Nursery World - Across the divide (1)

Prejudice is being prevented from taking hold in the minds of young children in divided communities. <B> Jackie Cosh </B> reports

Prejudice is being prevented from taking hold in the minds of young children in divided communities. Jackie Cosh reports

The divisions between Catholics and Protestants have haunted Northern Ireland for generations, with Protestant and Catholic children attending different schools, never mixing and rarely meeting. But as a recognition that if the peace process was ever to get anywhere this situation would have to change, the first integrated school was opened in Northern Ireland in 1981. Today there are 50 integrated schools, 12 nursery units and nine playgroups.

Lorna McAlpine of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) has been heavily involved in setting up these nurseries. She explains what prompted parents to push for integrated education. 'Parents want their children to be educated together in a planned environment. They want them to know about other faiths and for them to understand them.'

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