Response of the Minister for Education Sport & Culture to Political Education Review

Findings

Comments

1

Key Finding 1:

The Sub-Panel was unclear about the degree  of  quality  control  within  the accountability  structure.  It  was  not apparent  from  discussions  with relevant  witnesses  during  the  review that this structure ensured that PSHE was  being  delivered  to  the  same consistent  standard  across  Jersey Schools.

Headteachers  and  Heads  of  PSHE  are  initially responsible  for  monitoring  and  evaluating  the delivery of the subject. In addition the headteacher of each school is required to monitor and evaluate teaching and learning across all subjects. This is externally  validated  by  the  schools  Professional Partner  and  where  appropriate  external  and independent inspectors and this is validated by the professional partner. Heads of PSHE meet on a termly basis with a member of the Schools and Colleges team to discuss all issues in relation to the curriculum.

2

Key Finding 2:

Independent schools have the current freedom to set their own curricula in accordance with relevant policies and the requirement of examination boards.

This is true.

3

Key Finding 3:

The Sub-Panel believes that the current curriculum for politics within PSHE is targeted  correctly.  The  focus  for primary  schools  is  for  issue-led discussion  on  current  issues, formalised  by  a  debate  in  the  States

The  Minister  is  pleased  that  the  Sub-Panel believes  that  the  current  curriculum  for  politics within  PSHE  is  targeted  correctly.  It  is  also recognised  that  the  level  of  Political  Education provided  at  secondary  school  level  will  be dependent  on  the  school's  chosen  curriculum

Chamber  in  Year 5.  The  secondary school curriculum then builds on this experience.  However,  the  Sub-Panel concluded that continuity of Political Education from primary to secondary school  was  not  the  same  across  all schools Island-wide .

which  is  developed  to  take  account  of  the individual context of each school.

4

Key Finding 4:

Since the 2006 review of PSHE, the Sub-Panel  believes  that  schools  have been  well  resourced  with  curriculum and  support  materials  to  ensure successful  and  similar  programmes across all schools.

Agreed.

5

Key Finding 5:

The  Year 5  States  visit  and  Year 10 Scrutiny exercise are of great benefit to the PSHE programme and it must be ensured  that  all  students  are  able  to benefit from them.

Agreed.

6

Key Finding 6:

The  Sub-Panel  is  supportive  of  the inclusion  of  local  material  in  other subjects  so  that  it  reinforces  the information  learnt  within  the  PSHE programme.

Agreed.

7

Key Finding 7:

The  review  has  emphasized  that teachers are fundamental to the success of the programme. It is not enough to rely  on  the  curriculum  structure  and resources provided by the Education, Sport  and  Culture  Department.  A greater  emphasis  must  be  put  on training teachers to deliver PSHE, with a particular focus on the local political structure.

The Heads of PSHE across Secondary schools are currently working together to audit the teaching of their subject. The findings of this audit will be used to determine any training needs for PSHE teachers.

8

Key Finding 8:

The  Sub-Panel  was  concerned  that schools  do  not  have  a  structured allocation for PSHE post- Key Stage 4. The  Sub-Panel  believes  that  there needs to be a formal allocation of time in  all  schools  for  delivery  of information,  such  as,  how  to  get  a social security card and planning for a pension.

The  period  of  compulsory  education  ends  post- Key Stage and pupils who continue opt for the courses of study which they wish to pursue. By this stage, the Heads of PSHE believe that pupils should already have been given access to much of this  information.  Additional  support,  outside  of schools, is provided by Careers Jersey and other specialist services such as Youth Enquiry Service based at La Motte Street.

9

Key Finding 9:

What appears to be absent is a lifelong political/  citizenship  education strategy,  joining  primary,  secondary, 16-19 year-olds  and  adult  education. Although activity is structured in the first  2 phases,  the  Sub-Panel questioned  whether  it  is  being continued consistently into latter stages of education. The Sub-Panel believes it is  vital  that  a  lifelong  strategy  is developed in  co-operation  with  other States departments, in particular Social Security and Home Affairs.

Political/Citizenship education features as part of the compulsory curriculum for school-age pupils. Post-compulsory  education,  pupils  choose  their courses  of  study.  The  focus  of  any  new  and extended  strategy  with  other  States  departments would need to be explored.

10

Key Finding 10:

Politicians do not have equal access to schools. There seems to be an ad hoc approach to schools inviting politicians to  speak  to  students,  often  based  on existing  relationships  between  a number  of  teachers  and  politicians. Schools also insist that a lack of time is a barrier.

In  general,  all  politicians  can  access  schools  in both a formal and informal basis, although it is accepted that time constraints, subject matter and availability  of  States  members  will  to  a  large extent determine the availability of politicians able to speak with students. It is of note that there have been a number occasions when politicians have been  invited  to  attend  schools  but  have  been unable to.

11

Key Finding 11:

The Sub-Panel agreed that the Youth Service  should  have  a  different approach  to  that  of  schools  when educating young people. As such, any political  content  to  their  curriculum could successfully be delivered by way of  an  issue-led  approach.  Evidence, however,  suggested  that  Youth Workers had not been provided with regular  training  and  up  to  date resources  about  the  Jersey  political system, and as a result, had not been best  placed  to  facilitate  political discussions with young people.

The Youth Work Curriculum is different from the Schools  curriculum.  Young  people  lead  on  the Youth  Work  curriculum,  so  that  the  issues  are relevant to their needs. This issues that dominate tend to be relationships, drugs and sexual health.

In terms of seeking to increase the numbers of young  people  who  register  to  vote,  the  Youth Service has developed a poster campaign aimed at encouraging  young  people  to  appreciate  the benefits  and  understand  the  responsibilities  of exercising their right to vote.

The Youth Work emphasis is on encouraging and enabling young people to be actively involved in decision-making as individuals and with others in the youth projects they attend. This generally does mean  that  young  people  accessing  the  youth project  already  have  the  opportunity  to  explore decision-making both personally and politically.

It would complement existing work if youth work staff were able to update their knowledge of the Island's political structures, system and processes, and  this  could  be  achieved  through  additional training.

12

Key Finding 12:

The Sub-Panel found that attendance at official hustings by young people had been seen, at previous elections, to be minimal.  It  therefore  believed  that students must have the opportunity to attend a well planned and publicized hustings, organized on a school site, in school  time,  at  which  all  politicians could attend. Schools must be able to display election literature on site, and inform students why it is important to vote and attend a hustings.

It is true that electoral apathy extends to our young people  however  much  effort  is  made  to  make pupils aware of their right to vote and why they should use it. It is well known by the Sub-Panel that ESC current policy does not allow for official hustings  to  be  held  on  school  premises  during school  time.  This  would  not  be  appropriate because it would impact on the curriculum and could be construed as pupils being compelled, by virtue  of  their  attendance  at  school,  to  attend. Although alternative arrangements might be made for pupils who did not wish to attend, this could be disruptive to the school.

The  department  will,  however,  consider  in conjunction  with  all  schools  how  all  the candidates' election literature could be displayed on site.

13

Key Finding 13:

Evidence  showed  that  young  people need to be 16¼ before they can vote, due to the registration process.

This  is  the  impact  of  current  arrangements  for registration.

14

Key Finding 14:

Discussions  with  different  schools suggested that school councils had not consistently been set up and run across all schools.

The  department  actively  encourages  schools  as they  seek  to  involve  students  in  the  day-to-day operations  of  a  school.  Some  schools  are  more advanced than others in this respect.

15

Key Finding 15:

It appeared that, in contrast to England, there were no structured channels open to  young  people  for  them  to  feed through their views to politicians.

At present young people have the same access to politicians as any other adult. The department is keen  to  improve  channels  of  communication encouraging young people to have a voice, and to this end are seeking to create a Youth Forum.

16

Key Finding 16:

The  Sub-Panel  found  that  parental influence played a significant role in the formation of interest in politics.

Agreed.

17

Key Finding 17:

The structure of government in Jersey is too complex and opaque for people to want to engage with it, especially those who are new to the Island.

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18

Key Finding 18:

Jersey  is  lagging  behind  other jurisdictions  when  it  comes  to  using social media to engage local people in politics.

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19

Key Finding 19:

The  Sub-Panel  believes  that  had  the student  survey  been  issued  as  a directive  from  the  Minister  for Education,  Sport  and  Culture,  all schools would have had to take part, permitting meaningful analysis.

Participation in any survey is down to individual choice, therefore it would be wrong to force all schools to take part. The department and schools did take steps to encourage students to participate in the survey.

20

Key Finding 20:

The Sub-Panel found that enthusiasm and  knowledge  for  the  political element of PSHE varied greatly from school to school, both within the state sector  and  between  the  private  and state schools. Those in the selective' schools  were  found  to  be  more engaged in local politics.

The  individual  context  of  schools  is  likely  to influence this.

Recommendations

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

1

Recommendation 1:

The  Department  for  Education, Sport  and  Culture  must  work more  closely  with  independent schools  to  ensure  that  local political education forms part of a structured  PSHE  programme, especially given the proportion of pupils  attending  these  schools who  could  be  the  decision- makers of the future.

Reject

The  heads  of  PSHE  of  the independent  schools  work alongside  other  colleagues and  attend  termly  subject meetings.  It  is  the responsibility  of  the governing  body  of  the independent  schools  to determine the content of their PSHE  programme  and curriculum.

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2

Recommendation 2:

The  Department  for  Education, Sport and Culture must organise specific training for all teachers delivering political education, by way of an Inset Day and annual refresher  courses.  There  must also be a structured programme for  continuous  monitoring  to ensure  standards  are  met  on  an ongoing basis. The Minister for Education,  Sport  and  Culture should  liaise  with  his counterparts  in  Guernsey  to discuss  their  successful programme.

Accept

Following  completion  of  the current  curriculum  audit,  the Dept  for  ESC  will  offer specific  training  for  PSHE teachers if required.

The professional partners will ensure  that  PSHE  is  being delivered  in  line  with  the Jersey curriculum document.

The  department  is  keen  to benefit  from  the  experiences of  other  jurisdictions,  and already  works  closely  with Guernsey  on  a  number  of educational matters.

Summer term 2012

3

Recommendation 3:

The  Sub-Panel  believes  that alongside primary and secondary education  there  needs  to  be  a focused  attempt  to  provide  the opportunity  for  those  new  to Jersey to learn about the system. The Sub-Panel recommends, as a starting  point,  that  the Department  for  Social  Security, in  conjunction  with  the  States Greffe  and  Department  for Education,  Sport  and  Culture, should provide information packs to all those who register, whether it be for work or income support. These  packs  should  include information  on  the  political system, culture and history of the Island.  In  addition  to  this, familiarisation  programmes should  be  encouraged  for  those new  to  the  Island,  and  open  to any other residents.

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Privileges  and  Procedures Committee are best suited to lead on this matter.

December 2011

4

Recommendation 4:

The  Department  for  Education, Sport  and  Culture  must  work with  politicians  to  establish  a formal  protocol  for  politicians visiting  schools  throughout  the year,  whereby  all  visits  are organised  centrally  through  an agreed  point  of  contact.  The Department  should  also  mirror Guernsey's  approach  to providing  politicians  with supporting  materials  (lesson plans,  etc.)  for  their  visits  into schools.  This  is  to  provide  a uniform approach to all visits and instil confidence in both schools and politicians.

Reject

It is the responsibility of each individual school to determine when  to  invite  politicians  to their  school.  Schools  believe that  current  arrangements work  well,  with  politicians being invited in to schools as and  when  it  is  deemed appropriate.

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5

Recommendation 5:

The Sub-Panel recommends that Youth Service Workers should be included  in  any  political education  training  organised  by the  Department  for  Education, Sport and Culture and provided with the same resources produced

Accept

The schools and colleges team will  share  current  resources with  members  of  the  Youth Service.  Any  training programme organised will be offered to the Youth Service officers.

Summer term 2012

for teachers to support the PSHE programme.  This,  it  believed, would  build  confidence  within the  Youth  Service  to  lead discussions and answer questions of a political nature.

6

Recommendation 6:

The  Sub-Panel  requests  for  the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture to pay close attention to the logistics for the hustings for students to be organised for the next elections. Further to this, the Sub-Panel  requests  the  Minister to  ensure  that  the  time  and location(s) chosen are appropriate and  will  encourage  students  to attend.

Accept

The  Minister  is  prepared  to ask  schools  to  make  sure students  are  informed  of  all electoral  matters,  including the  timings  of  all  official hustings  prior  to  this  year's elections.  In  addition,  the Youth Service will be asked to  facilitate  a  Senatorial hustings for students, outside of school hours.

November 2011

7

Recommendation 7:

The Sub-Panel recommends that a  formal  mechanism  should  be developed for schools to register students and forward details onto parish  halls in  advance  of  their 16th birthdays.

Reject

Pupils are currently provided with  the  necessary information on how to register to vote. They can only do this on or after their 16th birthday. It  is  the  responsibility  of individuals to register.

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8

Recommendation 8:

The  Sub-Panel  requests  the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture to ensure that all schools have  active  school  councils. Furthermore,  the  Sub-Panel recommends  that  students  on school councils receive training, as  is  currently  carried  out  in Guernsey.

Reject

The  majority  of  schools  do have active school councils. It is  the  responsibility  of  the Headteacher  of  each  school how they operate and how the pupils are prepared to take on this role.

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9

Recommendation 9:

The Sub-Panel recommends that the Minister for Education, Sport and  Culture  works,  in conjunction  with  the  Youth Service,  to  set  up  a  Youth Council,  to  include representatives  from  school councils and youth groups. This council should mirror the States Assembly,  discussing  current topics  and  giving  feedback  to politicians.

Reject

The  Minister  is  pleased  to note  that  the  Sub-Panel supports  the  setting-up  of  a Youth  Forum  which  would include representatives of all ages and backgrounds. Work is  being  undertaken  to determine how best to engage with  young  people  and  give them a voice; however it has not  been  proven  that  the Youth  Forum  should  mirror the States Assembly.

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10

Recommendation 10:

The Sub-Panel also recommends that  the  Youth  Council  is supported  by  an  interactive website,  for  example,  HeadsUp (www.headsup.org.uk). This is an interactive  tool  to  enable  all young people to get involved in local issues and debates.

Reject

The  Minister's  priority  is  to develop a Youth Forum aimed at  giving  young  people  a voice,  as  well  as reinforcing their responsibility within our community.  There  are  a number  of  interactive websites operated by a variety of  States  departments; however present experience is that the success is limited.

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11

Recommendation 11:

The Sub-Panel recommends that the  Privileges  and  Procedures Committee oversees the setting- up  of  States  sites  on  both Facebook and Twitter.

–

This  is  a  matter  for  the Privileges  and  Procedures Committee.

I am aware that the account Jerseygov' has recently been created on Twitter.

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