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Vote of confidence in ESC

Vote of confidence in ESC

Friday 20 March 2020

Vote of confidence in ESC

Friday 20 March 2020


The States has expressed confidence in the Education, Sport & Culture Committee to lead the review of the one-school model against three alternative systems of education.

11 of the 12 proposals put forward by ESC suggesting how the "pause and review" of education will work have been approved by government.

Work will now commence the comprehensive review of Education's preferred Lisia School model against three other systems of education. These are:

  • Three 11-18 colleges
  • Two 11-16 colleges and one 11-18 college
  • Three 11-16 colleges with a separately located Sixth Form Centre 

The current committee has also received a fresh mandate from the States to continue in their roles. The "back us or sack us" proposition was voted through by 24 to 9. 

Deputy Andrea Dudley Owen and Carl Meerveld

Pictured: Deputies such as Carl Meerveld and Andrea Dudley-Owen, who declared before and during the debate that they had lost confidence in the current committee, chose to abstain from the vote. 

ESC President Matt Fallaize said Deputy Meerveld in particular had spread a "campaign of misinformation" in the lead up to debate, with remarks that Education had submitted an order to a uniform supplier in defiance of the States resolution.

"[The one-school model] has paused in every respect and will not be taken forward until it is unpaused," he said. 

The email in question, which is covered in more detail here, was "sent mistakenly", according to Deputy Fallaize. 

"That mistake was rectified as soon as the committee became aware and no orders were placed as a result and no contracts were established," said Deputy Fallaize. 

Deputy Meerveld said he had initially "trusted Education's integrity" to accept the consequences of the pause and review when it was voted through by the States. 

Gavin st pier

Pictured: The States refused to note that the costs of pausing the development of the two 11-18 colleges previously agreed by the States would cost up to £2.5million. The proposition would have directed Policy & Resources to fund this in the upcoming Budget. 

Deputy Meerveld did not accept the excuses given for the uniform issue, which was in his view at odds with the spirit of his successful requete. 

"[The point of this policy letter] is not to clarify, I think it is more designed to subvert the requete."

"With all the political machinations and manoeuvring going on, I no longer have confidence in them."

Pictured: Deputies Chris Green and Laurie Queripel both saw merit in creating a special committee of the States to make progress on the transformation of education. 

Summing up his view of ESC's conduct in recent months, Deputy Meerveld said: "Education's plans have been morphing and changing by the day and it is not what the assembly voted to fund in September last year."

Others in the chamber rejected this point of view, with Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez saying Education's policy letter provided "much needed clarification on a murky area in an expedient way."

Others noted that the requete lacked detail and that the scope of the review had to be streamlined to make best use of resources and to proceed in a timely manner. 

Pictured top: ESC President Matt Fallaize. 

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