A ‘HORRENDOUS’ situation is unfolding as Island schools struggle to recruit teachers and some could be heading into the new academic year with posts still vacant or covered by under-qualified staff, senior trade union officials have warned.
The difficulty in attracting and retaining teachers and support staff has been described as a crisis by the unions, who will be holding an education hustings today in an effort to highlight to election candidates the scale of the issues they face.
Significant numbers of teachers are set to retire from the profession at the end of the summer term next month, with education experiencing similar recruitment challenges to other sectors including health, care, construction and hospitality due to the high cost of living and lack of accommodation in Jersey.
Teachers are also facing the stark choice of choosing between buying a home and starting a family, the JEP has learned, and are instead opting to leave the Island.
One teacher who spoke to this newspaper said nothing about the crisis was ‘putting children first’ – a key strategy launched by the government several years ago.
Mark Oliver, president of the National Education Union, said the needs of students had never been higher, following almost two years of disruption.
‘There is simply not enough capacity in schools to meet the needs of all our students,’ he said. ‘We need to prioritise the education of a generation who have lived through a world pandemic in order that they are able to face the challenges ahead.’
Marina Mauger, of the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers, described the recruitment and retention situation as ‘horrendous’, with one head teacher having described it to her as ‘shockingly terrible’. She said: ‘We just haven’t got enough staff – normally we’d have a solid bank of supply staff who’d be able to fill the gaps, but currently there’s hardly anyone, and lots of teachers are about to retire.
‘We’re looking off-Island, but people won’t come here once they realise how high the cost of living is.’
Mrs Mauger said she was concerned about the impact on those who were remaining in roles within education.
She added: ‘We are really concerned about the mental health and wellbeing of teachers – 59% of them have said they are thinking about leaving the profession within the next year or two.
‘It’s such a pressurised job and the hours are long – people think it’s nine to three with long holidays, but the reality is that it’s not like that at all.’
Sam Cooper, president of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: ‘School leaders consider that we are in the middle of recruitment and retention crisis.
‘There are several schools that will be without significant numbers of staff this September, including teachers, teaching assistants and other support staff.’
Mr Cooper said that he was particularly concerned about the lack of qualified candidates to fill specialist roles in areas where children had additional needs.
‘The inclusion agenda – which we support – needs a strong resource in terms of available, qualified staff, but as things stand some children will not be supported to the levels that their needs warrant,’ he said.
As well as those retiring from roles in education this summer, Mr Cooper said there were others considering leaving the Island.
‘There are teachers who have established themselves in the profession in Jersey, and want to buy a home and start a family – but they can’t afford to do both if they stay here, so they are looking to leave,’ he said.
One teacher who expressed their views to the JEP said that unions had consistently warned of the growing crisis only to be ignored repeatedly by government, with an ‘unsatisfactory solution’ of larger class sizes, leading to less time with individual pupils for teachers.
The teacher said: ‘September will be a challenging time for schools – some schools have struggled to fill posts for the last two or three years, and the crisis also extends to teaching assistants, office staff and especially experienced supply teachers.
‘None of this is “putting children first”, which is a key aim of government strategy.’
A government spokesperson said: ‘We are fortunate to have such a loyal and committed teaching workforce in Jersey, especially as there is a general shortage of qualified teaching staff across many jurisdictions.
‘It is usual for schools to have vacancies at this time of the year, as the normal notification date for resignation or retirement is 31 May. It is therefore difficult at this time to be clear what the position will be in September. Many posts for September have already been filled, with further recruitment for the Autumn term ongoing. Some offers have been made, and the recruitment process is continuing.
‘We recognise the ongoing challenges of recruiting teachers and have a number of potential initiatives which will be considered in consultation with all partners.’
