Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education

The Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) was established in 1987 as a voluntary organisation to develop, support and promote Integrated Education in Northern Ireland. NICIE provides support and advice to those parents who wish to open new integrated schools or transform existing segregated schools. The organisation grew out of an amalgamation of bodies promoting integrated education. The NICIE web site contained the following note: "The underpinning principles of Integrated Education is that by bringing Catholic, Protestant and children of other faiths together in a shared learning environment, they can learn to understand, respect and tolerate their differences. By choosing an Integrated Education, children and their parents are contributing to the peace and reconciliation process in Northern Ireland."