Funding shakeup planned for Jersey's government-run schools

Jersey's Education Department is introducing a new way of allocating funds to States-run schools.

It comes after the publication of the 'Independent School Funding Review', which examined how the government's £88.4 million annual budget for schools is spent.

The review took place in 2020 at the request of Jersey's former Education Minister, Senator Tracey Vallois.

The new model sets out to introduce a "simpler, more equitable way" of distributing funds to schools.

The way budgets were decided under the previous system "did not accurately reflect students' needs", according to Jersey's government.

Education says the new model factors in "the individual context of each school" - meaning schools with students with Special Educational Needs, speech or language difficulties, or previous poor results will receive extra funding.

A separate review will be carried out into funding for fee-paying schools in 2023, but until then these schools will continue under the previous funding method.

Jersey's Education Minister, Deputy Inna Gardiner, explains why it's being changed:

"Teachers and headteachers have told us that the current formula is too complicated, too outdated, and often leads to additional requests for funding.

"This is the first time that we have published the school funding formula, to share with Islanders how we use our financial resources to best support children and young people. I hope that this increased transparency will allow us to have productive conversations with stakeholders – including schools – about how we can keep refining this formula to give all children the best outcomes."

The new funding model is set to be introduced in 2023.