rel at ionships.