The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.
The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.
WQ.401/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION BY DEPUTY J.H. PERCHARD OF ST. SAVIOUR
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 2nd NOVEMBER 2020
Question
Will the Minister advise –
- what funding plans are in place to support children who were most negatively impacted by the loss of teaching and learning contact time due to the pandemic; and
- following reports from the U.K. that the attainment gap has widened between the richest and poorest students as a result of school closures, what is Jersey's equivalent position, and when will such data be available, if not currently?
Answer
- The School Improvement and Advisory Service (SIAS) have methodically and rigorously investigated the impact of COVID-19 in our Government of Jersey (GOJ) schools. There were three groups of children specifically affected: Jersey Premium, English as an Additional Language and Special Educational Needs. Based on the knowledge from SIAS's investigation, a Business Case was produced and submitted for approval. The Treasury Minister has approved the 2020 funding by Ministerial Decision and the 2021 funding is within the proposed Government Plan, details are in the table below:
Description | 2020 £ | 2021 £ | Total £ |
OLEVI Teaching Programme | £112,000 | £224,000 | £336,000 |
Small Group Tuition | £333,333 | £666,667 | £1,000,000 |
TOTALS | £445,333 | £890,667 | £1,336,000 |
- We do not currently have any standardised data from schools because at primary level, there were no Key Stage 2 tests; and, at secondary level, GCSEs were awarded based on teacher assessment. The SIAS has strongly encouraged all GOJ schools to baseline their pupils and establish if gaps in knowledge and learning have widened, by how much, and as a result, how to respond. At primary level, schools have been using a range of internal tests to establish the attainment gaps. At secondary, again, schools have been using their internal methods of establishing specific gaps in learning. Specific groups of children, already behind before COVID- 19, have suffered greatly during the closure of schools. As a result, £1.3 million pounds will be spent by schools, working closely with CYPES, with the aim of reducing the attainment gap.