Uncertainty over secondary education must end – director
Uncertainty faced by parents and teachers over the future of secondary education in Guernsey is unacceptable and has to stop, director of Education Nick Hynes has said.
‘The States have discussed and debated every single model under the sun in the last 10 years. I don’t think there’s a model that hasn’t been debated.
‘They’ve now settled on the model, which they’ve resolved and directed the Education committee to implement, so we’re working on that and the majority of teachers want to be able to put that in place,’ said Mr Hynes.
He admitted that one of the reasons for the urgency from teachers was ‘fatigue’ after prolonged uncertainty, rather than it being borne purely out of enthusiasm for the committee’s plans for three 11-16 schools and a separate sixth form college.
Uncertainty had ‘affected our ability to retain and also, in some cases, to recruit good-quality teachers,’ he said.
Listen to Simon De La Rue's full interview with Nick Hynes here
The States debate which will determine which major capital projects should be given priority for funding was supposed to have taken place before the summer recess, but was delayed and is now slated for the States meeting in October.
The reorganisation of secondary and post-16 education – featuring a new campus at Les Ozouets – has been agreed by the States, but Policy & Resources has warned that it cannot be funded alongside the continued modernisation of the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
Each project is expected to cost well over £100m.
Treasury lead Deputy Mark Helyar has even warned that it might not be possible to fund either.
The future of the campus was cast further into doubt when the States terminated its relationship with building firm RG Falla. There has been no announcement about a replacement contractor.
Mr Hynes said the ongoing uncertainty faced by parents of children at States-maintained schools must come to an end as quickly as possible.
‘Some parents are choosing to send their children to grant-maintained colleges because they’re looking for that stability,’ he said.
‘What I’m seeking to do is to give the parents of children in the community who send their children to States-maintained schools that same certainty.
‘I don’t think it’s acceptable that parents within the Bailiwick have been waiting for a long period of time to understand what the model for secondary education is going to be.’
A model featuring two 11-18 colleges, operating as one school, was approved during the previous States term, but was reversed after a requete laid by Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, who has since become president of Education, Sport & Culture.
However, despite the lack of visible progress on the proposed campus for the new model, Mr Hynes was clear that any attempt to revert to previous solutions would be damaging.
‘We have 263 teachers at secondary stage who have gone through a ring-fencing process to understand what post they’re going to be taking up in that new model,’ he said.
‘To reverse out of the model now would be really detrimental.’
