Saturday 19 December 2020
Statement from Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture:
'An interim report on the Secondary Education Review was circulated to States Members-elect by the former President of the Committee, Matt Fallaize, on his last day in office. The report is a snapshot of the work done prior to the election. It was not a natural breakpoint in the review and was it appears produced purely because of the looming election and circulated because it was the former President's last opportunity to do so before leaving office. It was woefully premature and took no account of staff feedback - because workshops with staff did not conclude until four weeks later on 17th November. The report was also circulated before the employee representative groups had been given a reasonable chance to comment on the content.
'There was little need for an interim report and perhaps the previous Committee might not have contemplated one were it not for its members' concerns over their political futures in the run up to the general election.
'Our Committee has stated that we will be bringing a policy letter to the States within the next few months. We inherited the review work and it is entirely reasonable for us to be allowed to fully get to grips with it and own its future direction. The policy letter is the appropriate document for publication containing all relevant information, where we can set out our recommended direction for the States to consider. Our Committee's work in bringing considered, pragmatic proposals to the States which can be supported by staff and the community must not be hamstrung by the last-minute actions of the former Committee.
'It could be said that the circulation of an interim report on the eve of leaving the States was ill-judged. The question of publishing the interim report has got less to do with openness and transparency and more to do with fairness and inclusivity in regards to the staff engagement and fair representation of their feedback.
'It is the strong preference of our Committee not to be pressurised to publish work that is incomplete, which was prematurely released to the incoming Assembly, was not undertaken by this Committee and not reviewed by staff who had contributed to it. Nothing will be discarded but the interim report in itself adds little value to the Secondary Education Review that we now own. The process has provided us with a good format for engagement with staff that we will build upon.
'If there is a clamour from the general public to see the content of a half-finished report produced in those circumstances, the Committee can make it available at the appropriate time but it would be published with a serious health warning about the state of play at the time of its production and readers would be especially reminded that the voice of teachers and other school staff is absent from its pages.'
