To ask the Minister of Education how parental demand data will be collated as required by the Integrated Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2022.

The ARK research report, issued by the Integrated Education Fund (IEF), titled "Assessing Demand for Integrated Education in Northern Ireland", noted that demand for integrated education can be categorised in two parts; (i) societal level inclination towards integrated education, which reflects the general openness of parents and guardians when considering integrated education for their children, and (ii) parental preference made for school admission, which reflects the specific pragmatic choices that parents and guardians make when applying to schools.

The conclusion of the report states “As outlined in the recent Strategy for Integrated Education in Northern Ireland (Department of Education, 2023b), no single data source or measure will provide the type or range of information needed to measure demand, resulting in the need for a suite of measures.”

To measure this (and track it over time) DE will:

Include societal level questions on demand and the factors parents consider when makings school admission decisions in the annual Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey.

Assess and monitor parental demand for Integrated Education as expressed through school admission preferences through the Education Authority school admissions portal.

Use the EA admissions portal to obtain permission from parents to be surveyed in respect of school admissions preferences and associated factors and,

Annually carry out a Northern Ireland wide survey of such parents to assess and monitor demand for Integrated Education.

Carry out ad-hoc local surveys of parents to further assess and monitor demand as required.

Consider the outcomes of parental ballots for transformation carried out by Electoral Reform Services.

Consider any other relevant survey data available.

Report on this within the statutory report on Integrated Education as required by the Act.

Review and amend the Integrated Education Strategy following the publication of the Section 10 Report on Integrated Education and all subsequent iterations.