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WQ.26/2023
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR CHILDREN AND EDUCATION
BY THE CONNÉTABLE OF ST. MARTIN
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 30th JANUARY 2023
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 6th FEBRUARY 2023
Question
“Will the Minister confirm what support the Government of Jersey is able to provide to private schools in Jersey seeking to improve the quality and transparency of self-assessments, including the provision of further opportunities for stakeholders to provide additional challenge and feedback where possible, and whether this support is currently being provided?”
Answer
Jersey’s Government of Jersey schools, called ‘provided schools’ in the Education (Jersey) Law 1999, are directly accountable to my Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES). Local ‘non-provided schools’ (often referred to as ‘private schools’, as in your question) are responsible for their own performance, under their Governing Body, Trustees, or Directors. Government of Jersey provided schools are assessed under the Jersey School Review Framework (JSRF). Local non-provided schools can be reviewed under the JSRF, or choose to join relevant support networks, for example, the Independent Schools’ Council (ISC), or buy in external inspection, for example, through the Independent School Inspectorate (ISI).
Please see below links to list of schools which show which are provided by the government and which are non-provided / private.
Primary schools (gov.je) Secondary schools (gov.je)
Beaulieu, De La Salle and FCJ are grant aided by government, the remaining private schools are self- funding.
The Department does support all local schools to improve their quality of provision and self-
assessment through the inclusion of all headteachers in the local Primary and Secondary Headteacher groups; through the inclusion of leaders and teachers in training and development programmes, including, for example, in inviting them to attend school improvement and leadership training such as the National Professional Qualification for Headteachers (NPQH) and National Professional Qualification for Subject Leaders (NPQSL). These programmes are delivered by the Department and, whilst not compulsory, many choose to take these up. Most recently, as part of the Review of Inclusive Education, all schools, both provided and non-provided have been given fully funded places on the Masters’ level qualification for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators, the NASENCo qualification. This is to ensure children and young people in all Jersey schools with special educational needs or disabilities benefit from the high level of qualification for the specialist leader in their school.
As well as training and development, the Department provides additional support has been provided to non-provided schools. This was particularly evident during the height of the Covid pandemic, when the Department set up a specialist hardship fund for families with children at fee-charging schools who were facing hardship. Heads of the non-provided schools worked closely with officers, sharing data and resources so these children and families had continuity in the pandemic.
Since the start of my tenure as Minister, my Department’s officers have directly supported two non- provided school with various operational matters, and a third through a formal review under the Jersey School Review Framework.