Transition plans rely on working as one for schools

Monday 01 April 2019

The future of Eduction's new leadership team have been speaking about the plans to transition Guernsey from four mainstream secondary school sites to two.

Executive Headteacher Liz Coffey said the two newly appointed Principals, Kieran James and Vicky Godley, would be crucial for moving forward the new Education plans - both in seeing more structure come to the two colleges and also ensuring students and parents have a transparent and smooth experience.

While a 'well set out transition plan' is already in place, Ms Coffey told Express there will have to be a time when students move from that transition period, to day to day life for the foreseeable future.

"What there is is the over arching transition plan in terms of student movement and building completeness, so we know that it is going to take until the end of 2023 to fully complete that whole process. We know that the first time that students move in to just two sites is September 2021," she said.

"That overarching plan is absolutely there, so now what there needs to be is a more detailed plan within the plan. Part of the appointment of these two guys in terms of their appointment as Designate Principals, and then in September 2020 they will take over the full responsibility and accountabilities for two of the sites forming one of the colleges, will be to work up all the events and activities that will help and support that student transition.

"So it isn't just you send a kid home on the bus in August 2021 and say turn up to a new set in September - that would be completely and totally inappropriate - we are trying to build a new culture of one-ness, so all those events will be the responsibility of our principals, which we see actually as having already started."

Those activities could involve various different team building exercises, school meet ups and cross site sports teams. Ms Coffey also drew the comparison to things that were starting to happen already, with each school's ski trip being available to all.

She also put an emphasis on how the entire period would not be one focused just on this integration, because time would go on as usual: "Also remember that everyone has got to get on with business as usual as well, and students are still doing their GSCEs and A Levels and IBs and more, so you have got to put some stuff in so that it doesn't happen over night but also be really mindful that they have got to get on with what they have to do."

Pictured: The current St Sampson's and Les Beaucamps High Schools.

Mr James, who will be the Principal of the St Sampson's site, and Les Varendes site during the intermission period, said: "There is one real opportunity coming up in 2021 with the Island Games, it is a whole island opportunity, and we can work together as one school to ensure that all students are able to partake in different activities and different ways of getting something out of that.

"It is all going to be working together, working collaboratively and making sure that all of the students and staff have that clear consistent plan to get to that end goal." 

Ms Godley also talked about how the plans would have to include everyone in the education sphere: "And it is not just within the secondary schools, it is also about working with our partner primaries. It isn't just something that is taking place in secondaries, we have to ensure all of our island children are involved in this process, and all of the community understands in terms of their next steps."

With the principals and the sites now announced, the next tangible steps for parents and students will be finding out the names of their colleges, and other details like the uniforms and teachers. But while those will now be on the minds of Ms Coffey, Ms Godley and Mr James, first, the Education Policy letter must come to the States.

"We are working principally toward the production of the policy letter at the end of May," said Ms Coffey, "and obviously that has to go back to the States. And it isn't all about the 11-18 school, there are other parts of the transformation with the Guernsey Institute and some of the other things going on surrounding the Education Law.

"We are working toward that point, it will be a key part of some of the key part of some of the community and student engagement. All of it should help people really understand what the next steps are and where they fit in to them."