EU Peace funding for shared education projects

Shared education projects on both sides of the Irish border are to receive over 35m euro of European Union (EU) funding.

The money is being provided by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) through the EU Peace IV programme.

The 35.3m euro funding aims to enable 350 schools to take part in shared education on a cross-border basis.

Over 2,000 teachers will also be trained to facilitate shared education for pupils.

Shared education is not the same as integrated education.

In integrated education, schools enrol approximately equal numbers of Catholic and Protestant children as well as children from other religious and cultural backgrounds.

About 7% of children in Northern Ireland are educated at 65 integrated schools.

Shared education projects can range from large-scale campuses like Strule in Omagh, where six schools will eventually be sited, to pupils in separate schools engaging in joint classes or activities.

It is activity of this kind that the SEUPB funding will promote.

The permanent secretary of the Department of Education Derek Baker said that the funding would be targeted at schools that had not previously engaged in shared education.

"This significant investment will enable schools that have not previously engaged in shared education to do so, allowing many more children and young people to learn together on a cross-community and cross-border basis," he said.

The Republic of Ireland's Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton TD said the funding would give pupils the chance to learn from communities other than their own.

"The experience gained during participation in 'shared education' will ensure our students have a better understanding of communities on both sides of the border," he said.

SEUPB is a north-south body that oversees the management of EU Peace IV and Interreg funding.

Since 1995 the border counties of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have benefited from millions of pounds of EU funding through the funding.

The Peace IV funding stream is due to run until 2020.