Angela Casey

Developing Thinking Skills & Personal Capabilities through Shared Education

The High School Ballynahinch

The Ballynahinch Post Primary Partnership have developed a strong and successful collaborative relationship over many years. The partnership originated as a two school partnership between The High School Ballynahinch and St Colman’s High School in 2015 before expanding to include St Colmcille’s High School in 2016 and Assumption Grammar in 2017.

The partnership are part of the Ballynahinch Area Learning Community and the Network for Shared School Improvement. The partnership have worked on establishing a shared identity as part of the wider community through a range of events.

Angela is a former Shared Education Coordinator and a current Cluster Leader for the Ballynahinch Post-Primary Partnership. She has experience in the development and inclusion of Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities within Shared Education Programmes. Angela has been responsible for the planning, implementation and evaluation of Joint Practice Development Programmes focused on Thinking Skills including Metacognition.

Key learning

When considering ways to develop your Shared Education Partnership

  • Embedding Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities through Shared Education lessons

  • Working collaboratively with colleagues across partnership schools to share practice and observe learning

  • Explore opportunities to develop resources and materials which encourage thinking and understanding views

Questions to consider for your Shared Education Partnership:

  • How can I infuse Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities into my Shared Education Lessons?

  • Is the skills taught within Shared Lessons being explicitly shared with the pupils engaged in the learning?

  • How can I work with my partner school to share expertise, practice and resources that will improve the learning experience for our pupils?