Below is a brief overview of the Sharing Education Programme

You can also view the SEP summary booklet to find out more.

Northern Ireland is in a time of unprecedented change and our education system faces significant challenges. Meeting these challenges will require, in the words of the Chief Inspector Marion Matchett, ‘… much higher levels of collaboration, joined-up thinking and action, and integrated working …’ (Chief Inspector’s Report, 2007).

The Sharing Education Programme (SEP) is a £3.6 million, three year programme which will promote reconciliation by facilitating collaboration and sharing between the first cohort of specialist schools and their partners. The programme is funded by the International Fund for Ireland and Atlantic Philanthropies and is being managed by Queen’s University. The first twelve school partnerships in SEP are deliberately cross-sectoral and comprise almost 60 schools and over 2,500 pupils.

We wanted to release the imagination and creativity of the teachers in the schools, so did not prescribe the focus of their activity. Rather, we asked only that the partnerships had to contain sustainable, high quality engagement by young people from different cultural traditions and backgrounds. Most important, the partnerships will compliment, or better add to, schools’ existing key priorities: schools working together, through collaboration, can and will advance our shared aspiration that all schools in Northern Ireland become good schools.

Queen’s University School of Education is providing training and research support for the schools, in collaboration with the leadership programmes in the Regional Training Unit. Oversight is provided by an independent panel of experts in education and reconciliation chaired by Sir George Bain and there will be independent evaluation.

Collaborative models allow schools to retain their distinctive ethos, while providing opportunities for their pupils to experience diverse teaching and learning contexts. Young people will gain academic or vocational qualifications as well as invaluable experiences that they can use in their journey into adulthood.  Teachers, pupils and in many cases parents will form relationships that cross existing cultural and traditional barriers.

In the longer term we will provide exemplars of best practice in collaborative practice that can be used by schools throughout Northern Ireland to foster reconciliation.  We hope also that the positive effects of the programme will be felt throughout the wider community.  That surely will be the greatest achievement of SEP and it is a testament to the vision and ambition for a better, shared future of all those schools that have agreed to take part in this exciting and groundbreaking initiative.

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