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The headteacher, and his staff, have been praised with a glowing report following the recent inspection of Guernsey's school for children and young people facing social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Les Voies was only officially designated as a school in 2013 and now caters for children between four and 16 years old. Those pupils are placed at the school through formal assessment, while the Les Voies team also work with pupils with SEBD needs across other Bailiwick schools.
The school and the outreach team were inspected by Terry Carr Consultancy after the Easter holiday and the headline result in the subsequent report is 'Very Good' with praise for Headteacher Jon Furley in particular who has been described as "very successful in bringing about a culture change in the school and sharing this vision with the school’s partners, staff and parents. A great deal of success has been achieved in reducing the majority of young people’s barriers to learning, enabling them to develop relevant skills and knowledge."
The school’s other senior leaders, middle leaders, teachers and learning support assistants are all said to be "fully committed to this vision and strive to implement it for the benefit of the young people", alongside Mr Furley.
Mr Furley himself has said the inspection reflects well on his staff and their hard work.
“The report recognises the relentless hard work that the inclusion service and school does in supporting schools, students and their families," he said.
"It is an overwhelmingly positive report with clear identification that the transformation over the last 5 years has had a positive impact on the students and their families. I am particularly pleased that the report recognises the positive impact that the school and the inclusion service continue to have on children and their families across the Bailiwick. We now need to continue to build on current practice and ensure that the school and service maintain the highest quality for our young people in the future.”
Les Voies School was rated as 'Very Good' or 'Good' in all areas inspected, with the Leadership and areas around ensuring well being, equality and inclusion all rated 'Very Good' and the learning, teaching and assessment and the focus on raising attainment and achievement rated as 'Good'.
The school's particular strengths were highlighted:
The full report can be read online at gov.gg. It also lists areas in which Les Voies needs to improve, which includes ways of helping pupils engage more effectively in their leaning and how to meet their own individual targets.
During the inspection, the team talked to parents, carers, children and young people as well as the staff. The President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, Deputy Matt Fallaize said he too is pleased with the outcome:
“This extremely positive inspection report comes as no surprise because the excellent work going on at Les Voies is widely acknowledged; it reflects the professionalism and dedication of staff under Jon Furley’s exceptional leadership; it confirms that parents can be confident in the high standards of support and education their children will receive at Les Voies.”
Nick Hynes, Head of Inclusion and Services for Children & Schools, said:
"I am delighted with this positive inspection of Les Voies School. It is very well deserved and a testament to the high quality leadership of the Headteacher and dedicated commitment of all staff who work in partnership with parents and supporting agencies to ensure good outcomes for all children and young people. It is also very pleasing that the report recognises the positive impact of the Inclusion Outreach Team who work across the Bailiwick supporting children and young people to be included and successful in their own schools."
The full Inspection Report is available to read online at gov.gg
Pictured top: Les Voies School.
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