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WQ.305/2024
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING
BY DEPUTY P.F.C. OZOUF OF ST. SAVIOUR
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER 2024
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 30th SEPTEMBER 2024
Question
"Will the Minister provide –
- the number of Jersey primary and secondary school students receiving French language tuition for each of 2004, 2014 and the current academic year, broken down into –
- Primary school pupils;
- Secondary school students pre GCSE selection;
- Secondary school student at GCSE;
- A-level French students;
- the number of hours of French language tuition each student receives per term, broken down by each group in (a) above;
- the grades achieved by Jersey students in GCSE and A-level French language examinations for each of the last ten years; and
- details of all other languages available to students, including Jersey-French, the level up to which these can be studied, and the amount of time allocated to non-French language tuition in schools?"
Answer
Background (a) and (b)
The current Jersey Curriculum was launched in 2014. It was based upon the English National Curriculum in recognition of the progression required from KS1-KS3 in order for pupils to access their GCSE options given the reform of the GCSE examinations that was timetabled for 2016. The Jersey Curriculum was amended in several ways to reflect the Jersey context, whilst maintaining fidelity to the core progressions routes for all subject areas.
In Languages, the Jersey Curriculum Council approved a significant difference to England in that French was the only language offered as a compulsory option at KS2. As a result of this decision, the required length of study in primary school for all children moved from 2 years to four, doubling their exposure to French. In 2016 it was identified in a headteacher survey that teacher expertise in French was not consistent across all schools and that provision varied (mirroring the situation in England). To address this, as part of the French Experience, piloted in 2017 and developed to its current form in 2024, the Lead French teacher delivers termly CPD, in-school coaching and facilitates curriculum and teaching support to all teachers of French across the island, elevating the status of French in our curriculum and ensuring that the expertise to deliver it is in place, see P45/2024 comments paper for more detail.
In line with local authorities across England, the Education department do not hold school level detail on the curriculum provision across all Jersey schools in the format that has been requested. Each school timetable is likely to be slightly different, reflecting the needs of their unique cohort. Whether at GCSE, A level or in non-examination lessons the curriculum provision and timings will vary. As such, it is not possible to answer questions (a) and (b) as requested.
The Jersey Curriculum, as is also the case in England, does not stipulate timetabled hours of teaching for any subject outside of core PE. However, the curriculum is a statutory entitlement, so with the changes made in 2014, and with the teacher training offered, we can suggest that the majority of pupils in primary school would have received regular French lessons across years three, four, five and six.
(c)
Results below are taken from the CYPES Informatics "Assessments" database, which holds attainment data from 2018 onwards. We do not hold a full set of pupil attainment data prior to 2018.
NB. Users should take care when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in pupil performance alone. This is particularly true for the years 2020 and 2021 where there were significant changes in assessment methodology due to the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic.
GCSE French Language
Year | 2 and below | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
2018 | 6% | 17% | 16% | 27% | 9% | 11% | 9% | 6% |
2019 | 6% | 11% | 18% | 27% | 9% | 14% | 11% | 4% |
2020 | 1% | 5% | 18% | 24% | 13% | 17% | 12% | 9% |
2021 | 3% | 5% | 13% | 26% | 11% | 18% | 12% | 12% |
2022 | 2% | 8% | 6% | 38% | 9% | 13% | 14% | 10% |
2023 | 2% | 13% | 14% | 27% | 9% | 13% | 10% | 11% |
2024* | 3% | 6% | 11% | 28% | 12% | 16% | 17% | 8% |
* 2024 results are provisional and include Government schools only. A Level French
Due to the small number of students taking A Level French, on average 20 students per year, disclosure controls have been applied to protect personal data and we are unable to provide a full grade distribution. Therefore, below is the percentage achieving A* to B grades.
Year | A* - B |
2018 | 65.4% |
2019 | 58.3% |
2020 | 83.3% |
2021 | 87.0% |
2022 | 80.0% |
2023 | 63.2% |
2024* | 76.5% |
*2024 results are provisional and only for Government schools, Hautlieu, JCG & VCJ
(d)
Jersey French - Jèrriais
The current model for delivering Jèrriais in schools is by a team of six centrally employed teachers across both primary and secondary schools. They predominantly introduce the language through the Alentou d'Jèrri (Around Jersey) primary school programme which takes a cross-curricular approach that combines language learning with input on Jersey history, geography, culture, folklore.
A small number of schools invite a teacher to deliver Jèrriais language lessons in the day to children and young people who request it, usually in small groups or 1:1, and one primary school offers lessons to all classes in years 2-6. If a pupil wishes to undertake more formal lessons in Jèrriais they can opt to join lessons outside of school time, in a Pallion, and there are currently seven of these, four in primary schools and three in secondary schools (see charts above).