‘We’ve got to stop the politics and get on with the vision’
EDUCATION has revealed that its reorganisation plan could now cost as much as £140m. – up from an estimated £101m. last year.
Committee president Andrea Dudley-Owen warned deputies who hope to see its changes to secondary and further education halted that they risk plunging States schools into a staffing crisis. She told a Scrutiny public hearing yesterday that morale among teachers was so precarious that even the States decision to delay its debate on capital projects from July to September had prompted some staff to leave.
‘We know staff found their head teachers and said “we cannot continue with this uncertainty” – so as a result of political prevarication and uncertainty we are driving away extremely good staff from our secondary schools,’ said Deputy Dudley-Owen.
‘We are very far advanced with the implementation of the model, in terms of staffing structure, ring-fencing jobs and allocating roles. This is individual staff members’ lives. They’ve got contracts. There is considerable risk to derailing the project at this time.
‘This States Assembly cannot fail this generation of children. The strategy is in place. Now we must follow through for all our students. We’ve got to stop the politics and get on with the vision.’
Education has States approval for three 11-16 schools and a post-16 campus featuring a sixth form college and the Guernsey Institute. But its plans face a fresh vote in the States in September with the Policy & Resources Committee warning of insufficient funds to go ahead with a lengthy list of capital projects which two years ago had an estimated cost of nearly £600m.
It is understood that a majority of deputies would back further redevelopment of the Princess Elizabeth Hospital ahead of Education’s reorganisation, if they were forced to make a choice between the two projects.
Senior official Ed Gowan told the hearing that the committee had recently reviewed the costs of its plans, which also include investment in digital equipment.
‘We currently have a range between £122m. and maximum cost with all contingency included of £140m.,’ he said.
The committee currently does not have a building contractor for its projects. Mr Gowan said it was still hopeful of agreeing a fixed price contract.
Another senior Education official told the Scrutiny hearing that ongoing uncertainty had created instability in secondary schools’ leadership teams.
Head of education operations Sophie Roughsedge said that only five of 21 senior leaders in secondary schools were currently in roles with permanent contracts, and that 48 middle leaders were on temporary contracts.
‘We know that post-April, after the announcement of the delay to the capital projects debate, we definitely saw an increase in resignations, and we have lost some really good staff to the private colleges,’ she said.
‘Work is under way now through ring-fencing and job-matching where we are placing people into the new staffing structure.
‘We know from feedback through our staff engagement groups and from unions that certainty and people knowing where they are going is really, really important.
‘We shouldn’t underestimate the impact that the uncertainty has been having, particularly on the secondary workforce, around low morale, change fatigue, and a real concern about potentially another change of direction.
‘From an educational perspective we are really worried about what impact that might have on the quality of provision.’
Deputy Dudley-Owen, who in 2020 successfully led efforts to halt another education model previously agreed by the States, said she ‘understood the need to move forward now’ and criticised ‘a resistance to move forward within our States’.
