We are two small, Catholic, primary schools in the beautiful county of Durham: Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic School in Esh Winning and St Joseph’s Catholic School in Ushaw Moor. We are situated only 2 miles apart and serve our local communities of Bear Park, Broompark, East Hedleyhope, Esh Winning, New Brancepeth, Ushaw Moor and Waterhouses, among others. We share a Parish Priest, Father David Coxon, who is also on our Governing Body.
The schools had shared a head teacher for a number of years before deciding, in 2015, to Federate. This means that it is a formal partnership that the schools have and a much more collaborative way of working. There is one governing body that oversees the strategic direction of each school within the Federation. Our staff work very closely together, particularly at management level, and this allows for best practice to be shared and benefit all our children. There are times throughout the school year that our children come together too. We celebrate Federation Days, often starting with Mass, or go on trips together (whole school as well as class or year group trips) and everyone enjoys these joint events.
