We entered a process to elect the new Chief Minister following a debate which focused upon style of management and personal views and opinions, rather than facts and disagreements about policy.

After Deputy Moore lost the vote of no confidence (VONC) I took time to reflect.

Members didn’t debate statistics and data, and what was actually delivered by this COM or what is proposed. The focus of disagreement, the site of the hospital, was actually resolved after the VONC. The debate was mostly subjective and rarely objective.

So objectively what have I delivered as Minister for Children and Education:

Lots of work went into learning the brief, building relationships and foundations, bringing the team together.

Education is the biggest department and has seen 3 Ministers come and go in 4 years. Stability is what is really important to progress and make things better.

I’m extremely proud of the achievements made across our department in 2023; the changes and improvements made span a range of areas and will truly benefit those working within the department, and of course the children and young people of our island.

There is lots more to do but here I is my summary of 15 things I was able to deliver working as a Member of this COM, led by Deputy Moore since June 2022.

  1. Built the much-needed extension to Mont à L’Abbe school.
  2. Opened 2 new children’s homes and put in place firm plans to build a first therapeutic children’s home.
  3.  Reduce the numbers of children placed off-Island.
  4. Increased the student maintenance grant by 10.1% for the 2022-2023 academic year.
  5. Arranged for the Student Finance budget from 2023 and going forward to be ‘Annually Managed Expenditure’, which secures a budget that can flex with inflation in a timely manner.
  6. Introduction of a 10% uplift to the maintenance grant provided for students studying in London.
  7. Delivered an IT system update in Education taking it from 80% outdated to 40% and to 20% outdated by the end of this year, soon to be 100% up-to-date within 2 years time.
  8. Improved the recruitment process, so that by December 2023 there were no vacant posts in Primary schools and 1.4% vacant in Secondary Schools.  This was achieved despite the ongoing dispute with the teachers. In children’s social worker services, vacancies were reduced from 55% of posts to 37% in a year.
  9. The proportion of care leavers living in suitable accommodation has increased from 79.8% when I was appointed to  94.8% in Q3 2023.
  10. Wellbeing and mental health saw an 800% referral increase over the last 3 years. CAMHS staff went from 21 in 2021 to 70 now. In 2023 we opened a neurodevelopment dedicated service, an early intervention service, and the Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) service.
  11. We have a Doctor and 2 nurses on duty at the family hub to have quicker support at our front door. There are p​lans to introduce an 8am to 8pm service, seven days a week, in this department.
  12. A new funding formula using school needs was created and funds were allocated to meet needs.
  13.  In the recent Government Plan, I secured just above £20 million extra growth funds in total in this year and the 2 years going forward to invest in education and social care reform.
  14. School meals went from 5 schools in 2022 to 10 schools this month and by the end of 2024 all primary schools will be able to provide hot school meals.
  15. The Work of the Music Group led to a pilot extending the provision of free music instrument lessons for years 2 and 8 in addition to already existed in year 4 and 7

Going forward:

The community schools vision has just started to make progress, putting schools at the heart of an inclusive community approach, where services and extra activities focused around children, young people and their families can be delivered within schools, creating a trusting environment.

The Jersey International Cultural Centre became a reality last year and was nominated  for the Government Initiative of the Year DIFERA  Award.

Firm plans are in place to build a new Central St Helier School, alongside further feasibility work to redevelop Rouge Bouillon School and create a much-needed  Youth and Community centre for St Helier.

I delivered positive changes with the support of the Chief Minister and the team in spite of major incidents, in spite of the worsening economic situation, and in spite of huge uncertainties in the United Kingdom and globally.

I delivered all this with full support of the team. As an individual States Member, in a less education-focused and enthusiastic team it would have been impossible.

Every team has challenges. It is important to work through them in an open and respectful way.

Unfortunately, the events of last week when the States Assembly was focused on personality over delivery, interpersonal communications instead of social progress to benefit the people of Jersey, I wondered if the behaviours that Deputy Moore  was criticised for, might have been perceived more positively if displayed by a male Chief Minister.

I am honoured to be able to serve my community as a minister, what motivates me is getting things done regardless of the title.

So we have to choose between a totally new team, perhaps with very divergent political views, which will somehow need to be galvanised and go back to the beginning, which inherently causes delays. We have these delays because every time we change the Minister in charge, momentum is lost and productivity drops as the newcomer learns the brief, develops a new working relationship with COM and civil servants and reprioritises.

I can recall the major barriers that I faced as a new Minister – beginning with trust, or lack of trust, which was a major obstacle I think I overcame.

But… let’s see how the vote will go tomorrow, the 25th of January.

Whatever will happen I will continue to serve my constituents and the public of Jersey.