The public has resoundingly voted for the term 'integrated education' over 'shared'​, a new poll has found. Picture posed

The public has resoundingly voted for the term 'integrated education' over 'shared'​, a new poll has found.

Some 64% believe that integrated is the best term to reflect a school that brings together children from Catholic, Protestant and other traditions, as opposed to just 17% who believe shared is the best term.

The results come as Stormont's education committee conducts an inquiry into integrated and shared education, seeking definitions and making recommendations.

The Catholic sector launched an extraordinary attack on integrated education as part of its submission to the inquiry, claiming that, if after 30 years it only has 7% of children, the sector should be reviewed.

The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) also called for Stormont's statutory duty to promote and encourage integrated education to be removed.

In a poll commissioned by the Integrated Education Fund (IEF), the public were asked whether they felt integrated, shared or mixed was the term that best reflects a school that brings together children and staff from Catholic, Protestant and other faiths.

An overwhelming majority of respondents felt that integrated was the best term. Of those approached, 64% thought integrated was the best term, 19% felt mixed was the best term, and 17% felt shared was the best term to employ.

Earlier this week a series of petitions of concern launched by the DUP scuppered an attempt by the Alliance Party for the new Education Authority - which will replace the current five education and library boards - to include a duty to promote and encourage integrated education.

Further DUP petitions of concern prevented the integrated sector from gaining a place on the board of the EA during the Education Bill debate at Stormont earlier this week.

The public have also voiced concern over the amount of money that tens of thousands of empty school places is costing us, particularly in light of the current economic crisis.

Our education system is splintered between the controlled (mostly attended by Protestants) and the Catholic maintained sector.

Almost 80% agreed that as Northern Ireland is faced with cuts to public services, the duplication of resources in education should be addressed as a matter of urgency.

In total 77% said yes, while just 9% said no, and 14% said they had no opinion on the matter.

And the public expressed frustration through the IEF poll about having a lack of say in decisions made by education authorities to change education services in their area, such as the closure of a school.

Some 86% said they felt that parents and the wider community in a local area should be consulted fully and have a say in these decisions.

Just 5% said no, and 9% said they had no opinion on the issue.

Responding to the findings, Tina Merron, chief executive officer of the IEF, called for the Stormont Executive to carry out an evaluation to find out exactly how much segregated schooling is costing us. The results of this poll show that the public see no workable plan from the Executive to address the issue of duplication and waste in the education system," she said.

"The education budget has been ring-fenced - rightly identified as a crucial service.

"But in reality this has led to profligacy from the Department of Education and an avoidance of the issue of expensive, segregated provision.

"I'd like to see the Executive carry out a proper evaluation of the costs of division in Northern Ireland, particularly in relation to our schools system which effectively segregates children to everyone's detriment."

Polling was carried out by Belfast-based polling and market research company LucidTalk.

The project involved interviewing a random sample of 1,089 Northern Ireland residents, aged 18+ (by telephone - approximately 90%), and direct face-to-face (approximately 10%) in the period from September 11 to September 24, 2014.

Around 93% of children in Northern Ireland attend schools which are either almost exclusively or predominantly Catholic or Protestant. The first integrated school - Lagan College - opened in Belfast in 1981 with 28 pupils.

There are now 62 integrated schools - 20 secondaries and 42 primaries- educating more than 22,000 children annually. Approximately 700 children each year are refused a place in integrated schools due to lack of space.

Belfast Telegraph