Guernsey teachers staying in UK due to 'uncertainty'

A teacher and students in a classroomImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

The NEU said uncertainty, built into the education system, was causing problems for locals wanting to teach on the island

At a glance

  • Locals qualifying from teaching are staying in the UK for jobs due to the "uncertainty" in the sector in Guernsey, education union NEU has said

  • One PE teacher said there were not enough opportunities for him at home in Guernsey

  • The Secondary School Partnership said it had still managed to recruit UK applicants into roles for the upcoming academic year

  • Published

Newly qualified teachers from Guernsey are moving to England for jobs in education due to "uncertainty" in the sector, an education union has said.

The National Education Union (NEU) said uncertainty built into the education system was causing problems for locals wanting to teach on the island.

In June, the States said it needed to recruit 28 more teachers before the next academic year.

The Secondary School Partnership (SSP) said it had managed to recruit people from the UK into secondary teaching roles for September.

NEU representative Paul Montague said Guernsey needed to accept how difficult it was to recruit teachers.

He said: "We've got to make sure that as a profession, we stay competitive and we stay attractive.

"We've got to share a very strong vision of what we're doing and what we're about so that teachers understand when they come and talk to teachers here they see that it's a good place to work."

'Make or break'

Luke Hill left university and took a job as a PE teacher in West Sussex as he said there were not enough opportunities for him in Guernsey.

"Having that sort of uncertainty of job security as well as not knowing where I'm going to be teaching or what I'm going to be teaching I think was the make or break that made me decide, actually there's more opportunity in England at the moment to sort of build my craft and pedagogy as a teacher," he said.

Lauren Smeed, also a qualified PE teacher, said she was staying in England to start a new role in September, as she was advised not to move back to Guernsey straight away.

She said: "I want something a bit stable where I can be grounded, and from conversations that I've had with people that I know are teachers have said to wait off and not come back to the island straight away after having been to university.

"It's not like I won't look to come back in the future but just while it's uncertain and the moment I'm looking forward to staying in England."

Liz Coffey, executive principal of SSP, said it had recruited teachers from the UK into posts for 2023.

She added: "We do have and have had young people who returned into teaching from here, [but] maybe not necessarily straight away".

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