PLANS for a new primary school in St Helier should remain on track in spite of the Island’s falling birth rate, ministers have insisted, highlighting the improved facilities for pupils and potential cost savings of pressing ahead with the scheme.
In a detailed comments paper issued ahead of this week’s sitting of the States Assembly, the Council of Ministers has urged Members to reject a proposition by St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft that the new school scheme be placed on hold.
Mr Crowcroft, who also serves as an Assistant Infrastructure Minister, wishes to expand the Millennium Town Park into the Gas Place site earmarked for the new school, calling for ministers to initiate demographic analysis regarding the need for the project. The Constable’s proposition also calls for an assessment of the cost and environmental impact of the new school, plus analysis of the benefits of the expanded park.
The comments paper highlights ministers’ determination to press ahead with the project, quoting data about the anticipated changes in the number of pupils in each year group over the next 15 years.
Acknowledging the fall in births from 1,020 in 2016 to 723 last year, the paper anticipates that the total number of pupils in Jersey, stretching from nursery to year 13, will drop from the current figure of 14,762 to 12,045 by 2040, a fall of 18.5%.
Should a potential reduction in class sizes to 25 be implemented, the ministerial data indicates that in 15 years’ time, 77.5% of available places in government (non-fee paying) primary schools would be filled.
The paper also outlines the rise in the numbers of pupils with special educational needs.
“The new site will have dedicated specialist provision attached to the mainstream school which none of our existing sites allow us to provide in one single location,” ministers state. “We have at least 22 children in mainstream town schools who need a specialist provision that is not currently available, and anticipate this level of need will continue to increase… causing significant challenge for schools.”
Other arguments advanced in the ministerial response cover the current primary school provision, stating: “The case has been proven over and again that the facilities at La Passerelle, St Luke’s and Springfield schools are totally inadequate and ‘make do’ is not an option this Council [of Ministers] supports.”
Savings in running costs of approximately £427,000 per year would be realised by replacing the existing schools with the new single-site option at Gas Place, ministers added.
As well as questioning the need for a new school in his proposition, Mr Crowcroft asks why other options, including a change to catchment areas, are not being considered and highlights the need for green space for residents in the north of St Helier.
The Constable concedes having “a mountain to climb” given the overwhelming support for the 2023-26 Government Plan in December 2022.
Deputy Catherine Curtis, chair of the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny panel, said better facilities was needed for pupils at the schools affected, but acknowledged the desire of those living near Gas Place for more green space.
“The Constable of St Helier has access to information about all possible sites and in my view should only have brought this proposition if he could name an alternative site,” she said. “Otherwise it just looks like a delaying tactic.”
