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The union representing teachers at Beaulieu, which previously raised the alarm about the working environment at the school, has praised the Catholic institution for demonstrating a "real turnaround".
And, speaking to Express last week, new headteacher Matthew Burke said he feels the school is now "in a strong position moving forward".
The reassurances come after a particularly turbulent few years for Beaulieu, which has seen several significant top-level changes amid a period of financial difficulty, and a critical independent report.
Just last month, financial information unearthed for the first time following an investigation by Express showed that the school was on course to become insolvent at the end of last year, and that the Government guaranteed a £2.5m overdraft and took on the lease for its building.
A "small fortune" spent on employment terminations, IT, maintenance and "entertainment" costs all helped dig a financial hole for the school – one which became so significant that fee increases and levies, selling the new Sports Hall and becoming fully independent to attract more investors were all considered as ways to "steady the ship".
Since then, however, significant efforts have been made by remaining staff, in collaboration with new headteacher Mr Burke and the school's new Board of Governors, to bring the school back on track, financially and academically – and both the union which represents teachers at the school, NASUWT, and the headteacher are feeling positive about the direction of travel.
Express spoke to them both about the progress to date, and their hopes for Beaulieu's future...
Last year, the NASUWT teaching union issued a strongly-worded statement warning that it had no confidence in Beaulieu’s management structure, and voiced concerns over the "unusually high" staff turnover and an "increasingly difficult" working environment at the school.
But union representative Marina Mauger said that the school has now "changed beyond recognition".
Pictured: Marina Mauger, local representative of the NASUWT teachers' union. (David Ferguson)
She said NASUWT had deep concerns about the school's direction of travel and had consistently raised the alarm "for a number of years". Having followed the situation so closely, she said she felt confident to say now that "the school has turned around tremendously".
“The staff are incredibly dedicated. The school is on a real turnaround. The results have improved. Teachers who were left to be pretty much directionless now know where they’ve got to go," the union representative said.
Mrs Mauger added: "The changes have been immense. They've got a new headteacher who understands Jersey. He's worked here before, and the staff are very, very positive about it."
But new headteacher Mr Burke – who took up post at the start of the school year in September – doesn't think that he's made too many changes.
Speaking to Express, he explained: "Fundamentally, I've not changed a lot because the ethos of the school is what attracted me in the first place.
"Wanting to ensure that I'm a Catholic school, a school that values the individual, a school that's not academically selective, is one that really, really resonated with me, and it's where I feel at home. It's where I feel I belong in a school."
The NASUWT teaching had also previously questioned why a school of Beaulieu’s size needed both a CEO and a COO, but Mrs Mauger described the current management structure as an "improvement".
She credited the new board of governors – who were appointed in December last year – with being "very forward-thinking" and "very positive about the school".
"I think if I had to describe that school, I would say it had fallen into a condition that was irrecoverable under the previous management," she said.
"However, now the staff are happy, they've had a really good inspection, standards are on the up.
"The teachers are now getting the CDP [continuing professional development] that they deserve – that they should have had and weren't getting."
Mrs Mauger added: "They've got a very experienced Board of Governors now, some of whom have great knowledge in education.
"This new board of governors is really committed to seeing the school achieve its full potential. The biggest thing is that they have got is a new head, new governors, and they're looking for a way forward."
Mr Burke agreed, noting that the new governors have "brought... a breadth of experience" to Beaulieu.
"You've got different fields represented now within the Board of Governors," he explained.
"You don't want it to be too narrow – you want to have that breadth of skills. So when the school is looking at building, when it's looking at enhanced facilities, when it's looking at curriculum, or it's looking at areas that need support, you've got those people on hand as governors as the first port of call."
He added: "From a personal point of view, they've been nothing but supportive for me. They've encouraged me. They've allowed me to do what I need to do as head, and they focus on what they need to do or support."
Mrs Mauger said that Beaulieu had seen "such a dramatic turnover in staff over the past few years".
"We're certainly not seeing the stuff turnover that we did a few years ago now," she said.
"It's a very happy working environment. Now the staff seem, when I speak to them, they seem to be really happy.
"Everything is so much more of an even keel – they've got the backing that they deserved."
She added: "Now, with the new headship and the new governors, the staff are being supported in the way that they should have been supported previously.
"Their last inspection showed real positive changes for the school."
Mrs Mauger said: "If you'd have asked me two years ago if I would send a child there, I'd have said, 'Never, not on your life'.
"But now I really wouldn't hesitate now, because the staff are amazing."
Mr Burke added: "The staff who are here now, who were here before, have done a phenomenal job in focusing on the children who are here, and the academic results are all the evidence you need.
"From that point of view, all leaders are different, aren't they? They bring different things, and they have different strengths. And for me, I am all about team. I am all about ensuring that everyone feels part of the community. And that's what I've done, that's the message that I've sent out.
"For me, looking forward – which is all I can do – is to say that's that this is the value that we are at now, where staff are listened to, I hope, where they feel they can contribute to the strategic direction of the school, as can parents, as can children, and we move forward."
Ms Mauger said: "With the new headship and the new governors, the staff are being supported in the way that they should have been supported previously."
She said that she felt the institution had suffered "damage" over a number of years in terms of staff confidence, but they now feel safe and secure.
The union representative also praised the students, and the efforts from staff to support them throughout the school's turbulent period.
"The girls there have done brilliantly despite everything that's happened, and the staff went out of their way to make sure that the girls didn't suffer," she said.
"You know, I would say no pupil was disadvantaged by the shenanigans that were happening [at Beaulieu]. The staff made sure of that – that the girls always came first."
Mrs Mauger said that she believes Beaulieu gets "plenty" of Government support.
"The school gets around £2.5m per year each, and then that's topped up with fees," she explained.
"I think the Government have done all they can to turn the school around, really.
"They brought in their own inspectors, they made recommendations, and the recommendations were acted upon."
Like other private schools, Beaulieu also receives a weighted annual grant from Government to support curriculum delivery.
Pictured: The annual Government grant is Beaulieu's second largest source of income each year.
The amount provided is calculated each year as it is dependent on the number of pupils within the school on 15 January each year.
For Beaulieu, this amounted to over £2.3m in both 2022 and 2023 – which the school deemed "not fit for purpose" in documents from 2023.
At the time, the school claimed that that the "upkeep of the buildings too high and not included" in the grant, and said that staffing is "misaligned".
Beaulieu also criticised the "paltry" 1.8% allocation increase from 2022 to 2023, in comparison to the 7.9% increase in teachers' pay.
But Education Minister Rob Ward recently revealed that the Government funding allocation for fee-paying schools is under review.
“To ensure that it continues to reflect the needs of the Government, the Department and the school, the funding formula for fee-charging schools is under review,” he said.
Pictured: Education Minister Rob Ward recently revealed that the Government funding allocation for fee-paying schools is under review.
Whilst previous senior leaders at Beaulieu have criticised the grant, Mr Burke said he thinks that the approach the Government takes is "forward-thinking".
"It actually supports every child on Jersey to have the best education experience they can – whether that's at Beaulieu, or another independent school, or a state school," he said.
"I like the fact [the Government] takes their responsibility seriously for every child, so it's for them to decide what they want to do [in terms of the grant review].
"From a grant point of view, they have their budget, they have their responsibilities.
"I absolutely understand that will all have to be part of the conversation around [the grant review], but my priority, in all honesty, at the moment, is just ensuring that we are in the strongest possible position moving forward."
Beaulieu's recent overdraft agreement includes a requirement for the school to deliver a "long-term strategic plan for the school" by early 2025, which must be approved by the Government.
The plan was set to be developed with the input of Mr Burke when he took up his new role this September.
Speaking to Express, he said: "Everything that's being required of the school, if I have a deadline that has been set has been met, from that point of view, I'm sure if and when that needs to become shared and further, then that will be done via Government from that point of view."
Parents had previously criticised the school's lack of openness and transparency – something that the new headteacher feels has now been addressed.
"I think if you spoke to parents now, they know that's not the case," said Mr Burke.
"Every month, we have a parents' coffee morning. I write to primary and secondary parents every week. I've spoken at every parents' evening or information evening that we've had – some parents might be sick of the sight of me!
"But for me, it's important to be that present, to be there, but also for staff and also for the children who are here as well."
Mrs Mauger said: "I would say that the school are doing everything they can to recover themselves. It is very positive.
"You know, I have nothing negative to say about that school whatsoever. I think they're on track to become, to return to the great school that they used to be."
In the 2022 financial statements, Beaulieu described the Government-backed increased overdraft facility as the "first phase of a return to financial stability".
When asked by Express if this had been the case, Mr Burke said: "In that sense, absolutely, the school's in a strong position moving forward."
Mr Burke noted that had been nice to begin his tenure as headteacher during a time that marked so many significant events in the history of school – including a recent exhibition marking 100 years since the Sisters arrived in Jersey.
He said: "I take my responsibility really seriously. I've got a duty of care to the staff, to the students, but also to the community as a whole.
"I think, for me, the most important thing is ensuring that people on the island understand what Beaulieu contributes to Jersey.
"It's not just what we do for the children who are here now, or have been here, or will come here – it's actually looking at the careers that our former students go on, or looking at senior leaders in other schools on the island who started their careers here, and the experience they had here enabled them to move on and assume greater responsibilities."
He added: "I think it's really important that schools contribute to the community in which they're in. We've got a really strong sense of volunteering here, we have a really strong sense of fundraising, a sense of charity and it's those things that I want the staff and the students and children here to understand.
"That's what being part of Beaulieu is. We do those things because it's the right thing to do, because it's embedded in what we want as a school."
Looking ahead, Mr Burke said: "I think what I hope I'm able to do is bring value to the to the education experience that we have here at Beaulieu.
"It's quite difficult to add value when you look at the academic results they've secured over the last couple of years, because they've been phenomenal – outperforming a number of selective academic schools.
"So there's a challenge for me to maintain that that academic career, but also not lose sight of the founding ethos of the sisters, which is centred on love and service, and making sure what we're producing here are children who who know their place in the world, who know that they can be responsible and contribute positively."
INSIGHT #1: “Falling apart”… The bid to rebuild Beaulieu and its finances
INSIGHT #2: The "increasingly worse" spending that left Beaulieu on the brink
INSIGHT #3: How did Beaulieu attempt to "steady the ship"?
TIMELINE: A tumultuous two years for Beaulieu
Calls for more transparency from private schools receiving Gov grants
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