Coalition for Inclusive Education Launches
Wednesday 26th October, The Long Gallery, Stormont, 7:00pm
A group of high-profile organisations and academics have come together to call for young people of different religions and beliefs to be better included in the Northern Ireland education system.
The Coalition for Inclusive Education, which launches on Wednesday evening at Stormont, says it is committed to reforming our education system to be inclusive of all pupils, staff and parents, regardless of religion or belief.
We believe that, if teaching about religions and worldviews is to have application and relevance in a plural society, it must include balanced and meaningful learning about a diverse range of beliefs.
The Coalition will campaign for:
- all state-funded schools to foster an inclusive ethos based on shared values
- a recognition of each person’s right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief
-education about a range of religious views which is objective, critical, pluralistic and inspected in line with other subjects
These will be discussed at the Stormont event, with an audience including MLAs, government officials and other key stakeholders.
The Coalition includes interfaith, humanist and Muslim delegates, Integrated Education and race equality campaigners, human rights lawyers, and education academics.
Stranmillis senior lecturer Dr. Norman Richardson said he was “delighted” to chair the Coalition.
“We are committed to reforming how religion and belief exist in our education system, and making sure a balance is struck between the right of parents to decide what religion or belief their child is educated in, and the freedom of religion of children themselves – both enshrined in international law,”
The formation of the Coalition follows recent high-profile law changes and legal challenges around religion and belief. For example, it is common practice for many schools to hold regular collective Christian worship. This practice, whilst it is in keeping with the current education legislation in NI, has been found to be in breach of human rights laws by a High Court ruling this summer.
These areas will be a key focus for the new coalition.