Gillian Cuddy

Leading a Primary Partnership

Killowen PS & St. John’s PS, Coleraine.

Killowen Primary School and St John’s Primary School are situated in the Killowen area of Coleraine, on the banks of River Bann. They have been successfully working together for over 20 years and joined Shared Education Signature Project in Cohort 1. The schools are within walking distance of each other and many of the children live in the local area,

Shared Education has enabled the schools to develop programmes which have enhanced the learning experiences of our pupils, enabled staff to build personal & professional relationships and connected the schools to both sides of the community within Coleraine.


Gillian is currently the Shared Education Coordinator and has had many years’ experience in this role. Gillian is responsible for the planning, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of Shared Education.


Key Learning

When considering ways to develop your Shared Education Partnership

  • Recognise the importance of developing activities which challenge pupils and allow them to engage in discussion

  • Share the vision with all stakeholders and provide regular updates to demonstrate progression along the ETI Self-Evaluation Framework for Partnership Working

  • Consider how you can improve community connections within your partnership by engaging with parents

  • Plan & Evaluate Shared Education with the use of the Pupil Pathway

Questions to consider when developing a Shared Education Partnership

  1. Do the coordinators within your partnership provide feedback termly or annually to the Board of Governors?

  2. Are you familiar with the Pupil Pathway which can be used to plan Shared Education?

  3. How do you engage with your parents and share the impact of Shared Education?

  4. Does your partnership regularly self-evaluate to determine what is going well and where you are going next?

Supporting Materials

1. A Pupil Pathway: A Resource for Teachers to Support Shared Education

2. Developing Shared Education: A Framework for School Partnerships

3. Joint Practice Development: A Menu for Schools, Partnerships & Clusters

A_Pupil_Pathway_Shared_Education.pdf
ETi_Self-Evaluation_Framework.pdf
Joint Practice Development Menu.pdf

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