Who's ruling the classroom?

Monday 19 January 2015

Put the head back in headteacher – that’s what the new Education Director is urging those in charge of the Island’s schools to do.

Justin Donovan believes heads are a class act but need to be given more power to lead and the freedom to make their own decisions.

The man running the Education Department says the Island has some of the best headteachers he has worked with and believes they are key to improving standards but he wants to see them take more responsibility for things like their budgets and staffing.

Speaking in the latest edition of Connect Magazine Mr Donovan, a former teacher who took up the his new post last summer, said exam results are not good enough and one of his first priorities is to sort that out.

He said: “The UK has gone ahead of Jersey. We have gone from being ahead to below. We need to move along, and that is a big issue.”

He wants schools to stop relying so much on his department.

He said: “I’m asking our schools to be daring, bold, ambitious and imaginative. To do that, they need headteachers who can lead, not just manage. We need freedom to make decisions.

“If you can’t control your budgets and the people that work for you, then you are going to struggle to lead. I’m simply talking about schools flexing their muscles and being imaginative.”

Next month his department will be revealing a major plan for Education in the Island and parents will be given the lowdown on exam performance, attendance and teacher assessments.

To read the full interview you can view the latest edition of Connect here.