JERSEY has been branded an “unsafe” place to work for educational psychologists by a union in a development described as “deeply worrying” by the children’s commissioner.
The Association of Educational Psychologists, which represents the profession, is no longer recommending Jersey as an “appropriate or safe place” to its members and will not carry adverts for Island positions while it is “in dispute” with the government.
The AEP described a “failure” to “deal appropriately” with concerns raised by educational psychologists, who are employed to support children with special educational needs, as a reason behind its decision.
Union president David Collingwood stressed that its role was “to safeguard the interests of our members”.
He added: “We continue to work with senior officers in the States of Jersey and remain hopeful of a successful resolution.”
In a statement provided to the JEP, children’s commissioner Carmel Corrigan called the position “deeply worrying” and warned that the lack of adequate services risked marginalising vulnerable children within the education system.
She said: “All children in Jersey have a right to an education that supports their intellectual, social and emotional growth and development. However, children with additional needs often find education difficult to fully access and enjoy.
“We know from our own work with children and young people just how important it is to have accessible, functional support services in place for children who have additional needs.”
Dr Corrigan said that she hoped the dispute could be resolved “through constructive dialogue” but added: “There can be no delay in this process: that conversation must start now.”
Responding to the concerns, the Children’s, Young People, Education and Skills Department has commissioned an independent review of the Island’s educational psychology services, which supports children up to 19 and offers assessments and interventions for those with special educational needs.
A spokesperson added that the department was “working closely” with the union and government staff.
As of March this year, there were four educational psychologists employed by CYPES while the government had the budget for – and was recruiting for – one more, according to a response to a request made by the JEP under the Freedom of Information Law.
As part of this request, the department refused to reveal information about how many staff members were working because it said it needed to “protect the privacy of the small team”.
In April, the department confirmed in a statement that locum staff were brought in when demand was high or when staff were off for extended periods, such as parental leave.
Meanwhile, an insider has confirmed to this newspaper that the government has been relying on remote assessments to supplement the service.
This over-reliance on temporary staff and remote support is a major source of concern, according to the inside source, as the AEP has issued clear guidance saying this practice is “poor” and not meeting appropriate standards.
“The Island is without its own employed educational psychologists and is reliant on locums and remote assessments,” the source said.
“This situation continues to leave children, families and schools vulnerable and not receiving the service or standard of practice to which they are entitled.”
Recently released data also paints a picture of delays in the assessment and identification of children’s special educational needs, which means children with additional needs are not receiving the support they need.
This comes as demand for educational psychology services has surged in recent years. The number of requests for formal Records of Needs – documents detailing a student’s support requirements – has risen sharply, from 92 in the 2021/22 academic year to 146 in 2022/23.
However, only a fraction of these assessments were completed within the 20-week target that is standard in the UK.
In 2020, Jersey’s Employment Tribunal found that an “effective, conscientious and well respected” educational psychologist had left the government “due to the way he was managed and communicated with” after around two years of uncertainty during a restructuring of the civil service.
Former director of inclusion and early intervention Julian Radcliffe made a claim for compensation for constructive unfair dismissal, saying the way in which he had been treated during the OneGov restructuring brought in under former government chief executive Charlie Parker had forced him to resign.
While the tribunal rejected Mr Radcliffe’s claim on the grounds that there was no breach of contract, in its written judgment, the panel highlighted concerns about the way he was treated.
It documented Mr Radcliffe’s increasing anxiety over the security of his role and the way in which his “trust… was eroded” over a period of two years.
The role:
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Educational psychologists are responsible for assessing and identifying children’s learning and emotional needs from birth to 19 years old.
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They are responsible for the assessment and identification of a child’s special educational needs, and for carrying out discussions which consider support arrangements in schools.
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Their overall aim, according to government, is to help “children and young people overcome barriers to learning”.
