The Integrated Education Fund (IEF) and Ulster University School of Education have launched the Future Schools Toolkit at Stormont.
The Future Schools project aims to support communities to explore sustainable solutions for primary school provision in their area. It was carried out by researchers at Ulster University’s UNESCO Centre and funded by the Community Foundation Northern Ireland through their Civic Innovation Programme.
Declining pupil numbers have led to school closures, forcing children to travel further by bus, bringing both a financial and an environmental cost. The Future Schools Project focused on two fundamental questions: How could parent and community voices be heard? How could communities be helped to engage early in the process?
The Draft Strategic Area Plan 2022-2027 emphasises a whole-school approach and consultation with schools, communities and young people as a key part of Area Planning. This Toolkit provides a framework for considering school sustainability and viability as well as options to explore including Transformation, Amalgamation and Federation.
Tina Merron, Chief Executive of the IEF said.
“It’s our intention that parents, Governors and Principals will be able to use the Toolkit to help safeguard children’s access to education in their area. We have worked not only with Ulster University, but many other stakeholders to produce this document that can hopefully start the conversations that need to happen, particularly in rural areas.”
Dr Jessica Bates, Ulster University said.
“The Toolkit is designed to enable parents and communities to visualise the kind of primary school provision in their area that would offer greatest viability, sustainability and quality of education for children and young people, AND support school leadership in their engagement with the Area Planning process. We hope that it will be a useful tool in the strategic area planning process, particularly with regard to exploratory work that might happen within an area where there are concerns about the sustainability of current provision.”
The toolkit will be available online from the IEF via https://www.ief.org.uk/resources/publications/ and from UU at: https://www.ulster.ac.uk/futureschools
