Commenting on the findings of the first ever Jersey Teachers’ Survey, published today, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in Jersey, said:
“The NASUWT was pleased to be fully involved in and to support this first ever survey of the teaching workforce in Jersey conducted by the States.
“The outcomes of this survey provide an important insight into the opinions of teachers and school leaders on key issues affecting education and on the state of the teacher and school leader workforce.
“On critical issues, including pupil behaviour, professional development, workload, leadership and management, the survey provides important professional perspectives on the strengths of Jersey’s education system, as well as identifying some of its most pressing challenges.
“Of particular concern are the survey’s findings on teachers’ health and wellbeing.
“It is deeply troubling that nearly four in ten teachers in non-fee paying States schools report not having a good level of general health, far below the levels of good health reported by Jersey’s adult population as a whole.
“Like all working people, the employment conditions of teachers and school leaders should serve to enhance, not undermine, the provision of high quality education, as well as the quality of their working lives.
“The good health and wellbeing of teachers and school leaders is critical to ensuring that the workforce can continue to help every child and young person reach their full educational potential.
“The NASUWT is clear that supporting the workforce and providing high quality education are mutually inclusive goals, rather than conflicting objectives that must always be traded-off against each other.
“This recognition of the positive relationship between the legitimate interests of teachers and school leaders and those of learners lies at the heart of the Education Partnership agreed between the NASUWT and the Jersey Education Department.
“It was for this reason that the Partnership not only identified the need for a comprehensive teacher survey, but was also central to its development and implementation.
“The Partnership understood at the outset that work to sustain and enhance standards cannot succeed without objective information about the barriers that teachers and school leaders face in seeking to focus effectively on their core professional responsibilities for teaching and leading teaching and learning. The Jersey Teachers’ Survey is a direct outcome of this work.
“Without doubt, the easy option for those responsible for education systems is to pretend that problems and challenges do not exist rather than to seek the honest views of the workforce.
“It is therefore to the States and the Education Department’s credit that they have been prepared to commit to undertaking the survey and, crucially, to acting on its findings.
“The survey has yielded a rich source of data that will enable the Education Department and the NASUWT, through the Partnership, to continue to work together on addressing the issues that matter most to teachers, learners and all those with a stake in the success of Jersey’s education system.”