St Sampson's staff criticise two-school model proposals

Channel
Guernsey
Monday 20 January 2020 at 9:45pm

Plans for Guernsey's two-school model have been heavily criticised in an open letter from staff at St Sampson's School.

88 members of staff, including teachers, support staff and other professionals, signed the letter which calls for the government to 'pause and reflect' on the policy.

The letter also claims that many staff have been frightened to challenge the proposals out of fear of losing their jobs.

The open letter lists a number of concerns about the proposals in several different areas.

Accessibility and Transport

It describes proposals for access to the school site as 'impractical', saying the proposed parking arrangements are detrimental to staff and students with mobility issues - and warning that emergency vehicles would be 'severely hampered' in getting access to the site.

The staff members also argue that the suggestion of parents having to arrive 15 minutes early and wait for buses to move on will cause major disruption.

There are also concerns for who would be responsible for students as they walk from Oatlands, a dedicated 'drop and stride zone'.

Infrastructure and the current building

Those signing the letter believe the St Sampson's is not big enough and could pose a health and safety risk. They say 'corridors have already proven to be of insufficient width' and more pupils will make problems worse.

They say a lack of social space and only 280 planned seats for 800 pupils taking lunch will cause issues.

Outside space and facilities

Similarly staff say that reduced outdoor space to make the two-school model site work is at detriment to the wellbeing of pupils.

Plans for Guernsey's two-school model have been heavily criticised Credit: ITV Channel TV

The letter concludes its argument by saying that staff are 'extremely frustrated' and they feel their voice is dismissed.

Responding to the letter in a statement, Deputy Matt Fallaize, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, said while he understands concerns around transport, the challenges are 'surmountable'.

He said the Committee has 'never once discouraged anyone working in a school from expressing their views as they see fit.'

Deputy Fallaize also refuted claims made in the letter, saying some of the comparisons made applied to school 'significantly larger' than the twocolleges being proposed in Guernsey.

He also challenged critics of the two-school model to put 'commit to an alternative solution' - saying it would be 'irresponsible' of the government to walk back on the proposals now.

‘Of course managing change on a large scale is hugely challenging. The States as an organisation is not used to change on this scale. There were always going to be periods of unease and opposition along the way. We have never said that these reforms are perfect, but they are much better than any other way of organising non-selective secondary education. This is why every other model put forward previously has been rejected. We note that our critics who say they are putting together a requete which in effect would scrap the current reforms have not yet committed to an alternative solution. I hope they will soon, so that people can assess the advantages of and disadvantages of their model compared to the reforms now underway. It would be irresponsible to stop the current reforms with no idea about what to do instead.