Comments were ill thought-out and unsupportive

Ofsted, the English inspectorate, was brought in by the previous Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, led by Deputy Matt Fallaize, to replace Education Scotland and the validation process of inspection. At that time, schools had been implementing the Bailiwick Curriculum, which was introduced in 2017 by an earlier committee. This new inspection framework placed a substantial emphasis on the curriculum, including how knowledge was sequenced, resulting in leaders and their staff having to ensure an alignment between their curriculum and the inspection model. This has been no small task – as all school leaders in England would agree, as they have been on this journey too.

The demands on a subject leader, who will also be a full-time class-based teacher, have increased significantly. However, staff are working diligently and tirelessly to meet the demands of the curriculum. The Education Office has also worked closely with schools in developing the content to match the skills of the Bailiwick Curriculum.

These are almost all in place, but for some foundation subjects, work is still being done – hence some of the comments from Ofsted. However, reading in our primary schools has been praised and standardised testing has shown that we are outperforming the UK.

The headline on Saturday stated, ‘Education under pressure over its curriculum failings’. This title is factually incorrect. Almost every primary school has been graded ‘Good’ or above in all areas of the Ofsted framework. This is no mean feat. For every negative comment that Deputy St Pier raises, there are many more positives which he has failed to acknowledge.

Ofsted has quoted: ‘Leaders and staff have high aspirations for all pupils’. ‘They have focused on ensuring that pupils learn from a knowledge-rich curriculum’. ‘Leaders have invested much time in training staff to teach the curriculum well’. ‘Leaders have worked diligently to plan for most subjects in the wider curriculum.’

We would urge anybody who has concerns after reading the article to go to the gov.gg website and obtain a full picture of education in our primary schools.

One primary school is currently going through inspection this week and will be under significant pressure, so we urge people to recognise the hard work and commitment of all our staff.

In the light of UK headteacher Ruth Perry’s tragic death following an Ofsted inspection and the pressures she felt from it, such comments are ill-thought out and quite frankly highly unsupportive when considering the mental health and wellbeing of headteachers leading our schools in Guernsey.

Retention and recruitment remain a challenge, and damning comments like this do not help or encourage anyone to want to work in education in Guernsey.

We are proud of the work that is happening in our schools and recognise that a curriculum will always be a work in progress as we refine and respond to the needs of our pupils in this fast-changing world.

Primary heads of Guernsey and Alderney

Matthew Hughes, Amherst

Peter Curtis, Castel

Paula O’Sullivan, Forest

Sue Coughlin, Hautes Capelles

Claire Judd, La Houguette

Alison Elliot, La Mare de Carteret

Mary Robertshaw, Notre Dame du Rosaire

Wendy Wilson, St Anne’s, Alderney

Clare Giles, St Martin’s

Helen Willetts, St Mary and St Michael

Adrian Paul, Vauvert

Gary Hind, Vale