Guernsey Press

GP comment: Faith in Education being tested

IN JUST 28 days’ time, the president of Education, Sport & Culture will ask islanders to put their faith in him and his committee.

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Former director of education Andrew Warren, left, and Education president Matt Fallaize.

On 4 September, Matt Fallaize will present the committee’s plans for the transformation of secondary education.

At stake is not just £150m. in capital costs but tens of millions more in annual costs – and the little matter of schooling generations of children.

It is a monumental responsibility. The pressure that brings should not be underestimated.

With less than a month to go, islanders have good reason to be nervous.

The policy letter is far from perfect. It skirts around important issues such as the ongoing costs, transport, design and infrastructure.

To turn these plans into reality without disrupting the education of thousands of secondary school pupils will take a huge team effort, with politicians, teachers and the civil service working perfectly in harmony.

The revelations of the past few weeks have damaged that relationship.

The new head of curriculum and standards starts work in a few weeks under a cloud. It is not her fault but the appointment process has been exposed as a rigged formality.

The director of education, the second-most-senior officer, was due to start full-time within days. She resigned yesterday due to family circumstances.

It is unfortunate, and nobody’s fault, but the result is the same. There is no time to appoint a replacement so her work will be shared among the senior team over the coming months.

That group was already facing a huge task. It just got harder.

This is a body that has already undergone major surgery. Few of the senior team have been in post for more than a few months and there have been five chief secretaries in the past two years.

One crucial role, the executive principal of the new Guernsey Institute, should have been filled at the start of July. No one has yet been appointed.

All that said, it seems unlikely the plans will be overturned. The States voted 27-11 in support of the new system in January last year.

But with a damaged committee, a breach of trust between deputies and civil servants and key posts left empty the leap of faith in approving the plans feels a lot further than it should.