To ask the Minister of Education whether he will take forward recommendations contained within the Independent Review of Education in relation to the creation of jointly managed community schools.

My Department has already published a Circular, in place since 2015, setting out the framework for jointly managed schools, and this remains available on the Department’s website.

To date, no sustainable proposal for a jointly managed solution has been brought forward under that framework.

As Minister, I have outlined in the published response to the Independent Review of Education, that my Department will develop further guidance and support to facilitate schools from different sectors to become Jointly Managed Community Schools. Such guidance will build upon existing support; and reinforce that any future decisions are informed by evidence, shaped by local need, and centred on the best interests of children and young people. However, it is not an immediate priority, in the context of current demand and other educational challenges.