Education Minister Paul Givan laid the fifth report on Advancing Shared Education before the Northern Ireland Assembly. The document covers the period from April 2024 to March 2026.

The report states that 651 schools and pre-school settings participated in Shared Education partnerships by June 2025. This marks an increase from 629 settings in June 2023. Around 60,000 children and young people took part in shared learning during 2024/25.

Pupil numbers fell from 69,217 in the previous period to 59,999. The settings represent 46% of all pre-school, primary, post-primary, and special schools in Northern Ireland. Pupils involved account for 17% of the total pupil population.

PEACEPLUS funding started in 2024 and includes the ASPIRE project. It reached 17,345 pupils across 336 settings by June 2025. The programme allocates nearly 48 million euros up to 2029.

In the Mainstreaming Shared Education programme, 315 settings participated. Pupil numbers in these rose from 41,633 to 42,654. Post-primary pupil participation grew from 11,094 to 12,543 despite fewer schools involved.

Shared Education provides opportunities for children from different religious beliefs and socio-economic backgrounds to learn together. The Shared Education Act 2016 requires the Department of Education to encourage and report on such provision biennially.

The Department allocated 4 million pounds through the Education Authority for 2024/25 and 2025/26 to support mainstream programmes. Officials estimate an extra 1 to 1.5 million pounds per year is needed to boost participation.