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Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel Post-16 Education
Witness: Jersey College for Girls
Friday, 22nd March 2019
Panel:
Deputy R.J. Ward of St. Helier (Chairman) Deputy R.E. Huelin of St. Peter
Deputy T. Pointon of St. John
Witnesses:
Mr. C. Howarth, Principal, J.C.G. (Jersey College for Girls) Ms. T. Rollo, Vice-Principal, J.C.G.
[9:00]
Deputy R.J. Ward of St. Helier (Chairman):
Good morning. Thank you very much for your time and welcome. This is a post-16 review hearing. We are going through all the post-16 providers. I would like to start by thanking you for your time and thanking you for your submission as well because it really helps us to gather all the information that we need to make a meaningful report and outcomes, which you will get in due course. I will just draw your attention to the note in front of you on the desk with regards to the public hearings and I would say if there are people here, please switch off your phones, but there are not so that is okay. We will start off by simply asking a very brief overview of what you provide post-16 at J.C.G.; that is a good place to start, I think.
Principal, J.C.G.:
If you have our submission in front of you, may I refer you to page 4 of that submission? So we have around 200 students studying post-16 at Jersey College for Girls. We offer an A-level programme and students take 3 A levels from the very beginning, concluding in the summative exams at the end of the 2 years. We have decided not to do A.S.s, (Advanced Subsidiary), they have changed significantly in their currency and their value. Also by having A.S. exams, they took an awful lot of time away from lesson time, particularly in the first year. We are now pure 3 A-level courses from the start of year 12 to the end of year 13. But that is only one half of the provision we have because in revising our curriculum 2 years ago, we felt very much that it was essential to try and broaden our students' knowledge to learn beyond the curriculum. I think in the old system, it was very much in the old exams, where everything was modular and you could retake and retake and retake. Students were very focused on: "What do I need to do to pass exams?" We do not believe that is real education. In moving to the new structure, we wanted to develop a programme that would encourage students to enjoy learning knowledge for the sake of knowing stuff. Knowing stuff is good to know. So we have developed an elective programme, which runs across the A-level programme. So students would do 3 A levels and then a mixture of electives. Electives are courses offered by staff in an area of interest. That can be examined at the end, it cannot be examined; that is not the important thing. It is just interesting to know. It is about developing a breadth of knowledge and encouraging curiosity and enquiry within our young people. So the students will study 3 A levels plus electives. In addition to that, they have their super-curriculum. In the super-curriculum we would then focus on life skills, such things as what is consent and what is not consent in relationships. We look at the effects of pornography on relationships. We also start preparing for decisions post-18, whether that is to go into employment or go to university. Our commitment to all our students is whichever they choose to do, employment or university, our role is to get them to the best place possible. So they start their research and their work experience and their U.C.A.S. (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) preparation for that. So we see it as a 2-year all- encompassing course, which is focused on the development of the whole person, not just the academic development.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
There was a period of time when providers - let us call them that - were taking 4 A levels and then dropping one; that notion is ...
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.: No, we do not do that now.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Thankfully, he says biasly, gone. To some extent, I suppose the elected programme replaces some of the additional.
Principal, J.C.G.:
The outcome of our programme is that in the old system students were regularly heard to say to their teacher: "This is really interesting but is it on the curriculum?" The teachers said: "No, it is not but it is just really interesting to know" and the student's response would be: "Well, can we get back to what is on the curriculum because we need to know to pass the exam." That is no longer heard. What we hear now is: "That is really interesting, can we talk about that a little bit more?" So in going down to 3 A levels and broadening that programme, we have really developed within our students a mindset of wanting to really broaden their understanding of the world and their place within it. Because the fundamental philosophy at J.C.G. is we are nurturing our young women to be confident and articulate advocates of their own opinions and ideas. We want them to be wanting to be leaders within their community. We want them to be a force for good. To strengthen democracy, strengthen citizenship and play their part in making the world a safer and better place. That is the more profound level of what we are seeking to do here. How we go about that is simply a mechanism to achieve that.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Just one other thing before I move on. Your colleagues say there are quite a few challenges and one of the reasons we are taking on this post-16 review is because of the challenges we face. What do you perceive as the main challenges for J.C.G. post-16, and we will try and focus on that, if we can?
Principal, J.C.G.:
In our submission, on page 21, we have outlined what those challenges are and we will go through them, if that will be helpful. Certainly, the challenges around the wider agency support for young people who are at times struggling in their lives, particularly with mental health, and it is much written about on the Island about the gaps in the system and the responsiveness of the system to support the student in real time and not wait for the next appointment. We are concerned on behalf of our students, that there is not really a facility that is appropriate to their age group in the Island. Robin Ward is not the right place for a young person who is really struggling with their own mental health and neither is Orchard House.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
They are too old for one place and too young for the other.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
It is certainly an issue we are very aware of.
Principal, J.C.G.:
As educators, our responsibility is for the child; not just for their learning but for the whole child. It is so important they know in their lives that we are there to support them, advise them, but most importantly we are there to help care for them. One of our challenges is how do we ensure that appropriate mechanisms and support structures are in place when there is nothing ideal or appropriate beyond the college. One of the challenges is we are having to resource that area of the college more and more and more to provide a safety net as much as we can do within the college because of perhaps the absence of great support outside the college.
Deputy T. Pointon of St. John :
What resources are available to assist you meeting that challenge?
Principal, J.C.G.:
We have had to expand the team. So increase that capacity. We have had to invest in development of staff skills and expertise. You are in a very sensitive area and you do not want a willing amateur in that area. You want someone who is very specialised. We have had to divert funds away from other things in order to put funds into that area. It is not that we have been given additional funding for that. It is only ever going in one direction it seems. On the other side, we have put a lot of resource and emphasis on promoting the resilience of our young people, preventative measures, preventative strategies. So how can they become self-reliant and not waiting to fall but recognising the triggers that are occurring in their life and they are able to be self-resourced to manage those. It is a lot of preventative and a lot of response.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
It is more of an emphasis on the pastoral side.
Principal, J.C.G.: Significantly.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
You are talking about an investment in pastoral care through the school. I notice you mention funding as a subheading in that section. Is there anything else you want to add? This is an opportunity to expand upon your submissions.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
I think the fact that Jersey Premium money does not go beyond G.C.S.E. (General Certificate of Secondary Education) is an issue. We do not have huge Jersey Premium numbers, but we do have a significant number, and I think sometimes expectation for Jersey Premium students is that they leave at 16 or go elsewhere because of the lack of funding. Certainly, if we could guarantee the Jersey Premium funding would go all the way through that would be helpful. We are also trying to navigate our way for children going to university where that funding is uncertain. Parents are aware that there may be funding for tuition fees but not sure how long for or if that is sustainable and where that leaves them. So I think that generates uncertainty as well from a funding point of view. We do have bursaries in the 6th form but again quite often that money is then coming from somewhere else. We do not want students to have to leave due to a lack of funding.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Is that an issue that you do come across, without giving anything away ... are there significant numbers who might leave the 6th form because of funding?
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.: Not significantly.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
I suppose one is significant.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
Exactly. When you have been at school for 5 years or maybe even longer, there is pressure for you to leave.
Principal, J.C.G.:
One of the things that we have done in recent years is seek philanthropic support for bursaries from individuals within the Jersey community to top up what is available for us to provide bursaries. Page 19 of our submission outlines the range of bursaries that we have within post-16. I think it is not just the bursary to pay the fee, but it is also the bursary to ensure that that student has full entitlement to all aspects of the curriculum and trips and expeditions. We wish to be as socially inclusive as we can be. Our governor's ambition is to be the college of choice for every girl in the Island, irrespective of their financial background. Over recent years, we have put considerable funds through the college into providing as many bursaries as we can feasibly provide. We are up to 8.5 per cent now of the total cohort of students, so that is 70-plus students receiving full bursaries. I think that is good for the Island. I think that is good for parental aspiration. I think that is great for the social inclusivity within the college. But that is what has to continue through for that student. If you offer them everything, they have got to be able to have that.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
I notice there are 6 spread across the 2 years of post-16 so if you have got around 70 there is a significant number coming through.
Principal, J.C.G.:
Six are provided by J.C.G., and the Government do provide us with bursaries for 6 students at J.C.G. A further 6 are paid for by external funding. So there are 12 students and the 6 at the moment currently receiving full bursaries. The other thing I would say, Deputy Ward , about funding is the mechanism by which our school is funded. We have a governing body, it is a very effective governing body, populated by people who are expert in their fields. They give their time willingly and freely for the benefit of the college. Part of the governing body is the subcommittee, the finance and resources, and these people meet very regularly to ensure that the college has good governance over our finances and our forecasts and our forward planning. The current mechanism in which we are funded you would not run a business like that. In fact, you could not run a business like that. Yet we are a business. We have customers that are attracted to it. So from one year to the next, we are never sure what our budget is going to be. From one year to the next we are never sure whether any surplus that is generated can be kept or returned to the treasurer. So it is very difficult to forward plan in that respect. We are never sure what is going to happen to our funding.
[9:15]
In the Medium Term Financial Plan, it was decided to reduce our funding by 3 per cent, 1.5 last year, 1.5 this year. So we are currently now funded at 47 per cent of what a non-fee paying or a fully- funded state school would receive. However, in reality, the Government's funding is around 37 per cent of what it costs. So that difference has had to be met by fee increases over time. That is always a very sensitive topic.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
What is that 10 per cent difference then?
Principal, J.C.G.:
The 10 per cent difference is we receive 47 per cent of what we would get if we were a fully-funded state school.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Of the A.W.P.U. (average weighted pupil unit) figure?
Principal, J.C.G.:
Yes. However, I would contest, and I would think that my colleague heads would contest, that they are not funded to the level that they need to be funded, and therefore find themselves in deficit. We cannot do that and so we try and fund the college according to what we need, what should be the right funding level of the college, and therefore we use parental fees to make up the difference.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
So the underfunding of other schools because you are getting a percentage of underfunding.
Principal, J.C.G.:
We get a percentage of what other schools get.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Which is significantly underfunded.
Principal, J.C.G.:
That would be for others to decide.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Which is a statement we have had, let us put it that way. I see what you mean by that 10 per cent difference.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
I think as well if we talk about funding, we cannot plan ahead so staff pay awards, we are obviously contributing towards that, but that is not in the budget because it was not agreed with.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
You do not know what they are. When do you get your budget?
Principal, J.C.G.:
It should be 1st January.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
I was hoping you would say 1st January but something in the back of my mind assumes that that is not the case.
Principal, J.C.G.:
It is not the case and I think what we would like to see, and I think it is already being discussed, which provides optimism for the governing body, is Treasury are looking at a different funding model for the school. We would like to know our budget in advance, we would like to have some certainty of a 3-year forecast. We would like to have some certainty of any surpluses that may be created. We would like to have some certainty over if there is going to be any funding reduction. We recognise the college needs to play its part. That we are given advance notice of that so we can plan for it. Also certainty over any additional costs that are brought in. So over the last 5 years we have had to bring in, over the college as a whole - that is prep and the senior school - a £240,000 per annum bill to use the facilities; it is a rent. It is called an occupancy charge and it is not part of our income, it is part of our expenditure, which is effectively a 10 per cent reduction in what we get from the Government of Jersey. So we get the Government of Jersey's grant and then we get a 10 per cent cut-off at the bottom because we are paying for the occupancy of the buildings. So that has had to be brought in over the last 5 years and £240,000 is a not inconsiderable amount of money.
Deputy R.E. Huelin of St. Peter : Is that equivalent in other schools?
Principal, J.C.G.:
It is equivalent across Jersey College for Girls, Jersey College for Girls Prep, Victoria College and Victoria College Prep.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
So you have got to manage that financially, the pair of you?
Principal, J.C.G.:
We have had to manage a 3 per cent reduction in top level funding and the equivalent of almost a 10 per cent reduction increase in expenditure.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
I think that is the 10 per cent shortfall you are mentioning. You get 47 per cent funding and you pay your rent.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
Your funding is based on the standard funding or equivalent to a non-fee-paying school?
Principal, J.C.G.:
Yes, we get the equivalent of what a student would get fully funded.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
The other side, you pay additional expenses but the other schools do not?
We pay significant additional expenses.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
Yes, £240,000, and that is a lot of teachers.
Principal, J.C.G.:
Yes. That is money that we have had to find from ever-increasing efficiencies. We are very, very efficient as a school and our governing body ensure that. We have had to find that through developing different income streams.
The Deputy of St. Peter : That is new information.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Is that recent or has that been there for ...?
Principal, J.C.G.:
That reached its zenith of £240,000 a year 2 years ago, and it was brought in incrementally over time, over a 5-year period.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
Do you get anything in return for that, like maintenance of buildings?
Principal, J.C.G.:
We do not get anything in addition to what we were already being given.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
Other schools would have their buildings, properties maintained as part of delivering an educational service.
Principal, J.C.G.:
There is a landlord agreement and we are a tenant of the landlord, which is J.P.H. (Jersey Property Holdings), and they meet their side of the agreement but it is a landlord agreement, it is not a maintenance agreement. Therefore we have to budget for the upkeep and fabric of the buildings.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
Is that the equivalent of other schools apart from Victoria, which I assume is on a similar footing?
Deputy R.J. Ward :
I am not sure about Beaulieu and ...
The Deputy of St. Peter : Can we look into that?
Deputy R.J. Ward : Yes.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
We have got to know the planning side.
The Deputy of St. John :
Since the introduction of that rental charge and the reduction in grants of 3 per cent, this all began 5 years ago?
Principal, J.C.G.:
The introduction of the occupancy charge started 7 years ago and it built up over time up to the £240,000 and then it is now set at £240,000.
The Deputy of St. John :
If we go back 7 years, how do you have to alter fees to compensate for that?
Principal, J.C.G.:
Fees have had to go up above R.P.I. (retail price index).
The Deputy of St. John : Year on year?
Principal, J.C.G.:
Year on year. We have had to increase fees, increase efficiency without affecting the quality of education. I think what is really important to say is I am so proud of our students and staff that over the last period of time, as our expenditure has been increasing, so have our student achievements. We have managed to not let our financial model affect the quality that we are delivering. We have had to invest in a diversified income stream and look at other ways in which we can bring income into the college to not put it all on fees. I do not believe it is fair to put it all on fees. It is a very sensitive market. Parents want the best for their daughters but they also have other priorities as
well. The college was set up to be a college for families of modest means and we are trying to continue with that as much as we can. So while there have been above R.P.I. fee increases we have also invested in our bursary budget to soften an increase for those families, diversified our income stream by gaining further bursaries from individuals in the Island who can afford that, through our foundation, look at through sponsorship and other aspects to see how we can bring additional income into the college.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
I think it is worth saying as well that our fees remain the lowest of the 4 colleges.
Principal, J.C.G.: By some margin.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
So a quick tactical question. The £240,000, what percent of your annual budget is that, just so I can put it in perspective? Are you allowed to say what your annual budget is? You probably cannot; I accept that as an answer.
Principal, J.C.G.:
I want to give you an accurate answer, Deputy Huelin, so if I can come back on that point. Can I just clarify the point? Is it what percentage of our total budget or what percentage of our grant from the Government?
The Deputy of St. Peter : Total annual budget.
Principal, J.C.G.:
I will provide that information to you.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Just going back to the thing about challenges. I just wonder if you have a view on what the main challenges are across the Island for post-16 students. Not just your institution but you deal with 16 to 18 year-olds in general. What do you think are the obstacles that are wider or the challenges faced in post-16 education?
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
We are still facing challenges with recruitment and retention. Recruiting people on-Island, recruiting people to the Island, particularly in minority subjects. Our head of music is leaving, retiring after over 20 years with us, and we have advertised that and we had a very small field of candidates. We are in the process of re-advertising. Last week we appointed a geography specialist after the third time of advertising. It is a real concern.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
That is both on-Island and off-Island, worldwide, effectively?
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.: Yes.
Principal, J.C.G.:
There is almost a global teacher recruitment. I was speaking to somebody who is in teacher recruitment yesterday and he said over the next 5 years China are planning to take 400,000 international teachers into their schools. That is a huge pool. Jersey has to be an attractive place to work, an attractive place to be a teacher. We know Jersey is a beautiful place to live, that is why we all live here and enjoy it. But at the same time what we are seeing at college level is year upon year our ability to attract high-calibre individuals to come and engage and inspire, motivate and nurture our students; it is getting harder and harder and harder. There has to be some difference in coming to Jersey. There has to be some incentive to come to Jersey, potentially to bring your family. So staff recruitment is a challenge for us. I also think that we, as an Island, need to make sure the courses that we are offering from year 10 onwards allow a student to move into the right post-16 course, should they wish to. I think this is about a curriculum planning across the Island, particularly in subjects where, for example, music. In order to do A-level music you need a certain proficiency and performance and understanding of musical theory. If you are not able to take G.C.S.E. music in your current school then that is sort of cancelling out your ability to take A levels. While schools are choosing the right courses for their students at that time it is always important to have a longer view as to where could this student go with this provision.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Do you think that is because we need to have greater co-operation between schools? We have talked with other institutions about the S.L.A. (service level agreement) that you have with Victoria, Beaulieu, De La Salle; those fee-paying schools where that seems to work.
Principal, J.C.G.: Yes, it does.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
You can swap with Victoria and so on and so forth on certain courses. Do you think that needs to be extended? Would you see a time when that is extended beyond that with a much larger ... the vast majority of students post-16 do go to Hautlieu and Highlands. Can you see that link extending to them as well? Do you think that is something that might be necessary?
Principal, J.C.G.:
We would support that. I think it comes down to the practicalities. As you said, the service level agreement in place between the 4 fee-paying schools post-16 allows students to access courses across the 4 schools, which means that there is an incredibly broad curriculum and it pretty much guarantees 100 per cent that a student will be able to get the course that they want to do. Extending it wider than that to Hautlieu and Highlands, it very much is about are we all working to the same timing. That is the practicality basis. Part of the service level agreement is there are protocols in place that we all do the same thing at the same time in the same way. That makes it work. Therefore those sorts of things. That is just sitting round a table and working it out.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
In terms of some of the qualifications that are coming through, we asked the question about T levels, which are ... I know they are in the U.K. (United Kingdom) at the moment and I know they are slightly confused in some areas. But it is certainly something that is being developed as a genuine ... it is designed to be a genuine technical equivalent to A level. Can you see a place, and I know it is difficult because they are in the U.K. at the moment, but Jersey has particular things perhaps it could offer, something like a T level being offered here?
Principal, J.C.G.:
I think it is a really exciting time because I think potentially at a time where we can really make technical vocational qualifications have the same currency, value and reputation as A levels or the I.B. (International Baccalaureate).
[9:30]
We are constantly reviewing our curriculum to make sure that we have it right for our students. It is the case that many of our students leave us to go to university to take what is effectively a technical degree: medicine, engineering, accountancy, teaching, et cetera. Therefore, we will be looking very closely at T levels to see if there is a need to bring that into our curriculum to broaden that out. The changing H.E. (higher education) landscape is interesting other challenge. Just listening on the news today: are we about to see a university go bankrupt? There is quite a lot of anxiety within university-land at the moment regarding the level of government funding and the ability to maintain their expenditure against their income. That then is encouraging universities to take initiatives which perhaps are not always best for young people, like unconditional offers and other things like that. Enabling our students and their parents to navigate the next field is a challenge.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
With regard to T levels, they will start really small. So you have got your teacher recruitment problem; they are very specialised subjects and until they gather some momentum, the will of students or parents to support them could be lacking. We almost need to backfill that qualification and realise that you are going to run it as a loss lead-up perhaps for the first couple of years, until it gathers that momentum. Then again that brings you back to your funding problem because we do not run A levels at a loss. It is an exciting time and we want to be brave. We want to put these in place, but we are left.
The Deputy of St. John :
Is it that parental expectation that might be a barrier to T levels, because your parents in the main have the expectation that their daughters are going to leave school with the 3 A levels?
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
Exactly. It is about helping parents understand the value of all qualifications as well. They are new, but they are not new. On one hand parents are saying: "I want my child to go to university to do something" where they graduate as a something: be that a medic, an engineer, a teacher or a lawyer, something very vocational, but they are against vocational level 3 qualifications. It is about joining those together and having information that is easily accessible, understandable and exciting for parents to see the value.
The Deputy of St. John :
Is this a hark back to the idea that if it is not medicine, law, engineering, architecture, it is not a profession?
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
I think so and I think it is also a funding concern. If you go to university I went to university and I studied maths, but then there was a further funding implication, because I then studied more qualifications to gain my profession. Parents are saying: "Yes, I know you love history or maths or geography, but what are you going to do with it? If I fund you for 3 years to do that, where do we go to from there?" Whereas they know if you do an engineering degree you come out ready to go with a profession.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
That is really quite interesting. One of the things we are looking at is whether the provision for the Island's needs, which is key, the young people coming through now will be those who staff the Island's needs into the future, and how that fits in as well.
Principal, J.C.G.:
Yes. It will be a really sad day if we only encouraged our young people to go and study things that would be of direct relevance to the Island. I would just like to say 2 points. I will come back to that point about the Island. We have to recognise in Jersey that there is not a wide industrial base. Students came to me yesterday and today I will be writing references for them to access a summer course of engineering in Aberdeen. They are looking at going to work in the oil and engineering fields and so they want to go and do that. They are 16 years old and they are already starting to plan that. A student last year, as part of her degree, got an apprenticeship with Jaguar Land Rover. They are all U.K.-based. It is really important for the Island to have people who have ability but then are able to transfer their skills into a variety of fields. One of the core needs of young people today is for them to be very employable and very adaptable. The employment market is ever shifting. It is great to study history and develop that knowledge, those facts and that substance, but the skills you develop through the study of history make you a brilliant analyst in all sorts of areas. It would not be right to connect your choice of course post-18 with what are you then going to do. As we sit here, the jobs in 10 years' time may not all be relevant.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
One of my little bugbears is it is clear in today's world it will change. We do not have a job for life. People are going to have many careers. Trevor and I have had a few. What are you doing to prepare the children for the uncertainty and the huge change for them after school or after university and ultimately the skills for life?
Principal, J.C.G.:
Beginning in year 7, when they are 11 years old, through our careers programme, we talk about jobs that used to exist that no longer exist, the jobs that exist now that will not exist in the future, the jobs that we think may happen in the future that no longer exist today. It is that future thinking and that future planning. We start very young. Our whole plan of a student coming in at the age of 11 and leaving us at 18 is we are nurturing somebody who is remarkable in the way that they understand themselves, what they can do, have the confidence and opinion to do it, be inclined for action and have initiative, self-reliance and adaptability. The education of the whole person will make you thrive in the future, rather than just focusing on your academic achievements. Academic achievements are only a competency check at this point of your life in a certain area of your life. What we are about is how are we nurturing and developing the personality and attributes of the whole woman.
The Deputy of St. Peter :
You talked about the engineer in Aberdeen; it is quite cold up there.
Principal, J.C.G.: I did tell them that.
The Deputy of St. Peter "
Looking through the employment programme there is very much a focus on employment in the Island based around the finance sector, legal and accountancy. How broad can you dissuade them to move out of the Island and pursue the careers that will make them fulfilled in life, not necessarily whether they might be persuaded to have a good career in Jersey?
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
I think that is our own employability programme that runs a curriculum in addition to that. Each individual subject at G.C.S.E. and A level talk about where could your subject take you. If you study maths, how does that look like, where can it take you in the future? We bring ex-students back in, alumni, parents, so the reach is far wider than if we had written everything in here that happens
The Deputy of St. Peter : Yes, it is very thorough as it is.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Those conversations happen in lessons on a daily basis. I do not think students necessarily connect that with careers education. They always say: "Where is my careers education?" Well, you are getting it all the time on a softer level, perhaps, than in the actual official programme.
Principal, J.C.G.:
We spend a lot of time thinking: how do we develop our students to be inquisitive and interested? Inquire is our second value: aspire, inquire, excel and belong. It is that mindset that we are seeking to develop within our students.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Can I ask a slightly different question before we move on? You might want to ask something about provision for additional needs? Do you want to ask that?
The Deputy of St. John :
I was going to ask firstly, we talked a lot about the internal image of the facility. Do you have a view of how the Island views you?
Principal, J.C.G.: How do you view us, Sir?
The Deputy of St. John :
It is important that you have a view on that, to know what you want to pitch to in the community and what you feel needs to be rectified, if you like, in relation to your image.
Principal, J.C.G.:
Okay. We want Jersey College for Girls to be a resource for the entire Island, to raise aspiration for all students and to be a source for raising the aspiration of skills of educationists on the Island. How do we do that? Well, every year we, in fact Toni, organises an annual conference for teachers on the Island, which is fully funded by a company on Jersey; so no cost to the government or the school. That is really important. We do a lot of engagement with local employers and businesses to support the education of the young. That is a conference with over 250 delegates, so a conference of some substance, which seeks to continue to raise our knowledge and skill base as educationers. That is J.C.G. doing its bit to continually develop the ability of all educationers on the Island to engage and allow students to thrive. Through our foundation we offer a revision academy at Easter for G.C.S.E. and A level. Again, we have worked with a local company to ensure that full bursaries are in place for that, for any student from any other 11 to 16 schools that wants to access that. We also organise a biomedical summer school for those students who wish to go into that field. That is open to everybody. Again, full bursaries are available for any student in 11 to 16 schools to access that. We organise a leadership and entrepreneurial summer school, which had 30 students from 7 different nations. Half were from Jersey and then the other half were from 6 different nations. They came to Jersey and worked with over 30 business leaders and entrepreneurs in the Island. The Island has always been entrepreneurial. Jersey has always had to go out and seek new markets, whether it is knitting socks, growing apples, potatoes, milk, now finance. We want to develop the next range of entrepreneurs, especially female entrepreneurs. We want to be a resource for the Island.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
As well, we contribute heavily to our new colleagues. When you look at the central training programme for J.G.T.T.P.s (Jersey Graduate Teacher Training Programme) and N.Q.T.s (newly qualified teacher) quite a lot of our staff are involved in that. We always have training teachers with us or certainly have done for the last 7 or so years. Our staff give to that freely. That is purely goodwill. They are not paid supplementary allowances or given any additional time. They want to invest back into the profession. We also have an exchange process where some of our staff have worked in other schools and then those staff have visited us and observed lessons or we would match up trainee teachers in different schools and then they do peer mentoring of each other, which is really helpful too.
Principal, J.C.G.:
I think the key reason that a parent would send their daughter to Jersey College for Girls is that they want them to receive an outstanding education. At the end of their time, that young woman is someone who is excelling in every way and knows that she is cared for and known and has been in an environment which has nurtured her.
[9:45]
The greatest compliment our students pay to us on a daily basis is they feel like it is their second home. To us, that is the most important thing. We are proudly a feminist school. We are a member of the Girls' School Association, which is a national network of the leading girls' schools in the country. We seek to be true to our founding mothers and women who founded us in 1880; we are here to nurture and develop the young women of this Island to be outstanding individuals in every way.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Can I ask this: do you think there are any demographics in the Island that the school is not reaching, as our community is changing?
Principal, J.C.G.:
There was. We asked Toni to describe why we put Book Buddies in place in the moment. Every year we look into where our students are coming from. We look at where our hard-to-reach schools are and we look at the reasons why. We put a huge amount of resource and time into recruiting from the schools we were not traditionally seeing students come from: Samarès, Grands Vaux, First Tower, Rouge Bouillon and Springfield. We looked at: how can we have a profile in those schools? What we were hearing was: "People like us do not go to schools like that." We needed to reduce that barrier. We needed to get these young people and their parents across the threshold to see that we are just like any other place; in fact, we are more than any other place, we are here for you, irrespective of who you are. We put a huge amount of time and resources into our recruitment into schools to get in and bring the students and their parents into college to see what is available for them. One of the things that we recognised was in the schools north of the ring road in St. Helier there were pockets of low literacy levels and we wanted to play our part in: how do we increase those literacy levels? Toni developed a scheme which is addressing that.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
We developed Book Buddies, which took children from 3 schools around that area and brought them into college. What the children were saying to us is: "You are just that school on the hill we do not think about." They came in: "Oh, it is like a church." We had a minibus and we went round and we picked the children up and we brought them to college and we had 6th form students read to them on a weekly basis. What we heard from schools was that intervention of one-to-one time of reading increased levels of literacy hugely. From that, that developed into our students going into schools. Once a week now we have about 25 year 12 students going to 3 different primary schools and help. It was because we could get more 6th formers out than we could students in. From that idea E.C.O.F. (Every Child Our Future) developed, which is now huge as a charity doing outreach work. We have also spent a lot of time going out into 11 to 16 schools. Carl and I did assemblies in all the 11 to 16 schools this year about joining the J.C.G. at 6th form level; obviously they are all leaving at 16 anyway. It is about breaking down some of those barriers. That is where we met the biggest resistance of: "People like us do not go to schools like that."
Principal, J.C.G.:
It is great, because we are able to tackle any myths and bring the reality.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Obviously, there will be a financial barrier there; would you say it is perhaps one of the biggest barriers?
Principal, J.C.G.:
Yes. One of the things that we are continually trying to get better, Deputy Ward , is knowledge of our bursary programme. It is there. It is there for a reason. We want to provide it. Our bursary programme was you could receive a bursary up to a household income of £48,000 a year. The reason why it was £48,000 - it still is I think - was because that is the average household income in Jersey. In addition to that, you get up to £1,000 a year to access any trips, expeditions, study aids, desks, chairs, lamps, books, anything you need, so you could have full access to the curriculum. As I said, 8.5 per cent of students access that. In the last year we have reviewed that bursary programme and we have increased it to an average household income of £60,000 a year, again £1,000. There is a sliding scale. You would not get 100 per cent bursary on £60,000 a year, but you would get something.
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.:
That is something we can still work on. Even as far as Careers Jersey, I met with them 3 years ago now and they were unaware of our bursary programme. They are going into 11 to 16 schools and advising on the post-16 provision. I met with them and provided information for that, but I still think there is probably gaps with that.
Principal, J.C.G.:
One thing that we find in the current post-16 information-giving in the 11 to 16 schools is it is very focused on Hautlieu and Highlands, to the point where Hautlieu and Highlands are in the hall giving a presentation and J.C.G., Victoria and anybody else are sat outside hoping to attract anybody who may walk past our stand. We need to engage with the 11 to 16 schools to say: "Through your practical arrangements of the evening, do not give the impression that your students do not go to schools like ours and give us a fair shot alongside Hautlieu and Highlands."
The Deputy of St. Peter :
Are there any particular courses that you offer? I am trying to think of the profile of the child who would be best suited to J.C.G. on an academic advancement demographic. Are there any sort of key skills that you could do that are not going to make it competitive with Hautlieu, but things that you could offer in a way that is more natural to you, as opposed to other schools?
Principal, J.C.G.:
It is great to see that educational attainment is rising in all the 11 to 16 schools. That is absolutely fabulous. What that means is that there will be more and more, year upon year, students who are meeting the criteria to come and access the 6th form at J.C.G. I think providing an all-female environment, although in the classes you may have boys there from other schools for their courses, but to have an all-female environment is very appealing, and have our curriculum which focuses on the development of the woman within societies is very appealing. I think to be in an environment where everyone wants to work hard, study and to achieve is very appealing too. It is a very strong ethos and culture. To want to do well is the norm at J.C.G.
The Deputy of St. John :
You earlier on mentioned emotional difficulties and the amount of time you devote to some of your students. Is there a barrier for people that have other learning difficulties, that is conditions like dyslexia?
Principal, J.C.G.: Not at all, no.
The Deputy of St. John :
What support do you offer those people over the course of their career?
We have students who are on the autistic spectrum, we have students who are dyslexic, dyspraxic and it is our job as educators to provide what is required for them. If we accept somebody into the college then we have a moral obligation to meet their needs, whatever that is. We do not get any additional funding for special educational needs in the way that other schools might. One of the things I would encourage the panel to look at is: what is the policy on giving funding for special educational needs post-16? You might find it is very similar to the Pupil Premium. Does the money follow the child, wherever that child goes? You may be thinking about: how can they access the curriculum? Perhaps if I answer your question, Deputy Pointon and then Deputy Huelin at the same time is: a student at J.C.G. is not just in a classroom studying their A levels. They are taking part in the fantastic music programmes, the drama programme, the sport, the art, the house system. The house system encourages leadership across every level. There is everything that one could possibly want to do as part of that. It is that whole experience that is provided.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
We have run out of time, but I do not want to leave without giving you the opportunity that we have with everybody else who has sat there, is to say: if there are 3 wishes that you were given, and no it is not 3 each - we get asked this every single time. We had about 6 people sat there one time, it would have been 18 wishes. If there were 3 things what would they be for you, really focusing on post-16, but we do understand there is a link before and after? Your 3 wishes, let us put it that.
Principal, J.C.G.:
I will start in reverse order really. First of all, have a funding model from Government that works for the college, that is relevant to running any business, and to know what our funding is, to have certainty over the funding and to have it provided in a timely fashion.
The Deputy of St. Peter : Predictable forecasting.
Principal, J.C.G.:
Yes, just as you would have in any business, to allow our governors to do what they are there to do. My second wish would be for the governing body to be allowed greater autonomy. We have an excellent governing body, it is there for a reason, it is there to provide governance to the school and accountability of myself and Toni and the college, and I think the governing body should be given greater autonomy for the running and organisation and decision-making within the school. The third is, and this is probably the most important, the most important factor in a young person's education is the quality of teacher. What I would like the Island to do, and this is something we cannot do on our own, it can only be done as an Island, the Island going out to the world as one voice and one
friend, is for the Island to make it a very attractive place to come and be a teacher. Other places are doing it around the world and they are making their location sound very appealing. Why can we not do that? What is stopping us put together a package that makes Jersey the most appealing to come and educate our young people. Other than our own health there is nothing more important than the young people, because they will be running our society in the future. We want the very best minds and the very best practitioners nurturing them at this most important stage in their lives.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Like all good teachers, it is exactly on one hour. Is there anything you want to ask us?
Vice-Principal, J.C.G.: No, I do not think so.
The Deputy of St. Peter : Thank you both for coming.
Deputy R.J. Ward : Thank you very much.
Principal, J.C.G.:
Thank you for this opportunity.
Deputy R.J. Ward :
Thank you for your time and thank you for a very interesting discussion.
Principal, J.C.G.:
I will provide, through Andrew, the information to the answer you asked Deputy Huelin.
The Deputy of St. Peter : Thank you.
Deputy R.J. Ward : Thank you.
Principal, J.C.G.: Thank you.
[9:59]