02 November 2009
Following a number of comments made to the media by the Chairman of the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Sub-Panel, Deputy James Reed, Minister for Education, Sport and Culture, has stated:
‘I am very disappointed by some of the comments made, and I would like to place on record that Education, Sport and Culture, in conjunction with our schools, provides a comprehensive range of support for all our young people. The suspensions policy should be seen in this context’.
Funding provided to all our 11-16 schools allows for the following staff to be employed where appropriate:
- School Counsellors provide the opportunity for students to discuss any concerns on a confidential basis;
- Attendance Officers liaise with families where students have attendance or punctuality difficulties;
- Behaviour Managers provide support to staff in understanding and managing students who are experiencing difficulties;
- Educational Needs and Literacy Coordinators are employed to ensure that learning needs are properly addressed; and
- Educational Psychologists are allocated by the ESC Department to work with staff, students and families to ensure that available resources are deployed in the best interests of individuals who may be experiencing difficulties.
In all cases, funding is adjusted to meet the needs of individual schools. Dependent upon that need, additional facilities are provided within schools, including:
- Learning Support Units enable students experiencing difficulties to remain in their schools. Although the Learning Support Unit is situated in a separate part of the school, the learning programme is designed to enable the student to participate in other aspects of normal school life;
- Special Needs Units provide for children with specific special needs, including hearing and medical difficulties, and social and communication difficulties, and these are attached to a number of primary and secondary schools. Key workers are engaged by ESC to provide support to each student placed in these units;
- Multi-Agency Support Teams have been developed in each of the 11-16 schools to support individual students. The Teams normally include representatives from the Youth Service, Youth Action Team, Probation Service, and Community Police, and are designed to promote a coordinated approach for supporting students experiencing difficulties in their lives, working in partnership with parents and other agencies.
Special Facilities
- In some cases it may not be appropriate for individual students to remain in mainstream schools, and special facilities have been provided on separate sites at a number of locations to support students in the primary and secondary sectors. Increasingly, the emphasis is now on providing focused support for limited periods of time, with the aim of reintegrating students back into their schools as soon as practical.
- For those Year 11 students who have not been able to fully achieve their potential in the first year of their Key Stage 4 curriculum, a separate facility is provided to meet their needs.
The ESC Minister commented –
‘Although the sub-panel is focusing on the issue of suspensions, our policy is to provide a full range of services that will mean suspension is used only on an exceptional basis. Much effort is being made by our schools to ensure that young people benefit from a good education and receive appropriate support, and I am grateful to our staff for their commitment and dedication in delivering this service.’
gov.je