No longer enough to be just listening

At the time there was a rump of deputies reluctant to support the £78m. plans because of the lack of detail about what it would mean for both the teaching environment and traffic management around the schools.

The planning application for the extensions has been been the kindling to reignite those fears and we are beyond the time when platitudes and words of reassurance are enough to see this off.

The teaching unions are unhappy with the designs, with Les Beaucamps especially coming across as a major compromise in a system that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for change.

That was always likely to be the case. Education withheld until after the debate the results of an early site analysis which showed how poorly it performed. Its predecessors had all been told it was unsuitable for extension.

The island now sees the ludicrous situation of buying churches for car parking spaces.

The teacher discontent is mirrored by that of the douzaines in the feeder areas for Les Beaucamps, who are now all aligned in fighting against what is planned.

This growing unease should not be dismissed lightly.

Education, Sport & Culture has been slow in making the planning and traffic information readily accessible to the public, that does not help.

It can no longer simply say it is listening and taking on board people’s concerns. It needs to counter and address them directly, and admit where there are areas that are not as good as they would be in an ideal world.

It is time to be explicit and address matters head on. If not, this is all in danger of unravelling.

History tells us what happens when major projects straddle two governments and become election issues – just take one glance at the waste debate.

Parents, residents and professionals all need to be kept on side with reforms that were already divisive.

Education is in real danger of losing control of the classroom.