SCRUTINY leaders have expressed renewed concern about the support provided to young Islanders by the Educational Psychology service.
With only a week to go until the start of the autumn term, the service remains short-staffed and embroiled in a long-running dispute with the Association of Educational Psychologists after the union branded Jersey an “unsafe” place to work.
Deputy Catherine Curtis, chair of the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, said she had raised concerns Education Minister Rob Ward, officials in his department and with Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham, but remained worried that young Islanders with additional needs were unable able to get timely support.
“The service is absolutely essential to getting children off to a good start in life, it saves money when you think of the costs if things go wrong later in life,” she said. “The situation affects children very badly, makes life hard for teachers and headteachers and has a great impact on families – I think it’s one of the worst matters I’ve seen since being elected.”
Deputy Curtis said individuals working in the service had raised concerns in a bid to achieve improvements, but had instead been “shut down”.
Several of the educational psychologists have now left their posts or handed in their notice, leaving the service reliant on locum cover which Deputy Curtis said had cost £174,000 in 2024 without accounting for accommodation expenses.
Jane Lancaster-Adlam, the associate director with responsibility for inclusion, left her role in early July, with chief education officer Keith Posner confirming in an email to staff that four headteachers were spending some of their time seconded to roles within the inclusion team in order to fill the gap.
Meanwhile, a UK-based recruitment agency has advertised for an experienced educational psychologist to come to Jersey at a pay-rate of up to £850 per day.
An online advertisement states that the new recruit would “play a key role in a high-impact transformation project”, describing the vacancy as “a rare opportunity to help shape and re-design the structure, policies, and model of our team, while also supporting the development of our current staff through expert supervision”.
Last month, the subject was raised at a public meeting by the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel, with chief people officer Lesley Darwin stating that a review had taken place and led to an action plan, adding that she was confident the service would be back to normal by the start of the new academic year.
Corporate Services chair Deputy Helen Miles told the JEP she was concerned about the way the situation had been dealt with.
“From my perspective, the matter has not been handled well, which has resulted in a very poor service to families and schools and reputational damage to the Island,” she said.
“While I cannot comment on individual staff issues, my panel are keeping a close eye on grievance and whistle-blowing procedures to ensure that concerns are addressed in a timely, appropriate and professional manner.”
Parents have shared concerns on social media, highlighting lengthy delays to securing appointments and stating that remote appointments with psychologists based in the UK were less effective than face-to-face sessions.
The JEP submitted a range of questions to the government, asking whether the service would be back to normal by the start of September, what was being done to address the AEP’s concerns and whether the “transformation” vacancy had been filled. Additionally, the Education Department has been asked if its action plan would be made public.
In a statement issued by his department’s communications officer, Education Minister Rob Ward said: “We continue to work actively with the Association of Educational Psychologists and look forward to providing an update on this important service shortly.”
