Sharing, Good Relations and Partnership Between Primary Schools

Helena Kelly from Sacred Heart Boys Primary School shares her story:

‘I’m from West Belfast. I went to a single-sex Catholic primary school, then to a single-sex Catholic secondary school, and then went straight from school to St Mary’s College, which is a very Catholic institution, and straight out into the world of teaching. I taught in West Belfast for twenty years and I’ve been working in North Belfast for the last seven years.

It started for me in college. It was very segregated. You've got St Mary's teacher training college and then you have Stranmillis. We had a few token days over the years as a student, but then when you were out working there was  Education for Mutual Understanding and there was some money  for trips. It wasn't overly structured but it was trying to build relationships. But it was so unstructured that it was dependent on the personalities of the teachers who wanted to get to the nitty gritty.

When I met Catherine, we really gelled and it was the first step into our little personal success story with the children. We just got on so well and the kids could see that. Catherine and I have developed a friendship because we've worked together for a couple of years. We have spent time together, so the children need to spend time together. The children need to be in each other's company.

Buddy Up! was the best thing I have ever done with regard to  shared education. It’s brilliant because it gets to the heart  of the real issues. Buddy Up! talks about the flags and the  traditions. They learn they have different beliefs, a different identity and a different culture but they are also exactly the same too.

We saw it unfolding before our eyes. We work in interface areas and we saw such a softening and understanding. They were having Snapchat groups, WhatsApp  groups and meeting up outside school. It really broke down barriers, but it has to go hand-in-hand with more experiences together.  

It was the first time I saw children being honest and respectful and not frightened because it was ok to express their feelings. We paired the children with their buddy and did subgroups. We thought very carefully where the children  would be best placed so that everybody got a voice and everybody was comfortable. 

In my opinion the content is groundbreaking in this country.  I never had a Union Jack in my classroom before! I remember,  after the first training day, telling a friend I was on this amazing training and I couldn't wait to get started on it in school. I was so interested to see how it would look in a classroom. 

CRIS facilitated it so well and they use beautiful workbooks. The children were allowed to say how they felt, and they were respected and not judged, and they did speak. I think now I could do it with my class. I would never have thought of doing it before. However, when we do it ourselves it isn't enough. The children need to meet each other.  

This year our money for shared education was cut which meant we only had Buddy Up!, so it wasn't as phenomenally successful  this year because there was less contact time with the children. You try to be creative with no money but you need a  bus and it’s a very expensive thing for a school. 

We're not looking for a lot of money but there should be more poured into it so we can have sustained contact between our schools.

It has to start from nursery or P1 and continue on and you're  paired with the same class the whole way through. It's about  making friendships and relationships. This is about children  and looking into the future so it's about building relationships with the children. It takes time and planning, lots of experiences together and lots of shared experiences for the children.’ 

Catherine Chambers from Ballysillan Primary School shares her story:

‘I was brought up in East Belfast and I went to Belmont Primary, Strandtown Primary, Sullivan and Tech and ended up in University in Bangor in Wales. I came back and was very lucky to get my job here 25 years ago and I've been here ever since.  

In the early days of EMU, trips were organised to take your class out for activities together, but the children were completely segregated throughout the trip. They did get to mix at lunchtimes but they didn’t mix at all unless it was facilitated. 

More recently, when Helena came on board, we had more of a sense of purpose because we enjoyed it, our heart was in it  and we get on so well. The children could see that too.

In the Buddy Up! programme, the children can talk about their feelings towards the flags and traditions in interface areas, how they feel about bands parading. Then they revisit it together with the Buddy Up! facilitators in the classroom. They learned that it was okay to change your mind and we saw children who changed their minds and views, not completely, but they were a lot more comfortable with the other side of the coin.   

We spent time pairing up individual children. We went through everything, their likes and dislikes, personality and ability. We paired up the children, knowing who would be able to bring somebody out of their shell in Helena's class and who in my class needed a little bit of support.

On the training days we were trained as pupils and we experienced it. We were asked all the same questions the  children were. In the training, we could see people opening up and becoming more comfortable, which lets you see how your  children feel when they're doing this.

Funding to get the children together is the big thing. They need to meet each other as often as possible. It's the key to success. Then that success carries on into secondary school. Last year was such a success. They were friends. But this year there was no money for shared education. They only got to know each other and that was it. There was nothing  else for them. We can arrange stuff. We thought of things like sports days and picnics, but there's very little money there to do it. We can do it cheaply, but you need a bus, as a minimum. 

I think to have the success we had last year you definitely need the follow-up and without more visits it goes flat for the children, like that's it. I don't think it's going to be successful unless they have the familiarity beforehand and follow-up after.’