The Education Minister has said that he believes the “vast majority of solutions” to address inadequacies in special educational needs provision in Jersey are already in the Island, following the publication of a scathing report.
Deputy Rob Ward said that an independent review of the current quality of provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities – which Express understands has been circulating for months but was only made public for the first time yesterday – was a “turning point” and a “pivotal moment”, and the Government accepted all of its recommendations.
“Too few” having their needs met
The reviewers’ overall judgment was that “too few disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils have had their full range of needs met” and that “the current leadership, organisation, systems, strategies, oversight and accountability arrangements, in relation to inclusive education in Jersey are not sufficiently effective”.
The review published this week was a follow-up to a £250,000 review by the National Association for Special Educational Need (nasen) published in 2021, which made 50 recommendations to improve SEND provision in government-run schools.
Identifying what the next streps should be, the expert authors of the most recent review said: “Reviewers recommend immediate priority is given to ensuring:
- the centre, schools and wider stakeholders work together to develop, share and publish their immediate priorities together with medium-term and longer-term strategic plans containing targets, timescales, milestones and success criteria
- systems for governance and accountability are clarified
- an ongoing programme of internal and external monitoring is devised.”
They added: “Considering the fact that the nasen review recommendations have not yet become embedded, and the scale of the tasks ahead, leaders should consider including a programme of ongoing support and monitoring visits by external experts to support, validate and challenge the progress being made towards their published plans.”
“This is not about blame”
Some sources likened the call for external monitoring to Ofsted suggesting a UK school be placed in “special measures”.
In response to the suggestion, Deputy Ward told Express: “I think that the reviewers need to come back in the future, but we need to do this in a constructive way.
“This is not about blame, it is not about competition; it’s about working together. It is about collaboration, finding the best practice, sharing that throughout our schools, and then making change where practice is not adequate.
“If we do that, we’ve got a way forward, and then the future money that will be needed will be spent in the right place, at the right time for the right people, and that’s what we want to see happening.”
Later, he told the States Assembly that the 2021 nasen review spoke of a need of around £18m in funding, but only £6m was allocated. While less than called for, this had gone some way towards improvements in training, for example, but there was still much more to do, the Minister said.
“I do believe that a lot of the solutions, the vast majority of those solutions, are within our grasp, within the staff that we have and the professionals that we have, there have been changes made there,” Deputy Ward added.
“I would like to see those reviewers revisit in time to give that similar constructive, realistic and trusted feedback. If that costs something, I’m certain that I can make a very strong case for that need.”
Ahead of the report’s publication, two leaders at the heart of the Island’s special educational needs provision left the service, as Express revealed yesterday.
Jane Lancaster-Adlam, who was associate education director and the Island’s head of inclusion, left in July 2025, while La Passarelle head teacher Sarah Anderson-Rawlins informed parents of her departure just weeks into the new school term. Interim replacements are in place.
In a letter about the review sent yesterday to parents seen by Express, Deputy Ward said that recent changes in leadership were “helping strengthen collaboration between schools and the central team, including seconded head teachers focused on inclusion”.
Prior to the report’s publication, Express sought clarity from government on its recruitment plans for the key inclusion roles last week. However, a response is yet to be received.
