A £1.9million funding package to support schools in Northern Ireland that wish to transform to integrated status has been announced by the UK government.
The funding will go to the Integrated Education Fund and the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education, which work to enable more children from different community backgrounds to be educated together.
Secretary of State Brandon Lewis said he hoped integration in schools in Northern Ireland "will soon become the norm and not the exception".
Read more: UK government working on plans to promote integrated education in Northern Ireland
He said: "Seeing greater integration of education across Northern Ireland is an absolute priority for me.
"When a school becomes integrated, children learn, grow and build communities together. Parents get to know each other, and long-term friendships develop. This is an essential aspect of the reconciliation process.
"My hope is that integration will soon become the norm and not the exception in schools across Northern Ireland.
"The work done by the IEF and Nicie is essential in helping Northern Ireland’s children to grow up in a truly shared society."
Around 7% of pupils in Northern Ireland are educated currently in formally integrated schools, which aim to mix pupils from Protestant, Catholic and other backgrounds.
The IEF will receive £1,465,000 and Nicie will receive £435,000 over the next two-and-a-half financial years.
Tina Merron, chief executive of the Integrated Education Fund, said: "Integrated education is a core commitment of the Good Friday Agreement and we remember that the British government is a co-guarantor of that agreement.
"This is an enormous boost to our charitable organisation as we seek to empower and support parents, schools and local communities who want to see more Integrated schooling.
"In the past few years 14 schools across Northern Ireland have held a democratic ballot of their parents in favour of integrated status and the IEF and Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education are now working to support more schools than ever before."
Roisin Marshall, the chief executive officer of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education, said: "This funding will enable Nicie to offer more dedicated support to those school communities who wish to explore, develop and embed their Integrated ethos.
"We are very grateful for this additional support to help to meet the increase in parental demand for integrated education."
In March, a private members' bill brought by Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong was passed at Stormont to require Northern Ireland's education department to give more support to integrated education.
A DUP move to block the legislation using a petition of concern failed as it did not gain enough support. The party had argued the law would force Stormont to "prioritise one sector over all others".
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