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More parents and staff will be invited onto school governance boards to oversee and challenge school leaders in the state education system, as politicians continue to draw up renewed plans to reform education laws.
The Committee for Education, Sport and Culture has made the move nearly a year after its flagship education law reforms were torn-up in the States leading to the proposals being pulled altogether.
Additional consultation and detail was ordered by the States who threw out ideas to oversee the private schools, fine parents for absenteeism, and means testing home school provision.
But there were also concerns with Education’s plans for governance boards - 20 of which were set up for each school on an interim basis to begin the transition from centralised to devolved direction of education.
Now, a community representative, a parent's representative, and a staff representative will be added to each board over the next 12 months.
The Guernsey Institutes’ Board also includes an employer representative and a member of Economic Development, but a student and staff representative will now be added.
Applications are being invited between July and January next year, with formal interviews and selection by the ESC and school leaders following.
Pictured: The States were unimpressed with the details of how much responsibility would be handed over to schools from central government.
Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, President of ESC, said “this will ensure that those from the local community of a school or TGI can understand the aims of the setting better, help support improvement and contribute to getting the best outcomes for our learners.
“The existing Interim Governance Boards introduced by our Committee have provided a formal structure by which we, as governors under the current but very much outdated Education Law, offer support and challenge to our headteachers and principals.
"Whereas governing boards in neighbouring jurisdictions are constituted with community and parent members with appropriate skills and experience, currently in Guernsey and Alderney membership is primarily focused on politicians and officers.
“We believe that the voice of those people who are most affected by the quality and experience of a school or TGI is critically important in maintaining standards and driving further improvement. For this reason we don’t believe that governance led only by politicians and officers is always in the best interests of our learners or the leaders of our education settings and has been a key driver in setting up boards.”
ESC need to return to the States before June 2025 with a second attempt at passing reforms to decades-old education laws.
Pictured (top): Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen (left) and Nick Hynes, Director of Education.
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