Children in Jersey are less “school-ready” than their peers in England when they leave early-years education to move to primary school, according to a new research report.
The Policy Centre Jersey found that the percentage of reception children in Jersey government schools achieving the “expected level of development” was rated “red” in the 2023/2024 academic year.
A “green” rating requires 69.9%, with anything below 61.2% rated “red”.
“Three of the last four years have been ‘red’, with no year coming anywhere near ‘green’,” the report said.
It added: “The crude figures suggest that Jersey’s ‘school readiness’ is significantly below the best-performing English local authorities.
“This seems consistent with the fact that the Jersey figure is 13% below that needed to be rated ‘green’ under the department’s own criteria.”
The Policy Centre said that children who are not school-ready “start at a disadvantage”.
“The higher the proportion of such children in a class, the greater the challenge for teachers,” it added.
Children who are not school-ready start at a disadvantage, and the higher the proportion of such children in a class, the greater the challenge for teachers
policy centre jersey
Among the report’s recommendations was to expand a scheme which offers of funded nursery hours for preschool children and create “urgent workforce strategy to address the acute shortage of specialist capacity”.
Published yesterday, the report on early years support found that average childcare costs in Jersey are around 50% above those in England and about 12% above London levels.
High childcare costs were described as a “major barrier” for many parents.
“Reducing these costs can significantly increase female labour-force participation, yielding several economic benefits,” the report said.
The island has seen a decline in births of almost 30% since 2016, according to the Policy Centre Jersey – which noted that this “notable demographic shift” is affecting demand for childcare and early education places, and has implications for future capacity in primary schools.
The report found that the overall capacity in early years provision is “sufficient” but that affordability, rather than availability, is the central challenge for Jersey families.
“Workforce pressures, driven by recruitment and retention challenges, increasing regulatory requirements and the high cost of living, threaten the sustainability of provision,” it added.
The full report can be found online.