As a result of the Pandemic, face to face pupil activities have been put on hold. During this time our Shared Education co-ordinators have been working with the EA to complete a number of tasks and teacher professional development modules. Later this year, we plan to reconnect our pupils with some engagement in term 3 and plan to relaunch a Whole School Shared Education Programme in Term 1 of 2022.
Background Since the early 1980s, the department of education has developed a range of programmes to promote cross-community relations by bringing young people from the two traditions together. The main aim of these programmes was to improve mutual understanding and relationships between the two main traditions without excluding any other tradition. Many schools also developed working relationships with other schools from different backgrounds independently. In recent years with the support of external funding, the concept of a more strategic approach to Shared Education has evolved. “Building a strong and Shared Community” has been recognised by the Northern Ireland Executive both as a key priority and as essential to the growth of a strong, modern economy and society.
The vision is for:
‘Vibrant, self-improving Shared Education partnerships delivering social change through educational benefits to pupils; promoting equality of opportunity, good relations, equality of identity, respect for diversity and community cohesion; and encouraging the efficient and effective use of resources’
Shared Education is designed to improve educational outcomes for young people and tackle the problem of underachievement which is characteristic of our education system by breaking the cycle of social disadvantage, educational failure and restricted life chances.
The Benefits of Shared Education for our Pupils
• Education Gives pupils access to a wider choice of subjects, increases access to specialist teaching and more modern facilities; and facilitates the sharing of ideas and good practice between teachers from different schools within the partnership
• Social Improves societal wellbeing by promoting a culture of mutual understanding and relationships through significant, purposeful and regular engagement and interaction in learning between pupils from different schools and their communities
• Economic Makes more effective and efficient use of limited resources to improve value for money
Our Partnership
Our De La Salle- Blackwater partnership is now in its seventh year. Feedback from teachers suggests that this joint professional development has helped enthuse teachers and raise standards, not only within the partnership but within the individual classrooms. Our Shared Education programmes are devised by the teachers from the member schools who undertake joint research and planning as well as developing the necessary resources to deliver an enjoyable series of lessons. To date, a variety of departments have become involved -maths, ICT, science, PE, the student Council and our students with English as an additional language.
Our Head of English, Miss Graham, joined our partnership, coming on board to develop a new programme aimed at supporting our students for whom English is an additional language. The shared education theme for our EAL students is ‘Raising Aspirations’ and this started successfully last year with a guided tour of Queen’s University Belfast including the Halls of Residence and a tour of the Botanic Gardens.
SHED funding has allowed our maths partnership to purchase IZAK 9. IZAK9 is a fun, dynamic and highly interactive maths resource – made of 27 cubes this resource makes learning maths more enjoyable and hands on. The maths teachers from the partnership schools, together planned a programme comprising 9 activities and a quiz that reinforced concepts:
• Recalling and use the multiples of 3
• Calculating a fraction, decimal or percentage of an amount
• Adding and subtracting negative numbers #
• Improving Numeracy skills
• Improving algebra skills
This programme had a strong focus on encouraging reconciliation among the pupils. Pupils from the three schools were given opportunities to work together in mixed groups, completing the IZAK9 tasks and quiz.
Shared Education has allowed a group of year 8 pupils the opportunity to develop field work skills at Delamont Countryside Centre. Science teachers from the partnership schools have developed a very successful programme which is now in its fourth year and allows pupils to access and experience an area of the curriculum that in previous years due to a lack of funding wasn’t possible. First and foremost, reconciliation is at the heart of the programme: creating opportunities for and encouraging children from different religious/ social backgrounds to work together in mixed groups and build relationships. The programme involves:
•Developing field work skills- quadrat sampling, line transects, pond dipping and species identification using keys
•Data logging software- the use of temperature, pH sensors with data logging software and comparing the effectiveness of this technology with manual techniques
•Data gathering, interpretation, report writing and presentation of findings
A group of year 8 pupils were given the opportunity to learn about the key principles in athletics. They then applied these principles to improve their performance in a wide range of sporting activities. There was a strong focus on reconciliation: working with, supporting and encouraging pupils who are from a different religious/ social background. The pupils completed three 2-hour sessions delivered by Athletics NI coaches and supported by the PE staff from the partnership schools. During these sessions, pupils completed the following activities:
• Sprinting – work on mechanics with drills to develop stride length
• Principles of jumping – develop explosive take-off and measure run up. Standing broad jump activity
• Throwing – principles of throwing events i.e. explosive, trajectory
• Principles of jumping – develop explosive take-off and measure run up. High jump technique
• Endurance running – understanding of principles of pacing in longer running events
• Competition day- Group split into mixed teams (gender and school) and competing in a range of athletics activities. Presentation of medals to participants
In previous years we have benefited from our SHED partnership ICT programme which provided both teachers and students with an opportunity to develop their coding skills. This involved ICT teachers and a group of year 9 students attending a coding masterclass delivered by a coding expert at Stranmillis College. Following on from this the ICT partnership raised awareness of ICT career opportunities in Northern Ireland with a visit to Bel Tech, Belfast, allowing our students to find out about and meet with hundreds of ICT companies. To promote reconciliation pupils worked in mixed groups throughout the delivery of this programme. This has been a great opportunity for our students to witness the ICT career opportunities available to them and raise their aspirations for the future.
IPastoral leaders from our partnership schools have planned and delivered a diverse programme to the student council members and whole year groups over the last few years. In previous years the three student councils worked together on an activity around the issue of the ‘elderly in our community’ with specific reference on nursing homes. Last year the student council were involved in promoting “Drug and Alcohol Awareness” among their peers. The YMCA’s SHAHRP group, led by the service co-ordinator Jenny Magee, worked with the student council on a ‘School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction’ project. The student councils from each of the three schools worked together in our common goal to promote reconciliation. The student council returned to their schools as mentors and advocates for SHAHRP within their year groups. Jenny returned later in the term to deliver a full scale workshop to all year 9 students within the partnership.
Later in the year, the three student councils looked at differences between different communities by studying the topic of ‘political conflict in Northern Ireland’ when they took part in a walking tour and discussion of the political murals on the Falls and the Shankill Road.
Copyright © De La Salle High School - Downpatrick 2023
Take Care, Show Care, Teach Care, Evoke Care