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by Department of Education and Children

The Department of Education and Children recognises the need to create a dynamic and cost-effective Educational system which meets the needs of its students, the community and the developing economic needs of the Isle of Man.

To this end, the Department will be making changes to its provision in order to meet current financial requirements and rationalise its services going into the future.

We have considered all aspects of our expenditure line by line and item by item. We have sought ways to protect and further develop our core responsibility of providing schooling to young people and meeting the needs of the population of the Isle of Man for both Further and Higher Education.
Wherever possible, we have protected core services and those services which are only available through our provision and we have looked for opportunities where alternative provision or providers can meet the need.
However, it must be noted that schools have had no increase in budget again this year and this contributes significantly to Department savings.

Preschool Education

The Department fully understands the educational and social value of Pre-school Education both for the children concerned and for their families.  We have worked tirelessly for many years to improve the quality of Pre-school Education across all sectors.

• The Department currently provides Pre-school Education for between 50 and 60% of children whose families wish to
receive it.  It is not compulsory and not part of the statutory provision nor is it available everywhere on the Island.

• This lack of availability in some areas has been severely criticised by groups and individuals and the Department has long recognised the need to address this issue.

• We are therefore seeking to make very significant changes to Pre-school Education while supporting the quality of that which is provided.

• The Department’s aim, first stated more than 10 years ago, ‘to expand provision when resources and opportunities are available’, will not to be achieved in the foreseeable future and in the current financial climate.  It is therefore necessary to look at alternative methods of delivery.

• To address the issue of equity ability, i.e. to broaden availability, we intend to transfer the provision of the Pre-school year to private and voluntary providers of group care and Education. To this end, the Department will cease to provide pre-school places in its schools from 31 August 2012.

• Part of the funding released from doing this will be used to implement a system which will offer parents a degree of financial support in accessing Nursery Education for their children.  It was agreed by the Council of Ministers that a working group would be established to consider, as a matter of urgency, proposals which would provide a more effective alternative.

• This Pre-school Education will be able to be obtained from any provider which is registered from group care and Education to the age range 3 to 4 years.

• Given that currently our nurseries only take children for a 2 ½ hour slot in the morning or the afternoon, which is often not helpful to working parents, we do not foresee any negative economic impact from this measure. Indeed, the new flexibility will mean that working parents could top up the provision they can obtain through the new system so that their child can be in nursery provision for a full half day enabling them to work part-time.

• Schools will no longer be providing Pre-school Education, areas of the school, formerly pre-school classrooms, will be available for leasing to interested providers. Details will be published in the near future.

Primary Modern Languages

Significant changes were made in 2010/11 to this service and I wish to take this opportunity to thank the staff for their work in attempting to develop a new model.

Unfortunately, at the current time, it is not possible for the Department to support this aspect of learning in the manner which it is currently delivered.  From 1 September 2012, we will cease peripatetic teaching of French in primary schools. However, the Department does keep abreast of current research and development and recognises the important role of additional language experience in brain development and thinking strategies.  We will therefore be supporting our primary schools in offering language experience to children in-house.

Music

The Music Service has a long established role in supporting schools and individuals through instrumental tuition and support for primary schools in developing high-quality music teaching.  We will continue to support fully, the teaching which improves music publishing to all students.  Within the current restraints, it is now necessary to introduce charging for individual and small group instrumental tuition. We are working with the Music Service to develop an appropriate system and scale of charges.

Library and Mobile Library Services

These are two well-established features of provision which it is no longer possible to support through Department of Education and Children funding.  We are, however, hoping to negotiate with local authorities and other bodies to maintain some of this provision. This change is in an early stage of negotiation. However, the provision will cease in its current form at the end of August 2012.  We fully recognise and regret the loss of these services which bring huge social benefits to many, including those living in rural areas of our community.

Student Awards

There are a number of changes to Student Award Regulations which will be placed before Tynwald shortly.  Primarily, these changes, if approved, will maintain Student Awards within the current budget allocation.  This will be achieved by introducing a charge for postgraduate studies, and the fourth and subsequent years of study of undergraduate degrees. In addition, we will be raising the academic bar for students to be eligible for Higher Education award in 2013 from 160 points to 200 (including one grade C).
We will continue to fund three-year undergraduate degrees for all students.
The changes to undergraduate degrees will commence in August 2013 and will not affect any students who have already started their courses.

Bride School

Bride Infant School is earmarked for closure from September 2012. The school has just three pupils of primary school age, two of whom have already indicated their intention to transfer to Andreas Primary School this summer.

Predicted pupil numbers from September 2012 are three pupils in the Reception class (one of whom would be coming from outside the catchment area) and one in Year one. There will be no pupils in Year two.

If the school closes, the children will instead go to Andreas Primary School with which the school was merged in 2005.

Although my Department realises that the envisaged changes will not be popular, we have to play our part in maintaining high quality whilst working to ever tighter budgets. That is the simple reality of the situation.

We need to work more closely with private and voluntary providers, look at the leanest methods of delivery and prioritise services we are statutorily bound to deliver above those we have been able to provide when times were easier
We believe that these savings will help us towards our target budget even though most of them will only affect seven months of the next financial year.  One of the issues we face in Education, is working to the academic year which means that changes made have only 7/12 effects in the first year. Also some savings, most notably Student Awards, will not be fully realised for some years.

-ENDS-

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Original post:
Department of Education and Children - Budget Speech