Teaching staff

WQ.183/2023

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR CHILDREN AND EDUCATION

BY DEPUTY R.J. WARD OF ST. HELIER CENTRAL

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 24th APRIL 2023

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 2nd MAY 2023

Question

“On 18th April 2023 the Minister confirmed that “36 teachers left in the 12 months to the end of March 2023, and this is 4.2 per cent of teacher workforce of 855.”, contrasting with the response to a Freedom of Information request published 8th March 2023, which showed that 445 teachers have left the profession over the period 2019 to 2022, an average of 111.25 of teachers per year; further to these reported figures, will the Minister advise –

1. whether it is expected that a similar number of teachers will leave the profession in 2023;
2. whether the average leaving rate between 2019 and 2022 was 12.54%, which is above the average leaving rate for general States of Jersey employees and significantly above the 4.2% stated for the 12 months to March 2023; and
3. any disparities identified between the figure provided in the Assembly and the Freedom of Information response?”

Answer

1. It is too early to give an accurate prediction for the total amount of teachers who may leave their roles in Government provided schools this year as the final resignation deadline for this academic year is 31 May.
2. The average leaving rate for teachers between 2019 and 2022 is detailed below:

For completeness the twelve months to March 2023, as quoted above, is also included.

3. My above quoted response to the Assembly, and the response to the FOI, are not comparable. The question and response in the Assembly were specifically related to teachers only. The FOI references a significantly larger workforce group that, in addition to teachers, also includes Heads and deputy heads, lecturers at Highlands College and teaching assistants.

Consequently, there is no disparity nor discrepancy between the responses.