Educational psychologists union brands Jersey not a "safe place" to work

Monday 28 October 2024

The Government has commissioned an independent review after the UK union responsible for representing educational psychologists said it could no longer recommend Jersey as an "appropriate or safe place to work".

The Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) made the public declaration last week after what it described as a "failure" by Government to "deal appropriately" with concerns raised by educational psychologists working in Jersey.

It said it was now officially "in dispute" with Government.

As a result, it said it would no longer recommend Jersey as a place to work to its members and would not carry any adverts for positions.

Jersey's team of educational psychologists provide support to children from birth to 19 years old at settings ranging from playgroups to secondary schools and specialist educational institutions.

Among their main tasks are assessing children's special educational needs (SEN), providing support in times of crisis and bereavement and providing training to schools and staff members.

Their overall aim, according to Government, is to help "children and young people overcome barriers to learning".

The AEP announced its dispute last week.

It said in a statement: "Following agreement of the National Executive Committee and with effect from October 2024, the AEP is in dispute with The States of Jersey.

"This unfortunate situation has arisen due to the failure of the employer to deal appropriately with matters raised by Educational Psychologists in the course of their work."

The union added: "AEP Officials will continue to work with senior officers to resolve the matters which have led to this dispute. Until the dispute is lifted, the AEP cannot recommend Jersey as an appropriate or safe place for AEP members to work. As a result of this failure, the AEP cannot recommend Jersey as a safe and appropriate place for members to work. The AEP will not carry any adverts for the States of Jersey during this time."

Contacted for comment, the Government confirmed that it was looking into some of the issues that had been raised.

"These will be investigated independently," a spokesperson said.

"The Children, Young People, Education and Skills department (CYPES) have commissioned an independent external assessment of the services provided and will be working closely with the Association of Educational Psychologists and colleagues working within this service throughout this assessment process," they said.

As of March this year, there were four educational psychologists employed by CYPES, and the Government had the budget for – and was actively recruiting for – one more, a response to a request under the Freedom of Information Law said.

In 2020, Jersey's Employment Tribunal found that an "effective, conscientious and well respected" educational psychologist left the Government "due to the way he was managed and communicated with" after around two years of uncertainty during a restructuring of the civil service.

Former Director of Inclusion and Early Intervention Julian Radcliffe made a claim for compensation for constructive unfair dismissal, saying the way in which he had been treated during the 'OneGov' restructure forced him to resign.

While the Employment Tribunal rejected the claim on the grounds that there was no breach of contract, the panel highlighted concerns about the way Mr Radcliffe was treated in its written judgment.

It documented Mr Radcliffe's increasing anxiety over the security of his role over and how his "trust... was eroded" over a period of two years.

CYPES is currently undergoing restructuring once again, with the departure of several senior staff.

The most recent high profile departure to be announced was that of Chief Officer Rob Sainsbury, who took charge of CYPES in October 2021 in an interim capacity after working in the hospital, and was appointed to the role permanently in December 2022. He will be leaving his role at the end of this month, which the Government says will make a saving of £160,000. 

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