The politician said she had asked in mid-December for the reopening of schools after Christmas to be delayed by a week, but was given a ‘point blank no’ by other ministers, only for the decision to be reversed two weeks later.
The issue was one of several that led to mounting frustration and eventually the resignation of Senator Vallois, who has also confirmed that she will not seek to remain in politics beyond next year’s election.
With rising infection rates during November and December, Senator Vallois said she felt that it was necessary to delay the reopening of schools, scheduled for 4 January, so that preparations for the new term could be finalised.
‘Teachers needed to prepare, and pupils and parents needed to know where they stood, plus I felt it was important to have testing arrangements in place for teachers and older pupils,’ she said.
‘I had a long meeting with officers on 15 December and we asked for a week’s delay [to 11 January], but this was turned down point blank.’
The delay was fixed at two days – to 6 January – before the Education Department was informed late on 30 December that scientific experts were now calling for the week’s delay.
‘It was ridiculous, and one of the straws that broke the camel’s back,’ she said. ‘We had been trying to give some clarity to everyone, but then we went back to what I’d been asking for originally.’
After a day of planning the logistics around the delay, information about the new opening date was shared with headteachers at 5pm on New Year’s Eve, with an announcement issued via social media at 5.49pm.
As Education Minister, Senator Vallois attended meetings of the ‘competent authority’ decision-making group of ministers, but was not a full voting member, and was required by law to obtain consent from the Health Minister for any decisions relating to school closures.
Senator Vallois said she had been trying to advocate a more cautious approach to reopening during the first week of January having learned about the new variant of Covid-19, but when her attempts were again rejected by the competent authority group, she resigned on Sunday 10 January.
After a political career that began in 2008, Senator Vallois said she would not be standing for re-election in May 2022.
She said she had no firm plans, but could consider the finance sector, which she worked in before being elected to the States, or law.
‘I didn’t envisage going into politics, and when I was elected in 2008 I didn’t expect to still be here 13 years later, but it gets to the point where the Assembly needs fresh eyes and fresh blood, and I want to have a more normal life,’ she said.
Over the remainder of the current political term, Senator Vallois said she wanted to serve the Island through contributing to three Scrutiny panels – the Privileges and Procedures Committee, the Public Accounts Committee and the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel.
