El Cavador

On 3 February 2026, Education Minister Paul Givan responded to the Supreme Court’s JR87 ruling with an Oral Statement and a Circular on withdrawal from Religious Education and collective worship. As with the curate’s evaluation of the rotten egg served to him by his bishop, the Department’s response is “good in parts”. The circular substantially improves withdrawal procedures. The Purdy review promises proper curriculum reform through consultation, with a new RE syllabus by September 2027. These represent genuine progress. But …

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Given that shootings are rarely out of the news, a recent BBC News story on firearms ownership in NI should be a cause for concern. NI has approximately 53,000 licensed firearms holders—roughly one for every 36 people, or about 2.8% of the population. In England and Wales, the figure is closer to 0.8%. The PSNI seizes firearms from more than one licence holder per day due to concerns over continued suitability. These figures prompt an obvious question: why does NI …

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Peter Shirlow’s border poll analysis, recently serialised by Slugger, offers insights that reach beyond the usual constitutional considerations. The most significant discussions emerging from this issue concern not only the more obvious practical considerations but also the increasingly prominent ‘Other’ category—a segment of voters who choose not to identify as either unionist or nationalist. They are presented with nothing but a binary political framework that fails to accommodate their perspectives. Education presents a comparable dilemma. El Cavador highlighted a transformation …

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A follow-up analysis to ‘Time to Flip the Switch: An Opt-In Model for Religious Education in Controlled Schools’. A four-year-old girl came home from her Belfast primary school and started reciting prayers before meals. Her non-religious parents had not taught her this. Her school had. That girl came to be known as JR87, and her legal challenge against mandatory Christian religious education and collective worship ultimately reached the Supreme Court. In paragraph 88 of his judgment, Lord Stephens delivered the …

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A follow-up analysis to ‘The Irony of Integration: How a Progressive Ideal Can Impede Progress in a Transitional Society’. Northern Ireland has already acknowledged the importance of societal default settings. Dáithí’s Law (which came into effect on 1 June 2023) amended the organ donation framework by shifting from an opt-in to an opt-out model after it became clear that the previous default was misaligned with public sentiment: most people supported donation but had not registered. The policy change acknowledged a …

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When schools serve pluralist majorities but remain governed by sectarian minorities, integration becomes segregation by other means. A follow-up analysis to ‘Take Down the Hurdles: Three Barriers to Equitable Access in Education’. A High Court judgment in October 2025 upheld the Education Minister’s decision to reject Transformation proposals submitted by Rathmore Primary School and Bangor Academy that would have enabled them to join the Integrated Education (IE) sector. Although this may appear to be a relatively straightforward case, it reveals …

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A follow-up analysis to ‘It’s not just Protestant schools: Catholic schools are changing too…‘ A Year 7 girl at Holy Rosary Primary School will transfer to a post-primary school in September. Although her family background is Catholic, Nationalist, and Republican (CNR), her parents designated her as ‘Other’ upon her entry into P1, part of the 54% majority at Holy Rosary who chose this option over ‘Protestant’ or ‘Catholic’. She lives in East Belfast, where no Integrated primary school is available. …

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In January 2025, Education Minister Paul Givan refused transformation bids by Bangor Academy and Rathmore Primary School. Parents at both schools had voted overwhelmingly in favour of integrated status. Department officials recommended approval. Givan overruled them, citing an insufficient number of Catholic pupils. DENI’s 2024/25 School Census tells the whole story. At Rathmore Primary, 268 pupils are designated ‘Other’—52% of the school. Protestant pupils number 228 (45%). Catholics: just 16 (3%). At Bangor Academy, 736 pupils are ‘Other’ (39%), twelve …

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As the Supreme Court deliberates on the landmark JR87 case, which challenges the exclusively Christian nature of religious education and collective worship in Northern Ireland (NI) schools, public attention is rightly focused on curriculum content. However, if the issue is one of content, it is equally about control: who shapes the values that govern our classrooms, and under what mandate? This case serves as a reminder of the necessity for reform of the Education Authority (EA), particularly concerning the outdated …

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A recent Slugger OP argued for increasing the number of elected political members on the boards of our public bodies. Instead, I propose abolishing this outdated aspect of post-conflict governance. The sectarian frameworks of the institutions we entrust to provide our public services exemplify the “ugly scaffolding” that continues to support our unparalleled system of government more than a quarter-century after the Good Friday Agreement. It is time to depoliticise our public bodies and prioritise the quality of our services …

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