The Jersey Premium was introduced as a pilot in 2016 and then rolled out Islandwide in January 2017, providing schools with tens of thousands of pounds in extra funding each.
This year a total of 2,500 children are eligible for the scheme, which is based loosely on the UK’s Pupil Premium, and between them schools have shared a funding pot worth £2,494,696.
That money is being spent on everything from extra training for teachers, before- and after-school clubs and one-on-one support to extra counselling sessions, projects to improve numeracy and literacy and wellbeing support for pupils.
Last year 3,500 pupils were eligible, with schools sharing a total of £2,156,696.
However, as only three years’ worth of funding was agreed when the scheme was set up, there are currently no confirmed plans for the Jersey Premium to continue.
But Education Minister Tracey Vallois said she wanted the scheme to carry on, and its funding would be part of the States’ new spending plan due to be presented for debate by the Assembly later this year. That spending plan will replace the three-year Medium Term Financial Plan, which finishes this year.
‘It would be my intention to continue it,’ she said.
‘I have not had any discussions about discontinuing it but it will be developed and discussed as part and parcel of the government plan and ensuring school funding across the board is properly addressed.’
Cris Lakeman, the Education Department’s senior adviser for Jersey Premium, said feedback and evidence from the first three years of the scheme was ‘very positive’. She added that Jersey Premium students had shown improvements almost across the board in key performance indicators such as numeracy and literacy.
‘We are seeing shoots of growth here,’ she said. ‘It is very positive.’
Asked if the scheme would be continuing after this year, she said it was a ‘political decision’ but added: ‘Absolutely I’d like it to continue. The children who have experienced this for three years are going to be in the system for a long time – it is all about the long-term impact. This isn’t a quick fix: it is long-term changes.’
And she said that she believed the scheme was targeted at the right children.
