De Lisle requete calls for ESC to reopen Herm School
A DEPUTY has entered the fight to get Herm School reopened, saying that the one-year trial closure of the school would only end up being a trial for the children.
Deputy David De Lisle, a former member of Education Sport & Culture, is preparing to lay a requete to get the committee to immediately reconsider its decision.
‘The issue is that there are staff with four or five young children between 0 to four. The others who are now going to be attending Vauvert are aged eight and up.
‘Is it feasible to go back and forth in rough weather? In winter they might be stuck overnight.
‘No parent would let their four-year-old go to school in those circumstances.
‘These are working people who can’t travel back and forth with their children.’
Herm’s leaseholder – Starboard Settlement chairman John Singer – has said he would fight tooth and nail to have the school
reinstated.
He is backing Deputy De Lisle’s requete and said they needed the school back.
‘This is a tragic decision which cuts through the heart of Herm’s community, and destroys our ability to employ anyone with young children,’ he said.
‘They haven’t thought through the consequences of putting four-year-olds on a ferry in winter. It would be totally irresponsible.’
The decision to close the primary school on Herm for a one-year trial was taken last May, with its four pupils due to start at Vauvert school in Guernsey in September, using the ferry to commute each day.
Deputy De Lisle said he was bringing the requete because he was concerned Herm would not be able to recruit staff to carry out essential services.
In the requete Deputy De Lisle states that the parents living in Herm with preschool children had not been consulted about the move and have all said they would resign from their current posts before their children reach school age.
ESC has previously said that a final decision will be made as to whether students go full-time to Vauvert after the trial period.
In May they announced the move was to give the students the same educational opportunities as Guernsey children and help them with social integration, rather than due to potential savings of between £60,000 and £85,000.
Deputy De Lisle said that he had met with John Singer, Herm’s leaseholder, and one of the families with young children who live in Herm during the last States meeting.
‘I feel that the Education department are trying to rationalise the primary sector,’ he said.
‘They have said on the record that there should only be one Catholic primary school and the La Houguette and Forest primary schools should be rationalised as one primary vehicle.’
‘I would be totally against that. I want Forest and Houguette to stay open. Houguette has already become one form entry, that is troubling to me.’
‘Peter Roffey has said there should be rationalisation and we should be working toward larger primary schools, like St Martin's which has 600-plus pupils. Children should be educated in their home area where they can walk to school.’
Education, Sport & Culture has said it cannot comment on the requete until members have seen it.
