Education scheme didn't discriminate against Catholics, judge rules

A landmark Department of Education (DE) scheme to tackle underachievement did not discriminate against Catholics, a judge has ruled.

Mr Justice Humphreys dismissed a legal challenge to the methods used by DE to decide funding under the RAISE programme.

Designed to tackle educational disadvantage, it was announced by minister Paul Givan in 2024.

Substantially funded by €24m (£20m) from the Irish government's Shared Island Fund, RAISE promised a "whole community" approach to reduce disadvantage.

It arose out of the wide-ranging A Fair Start report, which recommended a range of measures to tackle underachievement.

But questions were asked about how it was decided which schools would get money from the RAISE scheme.

More than 400 schools in 15 areas across Northern Ireland were originally identified as being eligible for funding.

But a list of schools published by DE included almost 40 grammar schools and a prep school, where parents typically pay fees for their children to attend.

Three children challenged how Givan and the department decided which areas in Northern Ireland should receive funding under the scheme.

Two of the children were not identified but one was a primary school pupil in Belfast and one was a post-primary pupil from Derry.

The third child was a pupil at an Irish language primary school in Belfast.

Lawyers for the children argued that how some areas were chosen in RAISE was discriminatory, discriminating against Catholics, and against children actually suffering significant educational disadvantage.

They argued that areas identified to benefit from funding were disproportionately those with a majority of people identified as Protestants or others.

They also argued that the scheme discriminated against pupils from Belfast and Derry.

But in the High Court on Friday, Mr Justice Humphreys dismissed the claims.

In a detailed judgment, he said that there was no direct discrimination against Catholics or on the basis of religious belief in the decision to use GCSE results as the basis for selecting areas to benefit from the scheme.

He also said that areas selected for funding had satisfied a variety of criteria, and the process was a "complex" one involving many officials and experts.

The ruling also said that there was "nothing irrational about the selection methodology adopted."

Mr Justice Humphreys further said that it was "not part of the court's role to critique policy development."

Givan welcomed the High Court's "clear and comprehensive judgement that affirms the department's approach to delivering the RAISE programme".

"The judgement confirms that the methodology adopted, shortlisting areas based on multiple deprivation measures and prioritising those with the lowest levels of GCSE attainment, was consistent with the programme's purpose and policy intent," Givan said.

He added that the judgement "provides certainty and allows the department to move forward to the next stage and begin to release funding to locality-led projects under the RAISE Programme".