Teachers want more details from Education

The notes from feedback meetings held by Education with staff from La Mare de Carteret, Les Beaucamps, St Sampson’s, Les Voies and Le Murier schools in late April and early May showed that teachers were hungry for more details in many key areas.

La Mare de Carteret teachers said they needed transparency going forwards.

‘We all knew that LMDC was going to close, but at no point has that ever been said.

‘There’s going to be so much work that needs to be done,’ the teachers said.

Teachers at Les Beaucamps told the committee members ‘they still had a lot of questions’.

Issues including class sizes, classroom sizes, job security, equity of education across sites, SEND/SEMH provision, social systemic issues, staffing, transport and disruption were regular concerns raised by teachers.

They particularly questioned how staffing was to be arranged and whether staff would be redeployed.

In response, Education president Andrea Dudley-Owen acknowledged the importance of working out the realities of the impact on staff.

‘The process was not at this stage yet and further detail and work was still required,’ she told the meetings.

Education committee members stressed throughout that there was no more money available for structural building changes and that each mainstream campus would need to work within the buildings they currently occupy.

Teachers queried how the mainstream schools were supposed to accommodate an increase of up to 28 students in a class without investment in infrastructure.

Deputy Dudley-Owen told Les Beaucamps teachers that increasing the tipping point of class sizes would unlock certain funding for investment in literacy and numeracy at primary level, which would better equip children for secondary learning.

Louisa Aron, Education Development Officer, explained to the BHSC teachers that a five-form entry school would allow up to 130 students - 26 students per class.

She said if there was 131 students it would be over the tipping point and the school would become a sixth-form entry with an average class size for that cohort of approximately 23.

She said that when the tipping point was exceeded, the average class size would drop significantly.

One St Sampson’s teacher noted that the ‘uncertainty and disruption over the last few years had made life very difficult and staff do not want to be in this position again’.

However, teachers did welcome another chance for staff to be involved and be heard.

Staffing at the schools was also queried, with Les Voies and Le Murier teachers questioning if there would be staff restructuring across the three mainstream establishments, while La Mare teachers said they were fearful they would be the only ones vying for new jobs.

Deputy Dudley-Owen told teachers from Les Voies and Le Murier ‘naturally there will be some changes as we move to a new model in 2024 but we can’t give any detail at this time. We aren’t the employer – and that isn’t the passing the buck. P&R as the employer will work with the unions and member reps.’

n The Guernsey Press has not seen the feedback notes taken at the Guernsey Institute session or the session with the senior leaders from the four mainstream secondary schools, TGI and leaders from other education services.