Ulster Unionists

Giving our children every
chance of success
The Ulster Unionist Party has a long standing tradition of wanting children in Northern Ireland to be educated
together, across the religious divide. In mixing children together from the age of 4, you give them a virtual
inoculation jab against sectarianism. This would fulfil the vision of the first and last Ulster Unionist Education
Ministers - Lord Londonderry in 1921 and Basil McIvor in 1974. We respect the historic fact that most schools were
originally established by one or other of the churches. But now the situation is that all, bar a handful of independent
Christian schools, are fully funded by the state, in both capital and resource budgets. It therefore follows that, whilst
of course there are rights for those who want a faith based education, these must be balanced with the need for
fairness and equality.
In the context of overcapacity and budgetary constraints, simply expanding the Integrated ‘sector’, which more
often than not comes at the expense of the state controlled sector, is too simplistic an answer. The Ulster Unionist
Party believes in ‘integrating’ education in its wider sense, conscious that many state controlled and some
maintained schools are naturally mixed, and ‘integrated’ in all but name. A fully integrated system is not achievable
overnight. We would advocate policies which will lower and remove barriers to greater mixing within and between
different schools and sectors.
At the Ulster Unionist Party, we want to ensure that your education and the education of your children is not used as
a political tool. Instead we want to ensure that children and young people have all the support they need to have
a fulfilled and prosperous life and career. We firmly believe that inside every child is a spark of ability, creativity and
talent – it is up to us find out what that spark is and then work on it.
As part of the Official Opposition we have worked tirelessly to hold the government to account on matters of
education. We have:
• Called for the removal of Article 71 of the Fair Employment and Equal Treatment Order; 1998 which
exempts teachers in schools from protections against discrimination on the basis of religion;
• Called for the introduction of a Statutory Presumption against rural school closures to protect rural
schools from unnecessary and harmful closures;
• Strongly opposed the current proposals for Area Planning;
• Fought to secure the continued funding of Outdoor Education Centres;
• Worked to promote online safety and raise awareness of online bullying.
The DUP and Sinn Fein, as holders of the Education Ministry since 1999 have failed at a systemic level to deal with
the problems at the heart of our education system such as tackling underachievement, addressing the segregation
of our children, resolving the problem of post-primary transfer, and developing a funding structure that maximises
our resources. They have also failed to deal with short-term issues as they have arisen.
We would immediately take action to:
• Reverse any decision to close Outdoor Education Centres;
• Develop proposals to ensure that what remains of the £500 million allocated to shared and integrated
education projects under the Fresh Start Agreement is not returned to the Treasury and is fully spent;
• Work with teachers and employers to finally resolve the dispute over teachers’ pay.
18 | The Ulster Unionist Party | Manifesto 2017