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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE BY DEPUTY G.C.L. BAUDAINS OF ST. CLEMENT
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 23rd OCTOBER 2007
Question
Would the Minister advise what monitoring, if any, exists to ensure that local schoolchildren are not disadvantaged as a result of classes progressing more slowly than otherwise would be the case due to allowances being made for students who struggle with the English language? Would he further give details of the extent of this situation and state whether he has any plans to alleviate the problem?
Answer
The Department for Education, Sport and Culture has a statutory duty to educate every child of compulsory school age who has a legal right to be in the Island.
Teachers are responsible for continually monitoring the progress of children through a formal Teacher Assessment process. The Department for Education, Sport and Culture monitors pupil progress at the end of each Key Stage 1 (Year 2), Key Stage 2 (Year 6), Key Stage 3 (Year 9) and Key Stage 4 (GCSE). The results of this monitoring and subsequent GCSE and A level results indicate that pupils in Jersey achieve at a higher level than their UK counterparts.
The Jersey curriculum is differentiated to meet the range of educational needs in a class. Inclusive teaching methods are used to ensure that all pupils are catered for appropriately.
Students for whom English is an additional language are provided with extra support which is resourced centrally. The Department for Education, Sport and Culture retains an English as an Additional Language' (EAL) team. This team was extended following a review in 2006 and now consists of two specialist teachers and four teaching assistants who work across the Island's schools.
The EAL Team currently supports 146 children in 22 schools across the Island. The Department will continue to monitor the effectiveness of this provision and the impact of an increasing number of students with English as an additional language on schools.