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Final Report
August 2022
R.142/2022
Our Youth Parliament is made up of young people from across the island. We are the Education Reform Campaign Group.
When we first started this campaign, in February 2021, our main aim was to change the school curriculum to address the problems faced by young people living in Jersey to better reflect the needs of our modern society and the diversity of our population. Our varied experiences have highlighted that the current curriculum is inconsistent across all of the schools and we questioned 'why is this?'.
Over the past 18 months we have explored three key areas relating to education:
Peer support: to create an inclusive community embracing people's cognitive and physical differences
Anti-Discrimination: to help Jersey's society to become increasingly open- minded whilst challenging hate against minority communities within schools Life Skills: to teach Jersey's youth neglected essential skills to better prepare them for adulthood
Our goal in this sphere has been to rejuvenate PSHE so that all students can acquire useful skills for our modern lifestyles whilst receiving a diverse social education that reflects the society we live in. PSHE stands for personal, social, health and economic education.
Our campaign has been working on a three-step basis: Research, deliberation and solution. This report includes a campaign overview as well as our recommendations for the newly elected States Assembly to consider following our final presentations on July 18th 2022 in the States Chamber.
Our Autumn 2021 report gives further context and research and can be accessed via jyp.je
Meet the members
Jemimah Ruby Vanya
Henry Faith Oliver
With support
from Leo,
Joel, Miha,
Maria,
Micaela,
Charlie, Emily Edith Darius &
Jenna.
Our Campaign
The youth parliament have worked hard to create what we view as an ideal PSHE curriculum. As students, we do not feel that the curriculum is adequate. We believe the current curriculum is too vague; leaving much room for error on the schools behalf. Our new and improved curriculum plan narrows down much more, ensuring everyone obtains the same adequate knowledge from their PSHE lessons. Our new curriculum also includes subjects that we believed were missing from the current one, such as education in politics, income and expenditures, knowledge on healthcare, fake news and diverse relationships, all things that are relevant and sometimes even vital to know about in our current time. Over the last year, through visiting many schools, doing large amounts of research and talking to many other students and teachers we have constructed this curriculum that we believe covers everything necessary.
In this report we have attached a draft of our proposed PSHE curriculum. We
want to elaborate upon the work we have already done, share a detailed PSHE curriculum in November to the curriculum council.
Our campaign work included weekly meetings, group residentials, research, organising events, raising the profile of the Youth Parliament, recording podcasts, filming videos and increasing our social media presence to share our discoveries.
The JYP formed to provide an island wide forum for young people to discuss, research and connect current issues to the States Assembly. The JYP supports Article 12 of the UNCRC - the right to be listened to and taken seriously about issues that affect us. As we explored 'education' we also highlighted rights that might be at risk if improvements are not made. Articles 3, 6, 13, 17, 19, 23, 28, 29, 30, 39 are connected to this campaign.
We have identified many areas which can be addressed through education although we also understand that our government have pledged to uphold our rights, protect us from harm and put children first.
Campaign Highlights
We met with staff from the Education Reform team to understand what is being done following The Big Education Conversation. We discussed our lived experiences and highlighted our areas of concern.
We have launched two surveys to find out what other young islanders think. One focused on Life Skills and the other on Anti-Discrimination.
We spoke to the States of Jersey Police to discover which laws protect people against discrimination. They also shared statistics about crimes that have been reported locally.
We have taken part in the People, Power, Protest exhibition in the Jersey Museum as well as recording episodes of Connecting Voices, the JYP podcast (accessible via jyp.je)
We participated in the Island Plan Consultation, met with Peer Support staff from Grainville school, visited Autism Jersey and met with staff from the Disability Strategy to understand how young people can better support each other.
The JYP participated in an Institute of Directors panel discussion about the future economy and presented a youth perspective. We also gained life skills through a self protection workshop, budgeting and food preparation on residential trips.
We were inspired by Lord Cashman who we met and found out about his work as an activist and politician.
We have also shared our learning with the Jersey Youth Service, who are developing their own curriculum, and highlighted key areas to explore further.
Over the last 18 months we have worked hard to create what we view as an ideal PSHE curriculum. As students we do not feel that the current curriculum is adequate.
We believe the current curriculum is too vague; leaving much room for error on the schools behalf. Our new and improved curriculum plan narrows the curriculum down much more ensuring everyone obtains the same adequate knowledge from their PSHE lessons and removes repetition of some topics.
Our new curriculum also includes subjects that we believed were missing from the current one, such as education in politics, income and expenditures, knowledge on healthcare, fake news and diverse relationships, all things that are very relevant and sometimes even vital to know about in our current time.
Over the last year, through visiting many schools, holding focus groups and talking to students and teachers we have constructed a revised curriculum based on the needs of students today.
Many students valued the input from visiting charities and organisations with expertise and knowledge on key topics. Some felt that these sessions were more memorable and working in partnership could be considered to deliver PSHE sessions.
In November we will take this to the Curriculum Council and ask for adjustments to be made.
The current PSHE Curriculum can be found here.
PSHE Revised Curriculum
KS3 & KS4 - Health & Wellbeing
Duration Topic Details Partnerships
2 School Yr 7 Only Primary &
Transition Secondary Schools
1 Access to How to access healthcare healthcare
Use of 112
2 Informed Alcohol choices Smoking
Drugs
Gambling
2 Influence of Facts vs fiction
the media Social media
2 Physical, Access to grief mental & counselling
emotional Managing Stress health Trans Health
Cooking & Nutrition Stigma
How and where to access support
3 Emergencies How to respond
First Aid
Life Saving
2 Sexual Pregnancy & Prevention Health Options if a young person is
pregnant
Parenting Skills
GP
Emergency Services
JYS
YouMatter
Drug & Alcohol Weekend Wellbeing
Mind Jersey
YES Project
GPs
School Nurse School Councillor
Emergency Services St John Ambulance RNLI
GPs
Brook
YES
GUM Clinic Dewsberry House JAAR
PSHE Revised Curriculum
KS3 & KS4 - Relationships
Duration Topic Details Partnerships
1 How to What is a healthy JYS
maintain a relationship Women's Refuge healthy Respect Brook relationship Consent Dewsberry House
YES
IDVA
2 Diverse Definitions of Brook relationships different sexualities You Matter
Gender Identity Liberate Types of relationship JYS
2 Bullying How to manage SOJ Police bullying JYS
Discrimination law Schools staff
(Jersey) School Councillor CYPES policies & You Matter support Citizen's Advice
Liberate
2 Consent Consent in a broad UNCRC
context Women's Refuge Self Protection JAAR
Sexual offences law Legal Aid & Law
1 Discrimination Protected Characteristics Liberate
Discrimination law (Jersey) Community Officer 1 Sex Education Contraception Brook
STI & STD JYS
Consent Sexual Health
Educators
You Matter
GUM
PSHE Revised Curriculum
KS3 & KS4 - Relationships
Duration Topic Details Partnerships 1 Sexual What is legal and JAAR
Offences what is not legal? Brook
Law JYS
1 Support How to access support? JAAR
YES
Dewsberry House School Councillor SoJ Police
KS3 - Global Citizenship
Duration Topic Details Partnerships
1 Finances Budgeting Tax department
Inflation Citizen's Advice Tax
1 Economy & Economic Theory
Business How the economy works for you
Your role in the economy
2 Politics States Assembly
Jersey Government & Structure Jersey Voting System
UK Government & Structure Political Parties & Ideologies
2 Law & Different Courts in Jersey Justice Consequences for minors
Your Rights
Tax department Citizen's Advice
States Greffe JYP
States Greffe JYP Children's Commisioner
PSHE Revised Curriculum
KS3 - Global Citizenship
Duration Topic Details Partnerships
2 Roles played Community St Johns Ambulance
by public Service Honorary Police institutuions
2 Informed CV & Interview Skills School Careers staff
choices Career Advice Skills Jersey
Where to find jobs Careers Jersey
KS4 - Global Citizenship
Duration Topic Details Partnerships
1 Finances Budgeting Community Savings
Inflation
Tax
2 Economy & Overview of economic
Business theory
2 Human How to protect your Rights & rights
UNCRC Rights that you have
2 Jersey Legal Jury Duty
System Different courts in Jersey
Consequences for minors Your rights
1 Religious & Informative
ethnic
identities
1 Voting How to register to vote
Why should we vote
2 Income & Credit & Debt Expenditures Types of pension
University & Gap Years
Jersey Business
JYP Children's Commissioner
Jersey Law
Representatives from different faiths Liberate
States Greffe JYP
Vote.je
Citizens Advice Community Savings
Good Practice
During our 18 month campaign we identified what isn't working well in the current PSHE curriculum but also found many examples of good practice to
highlight.
Self Protection Initiative
- Identified as a necessary 'life skill' by young people when consulted
- Explored by the JYP and offered as a workshop by Beaulieu school
- This should be implemented into the curriculum
- Give people to skills to be aware and avoid harm on and of the island
Peer Mentoring
- Is established in Grainville school and has been piloted at Hautlieu School
- Supports students to support each other and broaden interpersonal skills
- Students are able to gain an ASDAN qualification
- Strengthens school community, reduces isolation and tackles discriminatory behaviour
Festival of Cultures
- Piloted at JCG
- Student led and will become an annual event
- Includes workshops, cuisine and performing arts
PSHE Focus Groups
- Finding out about student experiences from those who have experienced the curriculum
- CYPES could hold more focus groups to gain insight and check that what is required
- PSHE is not examined but CYPES should know if the intended curriculum is delivered and received consistently.
Consulting the community
- The JYP met with staff from government departments such as SoJ Police to understand the law in relation to discrimination
- JYP also met with local charities such as Autism Jersey and Liberate
- Understanding what is happening in the community can help to better
inform the curriculum.
Life Skills
JYP survey participants were asked which life skills they would like to learn
in school.
Real world maths
Budgeting, finance & how to pay bills Law How to fill out tax forms Legal documents
How to open a bank account Politics Learn about loans
Public Speaking Languages including Jerriaise
Writing CVs & Application forms Negotiation Interviews & Careers
Social Skills Passing tests Confidence building
Respect for others
Personal Hygiene
Earth Stewardship Sexual Health
Mental Health & Physical Health
Relationships & Emotional Intelligence
Self Defence
First Aid
Mental Health First Aid Swimming
Cooking
Survival skills Tools & equipment
Housing
Mortgages
Peer Support
The Jersey Youth Parliament has looked at how a peer support programme had
been successfully set up in a local secondary school.
The Jersey Youth Parliament explored how this could be used as a tool to combat discrimination because it can promote inclusion and build a sense of community.
We have learnt that students who participate in Peer Support schemes can gain an ASDAN qualification and build communication skills for life.
This area of research has involved listening to the experiences of teaching staff and students who have been a part of the existing Peer Support scheme, building a case study and learning from their success.
We then asked young people if they thought the scheme might work in different learning environments as well as their experiences of discrimination.
Experiences of Discrimination...
Participants shared details of their experiences to give the JYP further insight and highlighted the need to challenge discrimination and have a diverse and
inclusive curriculum.
"I have been harassed, threatened "Called [homophobic] slurs on and had comments made towards the bus when I had a rainbow me, both online and in person." bag"
"I have been called slurs, have been mis-gendered and dead named almost every day and I get relentless bullying from students."
"Racism, being called slurs, people saying
mean things"
"cleaners, poor, immigrant"
"Teachers sometimes don't respect us as we respect them because
we are younger."
"Being told I can't play "Always called snowflakes by different certain sports or do the generations."
subjects I like."
Peer Support
Political Education
It is undeniable that one of the largest issues in Jersey's democracy is the
low voter turnout we see at every election and the group which votes the least is young people.
We believe that in Jersey, one of the reasons for this is the lack of political education which we give our young people. How can they be expected to make informed choices if they do not know who they are voting for, how to vote, or even simply how the political system works here in Jersey?
During our review of the PSHE curriculum, we decided that we would add those very things in.
Young people need to understand how the political system in Jersey works and how to register to vote and place a vote. This can be done very easily yet make the world of difference to the extent to which young people understand the world around them.
Many young people will move to the UK, for university or employment and we think it is appropriate to also educate students on the basic structure of the UK government.
Jersey is fortunate to allow people to vote at 16. This is part of what makes Jersey such a special place but there are barriers preventing young people knowing about this and how to take part. Although Politics is included in the current PSHE curriculum it is not fit for purpose.
Recommendations
Standardise the PSHE curriculum and delivery across all schools Ensure that the PSHE curriculum is concise, meaningful and engaging
Update the curriculum so that it meets the need of young people living in the island today so that they can grow up to be informed global citizens
Embed Life Skills into the curriculum such as self defense, first aid, budgeting, cooking, stress management
Ring fence the PSHE lessons so that they are not used for other purposes
Broad representation of the different types of human relationships as well as up to date LGBTQ+ education to represent all members of our community
Anti discriminatory education to include learning about different global cultures and religions
Improve political education and expand resources to deliver the topic Critical thinking skills, fact checking and reliability of sources to be taught
Educate young people what to do when things do go wrong rather than focusing only on prevention. What options do young people have?
Ensure that the intended curriculum is actually received by young people
Recommendations for the States Assembly
We hope that the States Assembly will support us in our goals, and appreciate our ideas and suggestions:
Explore the current curriculum and ensure that it fully addresses life skills and anti-discrimination so that is does "prepare children for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life" as intended
Create an inclusive PSHE curriculum that is fit for purpose. It should be more specific, universal across schools and have more depth
Use education as a key tool in combating discrimination
We thank you for your time, and wish you will consider our propositions on increasing use of peer support, eradicating discrimination and improving education of life skills. Please feel free to get in contact with us with any updates, queries and information. All contact information is on the Jersey Youth Parliament website.
States Chamber Q&A
Deputy Miles was wanted to find out more"
about young people's need for 'self defence' and their reasons for not feeling safe.
JYP - From the survey we carried out, young people had identified that they didn't feel safe on the island. This was echoed in the Little Parliament that consulted Yr 6 students. The need for self defense was identified when young people were asked which 'Life Skills' they felt were important to acquire. There was not a clear gender divide. When we took part in the 'self protection' workshop the emphasis was on how to 'stay safe' and be alert to risk. These skills would be useful as many young people move off island to busier towns and cities or travel outside of Jersey.
Deputy Gardiner acknowledged that modern living brings different pressures and opportunities. She asked the group about how we should balance school's requests for flexibility whilst ensuring that the curriculum is standardised.
JYP - Flexibility is important but schools are not always as connected to their students as they might think they are. What we have learnt through the JYP is that nobody receives the same PSHE curriculum. Our conclusion is that there is too much flexibility. School isn't just to give you a good grade in your maths GCSE it is to prepare you for the future, to prepare you to be a citizen of Jersey and the world. If we aren't able to take part in 21st century debates about discrimination, the LGBTQ+ community, then they can't be expected to be productive citizens and to fulfill their potential.
States Chamber Q&A
Deputy Millar asked the JYP for their" thoughts on the impact of social media on
young people.
JYP - Within our draft PSHE curriculum we have suggested that 'the media' is explored broadly. It would cover topics such as 'fake news'.
It is important in the PSHE curriculum that young people are taught how to get good information to base their opinions on.
Social media itself isn't dangerous it is
the people that use it if they are not able
to be kind in real life and on screen. Deputy Ward asked the JYP about
their thoughts on apprenticeships.
JYP - The bigger issue is that Careers Fayres at schools are not broad enough to give people real options. The choices are limited. Before you can
think about apprentiships and career paths, students need to educate young people on all of the career paths that are available.
Deputy Curtis asked the JYP how much time is allotted for PSHE and if they think that more time is needed.
JYP - It varies from school to school. Most get an hour a week but some stop delivering PSHE as early as year 9. We haven't explored 6th form and many young people will continue in education. PSHE is often the subject that is missed in place of additional activities such as house games. It comes back to standardisation. It is vital and gives people skills for dealing with the modern world so that nobody gets left behind.
Conclusion
Having heard our presentation, and considered our report, we hope you
will take all of our recommendations into account as you head into this next term. We hope our recommendations have affected your opinions and goals for the next four years. This is a great opportunity to act on Climate Change, Mental Health and reform Education. We hope you will do so making a positive impact on young people. We appreciate your support and that you have taken the time to listen to us.
Since this is a new States Assembly we want to stress loud and clear that children aren't just the future but they are the present.
Consider our voices and act. Act for change in the current state of the PSHE curriculum and its current enforcement, act for the equality of groups and all minorities, and act to create an island where children can grow up ready for the modern adult world.
If you have children of your own think for them, think for us, and think for Jersey's future and don't forget one fifth of our entire island.
Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our thanks to the organisations and individuals who have supported us in this campaign.
Gary Burgess
Jess Dunsdon
Lesley Katsande, Black Lives Matter, Jersey Antony Lewis & Dario Gentili, Disability Strategy Ms Pygot, Grainville School
Kerry O'Donovan, Autism Jersey
Lucy Layton & Deborah, Jersey Heritage Johnathan Williams , Education Reform
Jane Lancaster-Adlam, Inclusion Review
Debbie Reeve, IOD
Natasha Day, Island Bridging Plan
Lisa Hart , Greffier of the States
States of Jersey Police
JYP Volunteers