Guernsey Press

‘There simply must be a resolution to this debate’

Education president Deputy Matt Fallaize says that his committee is determined to find the right solution to the crisis in secondary learning, not simply validate his committee's model of two 11-18 colleges

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'Every year nearly a quarter of our 11-year-olds are entering school buildings which were wholly inadequate 20 years ago.' (Picture by Sophie Rabey, 28431362)

THE need for reform of secondary education is no longer seriously disputed. Committed school leaders and teachers are doing their best for our students, but the current structure presents insurmountable challenges. Maintaining small year groups across four sites limits curriculum breadth and unnecessarily increases workload for some teachers in very small departments. Students face an uneven distribution of resources and vast inequality of facilities based on nothing more than where in the island they live. Every year, nearly a quarter of our 11-year-olds are entering school buildings which were wholly inadequate 20 years ago. Schools have little flexibility over how they use their resources and it still takes far too long to recruit teachers in a very competitive labour market. It is no wonder that outcomes for students are on average below those achieved in parts of England with similar demographics to Guernsey despite the cost per student being higher locally.

None of this is new. It was seven years ago this month when my predecessor but one, Robert Sillars, told the States that his Education Committee was going to review the structure of secondary education. Since then, successive States, often having listened to the views of teachers and the wider community, have rejected numerous models during the lives of three different Education Committees: selection at 11, a four-school model and a three-school model; and most recently they paused the introduction of two 11-18 colleges pending a further review of that model against three other models, namely:

. Three 11-18 colleges;

. Two 11-16 colleges and one 11-18 college;

. Three 11-16 colleges and a separate sixth form college on a different site.

In leading this latest review, our committee has only one objective: to present a policy letter to the States, following the review, which allows the States to agree a model which they can finally implement to end what has become a prolonged period of uncertainty and instability so that we can provide schools and teachers with the best chance of securing the best possible outcomes for students in the years ahead. If the review does not succeed, students and teachers will remain stuck in the current model with all the weaknesses described above. Sooner rather than later, we will also have to make efficiencies which the current model cannot provide without compromising the quality of education.

Deputy Matt Fallaize. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 28431359)

I want to be clear that the review is not an exercise in validating the paused model of two 11-18 colleges or dismissing other models previously considered. Our committee is committed to reforming the current structure and is open-minded about how this is done. But the reforms must surely extend opportunity, promote excellence, ensure parity for young people no matter where in the island they live, avoid the kind of educational compromises which would result from trying to generate efficiencies in the current model, and generally help our teachers and students achieve the highest possible standards.

The States directed the latest review in March. Later that month the States agreed our committee’s proposals for how and when the review should be carried out, including the various models to be assessed. We put the need for engagement with teachers at the heart of these proposals.

We have been meeting unions representing teachers and other staff in schools at least fortnightly, sometimes weekly. We discussed with them the terms of reference for the review which we published last week. At present there is a survey out to teachers and others in education from which we will obtain a clearer understanding of their principles and priorities for the future of the secondary phase. The survey was informed by extensive discussion with union representatives. Alongside the survey, this week I am in schools meeting staff to discuss their views. These discussions and the survey will assist the technical analysis of the various models which our professional education advisors are currently undertaking and they will be followed by further consultation and engagement with staff and other stakeholders in the autumn.

In order to inject an appropriate level of impartiality – and hopefully community confidence – into the review, we are taking steps to appoint at least one independent overseer who will be provided with full access to all our work to provide assurance that it is objective, balanced and evidence-led. Our advisors’ technical analysis of models is being verified by an external educationalist. Further consultation with staff in the autumn will be supported by an independent facilitator.

The States have directed that the findings of the review should be submitted for debate by April 2021. The States will expect the committee to recommend one of the models reviewed. Of course, there is a general election this October and so the final stages of the review will be overseen by the committee elected at the start of the next States’ term. My view is that the policy letter which goes to the States in the first half of 2021 should include sufficient information about all the models reviewed to allow the States, on behalf of our community, openly to agree their preferred model even if it is not the model recommended by the committee.

Some of the proposers of ‘pause and review’ have graciously welcomed our approach to the review. Others still intent on fighting previous arguments say – quite wrongly – that we are trying to bulldoze through our original model. Let me reiterate: we are more interested in finding the model which is better than the current model, around which there is enough agreement and support to secure much-needed reforms and improvements, than we are in fighting previous arguments.

When our committee was elected two-and-a-half years ago, we set out an ambitious policy agenda. Much has been achieved. The States agreed to integrate providers of further and higher education as The Guernsey Institute and plans are advancing well to develop new, fit-for-purpose facilities at Les Ozouets for this critical sector of education. The States also agreed to redevelop La Mare de Carteret Primary School. Before the end of this States’ term we will submit a policy letter to the States proposing a new Education Law, which is long overdue because the current law is decades out of date. Our curriculum is being developed based on the latest educational evidence and an improved Bailiwick schools’ inspection programme will commence once Covid-19 travel restrictions allow. We have secured substantial additional investment in various areas of education critical to outcomes for students while reducing the costs of education administration.

But clearly the future structure of secondary education will remain at the top of the in tray when the next States takes office in October. This time, following this review, there simply must be resolution to this debate, which has been going on for too long. If not, our students – your children and mine and our grandchildren – will continue to pay the price of continued prevarication and inaction.