According to NI Secretary Brandon Lewis, the UK Government will launch a program to support greater inclusion through education in Northern Ireland.
He will comment on the move when addressing a conference on Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
Organized by the NI Office (NIO) and the Wilton Park Government Agency, the event lasts three days.
It is titled A More Confident and Inclusive Northern Ireland.
He will inform the participants that the demand for integrated education is not currently being met.
- Integrated Education Bill passes through Stormont
- Mixed reactions to the new integrated Coleraine school
- No religious mix in “almost a third of NI schools”
Mr Lewis will say the government program will promote the benefits of integrated education for parents, teachers and students.
Earlier this year, a new law was passed in Stormont, obliging the Ministry of Education (DE) to give more support to integrated education.
The Integrated Education Act requires the department to increase the number of integrated school places and to set targets for the number of children to be taught there.
A statement from the NIO said the conference, starting Wednesday, will explore how integrated education is a “key enabler of opportunity and empowerment for young people” and a key principle of the government’s commitment to Leveling Up.
Discussions will also revolve around the potential of Northern Ireland and what needs to change in the coming years.
Around 7% of pupils in Northern Ireland are currently educated in almost 70 formally integrated schools which aim to mix pupils from Protestant, Catholic and other backgrounds.
Ulster University (UU) last year announced plans to help run a new integrated secondary school for around 1,200 pupils in Coleraine, County Londonderry.
The school would be the first of its kind in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland’s oldest integrated school, Lagan College in South Belfast celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.
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