Leading us into an educational abyss

Since writing that letter, events have come to light that made me reconsider my position and I now realise that I gave Mr Fallaize more credit than he was due.

The GCSE results have been published and they confirm that the system wasn’t broken. It is, in fact, better than ever, so I would be delighted to understand from the committee what the changes to the system will deliver or even just some assurances that results won’t go backwards?

There have also been more departures from the Education department that made these results possible.

I can’t help but think about how my CEO would react if he placed me in charge of a high-performing team who had delivered positive change, consistently over the past five years, and after a few months he popped his head around the corner to see how things were going and found a room full of empty desks.

How would he react when I told him that I have changed pretty much everything and got rid of all the previous team as we needed aligned thinking?

How would he react if I replaced them with people who had only overseen abject failure but people who all agree with me?

If I told him that I have managed to secure the ‘secondment’ of a head teacher whose school had just posted the only declining results on the island, whose student feedback is appalling and whose teachers were close to going on strike just last year?

The first answer to the above is that I would be told in no uncertain terms that results better go up or you are out.

But the reality is that this would never happen in a business because the CEO is ultimately accountable and would have to agree to these wide-scale changes. This would also need to get wider board approval, to avoid rogue people going off and making terrible decisions.

Which brings me back to the president for Education. He is not bright enough to do this alone. He has required a supporting cast within the States of Guernsey.

The CEO and COO have the authority and, more importantly, responsibility to ensure that power-crazed politicians do not go rogue and they have failed to do this.

So, while my frustration is directed at Mr Fallaize (don’t worry, you are not off the hook, this will continue), my anger is with the lily-livered civil servants, too afraid to challenge and who forgot their role is to serve the people – not the politicians and certainly not themselves.

The saddest part of this debacle is that the only way these people will have to answer for themselves is when results turn, the Education department implodes, and we go scurrying back to the ‘Good Guys’ who solved the problems in the past.

The tragedy is that my children and those of other islanders will be the ones who suffer.

NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD.