Integrated schools not a solution, says canon

The assumption that integrated schools would solve the sectarianism problem in Northern Ireland was a false one, a speaker told the Church of Ireland General Synod in Dublin yesterday.

Canon Houston McKelvey, presenting the church's Education Board report, said the reality of residential segregation in the North had to be acknowledged. In many parts of Northern Ireland pupils could not be integrated without a massive daily bussing operation, he said.

He referred to the education report which, from 1991 census figures for the North, showed that "in about half of Northern Ireland's enumeration districts (small homogenous areas containing around 750 households) the population was either more than 90 per cent Protestant or more than 90 per cent Roman Catholic." In a further 17 per cent, one or other community accounted for between 80 and 90 per cent of the population.

There was no obvious pattern to the location of existing mixed or formally integrated schools in the North, it said, while the church's Transferror Representatives' Council agreed with the North's Ministerial Working Party in its conclusion on the issue.

It felt that "even with extensive bussing of pupils (with its significant transport costs) the long-term potential for the development of formally integrated schools is limited."

Currently, there are 25 formally integrated primary schools in the North, with a total enrolment of 4,400 and 15 integrated secondary schools, with a total enrolment of 6,000. There were 42 mixed schools which did not have integrated status, seven of which were under Roman Catholic management. In 35 schools under "other" management, 10 per cent of pupils were of the respective minority community.

Discussing the church's Safeguarding Trust code of good practice for ministry with children, the Rev Ted Woods expressed concern that it could run into difficulties. Under the code, each parish sets up a panel of three, including the local rector, to which child abuse reports could be made.

Mr Woods said he had legal advice that, in the event of such a report being incorrect, the panel was protected legally but this was not the case for the person reporting.

The Ven Edgar Swann said that the advice of Mr Gerard Hogan SC of TCD, an expert on constitutional law, was being sought. Bishop John Neill of Cashel and Ossory suggested that instead of putting up notices on church property advising people to report such abuse to the panel, relevant Garda and health board numbers ought to be put up instead.

Archdeacon Michael Nuttall said mandatory reporting interfered with the confidence essential to the relationship of a priest with parishioners. It created a conflict of roles where the priest was concerned, he said. Ms Valerie Jones wanted to know what the church was doing about preventing suicide among young people. In recent months she had become aware of five such deaths.