Preparations are being finalised for the pioneering system which will see all of the Island Schools federated under one Head Teacher.
The Date set for the transition into the federated system had been fixed for 1st of April 2002. The Isles of Scilly Council have reported that the benefits of the federated system are already being felt and that Central Government are examining opportunities for further federated Schools in other parts of the Country. The Daily Mail on 5th of January reported that the Education Minister, Estelle Morris, had urged local authorities to ‘make early use’ of sections of the Education Bill detailing Federation.
The Isles of Scilly Secondary School, which was federated with the Primary School several years ago, has been viewed to be in decline for some years now. The Secondary School has a shocking record of teacher retention and the first signs of this affecting the students has appeared recently. It is hoped that the federation will assist in the deceleration and ultimately the reversal of this unwanted trend.
Councillor Mrs Ann Oyler, Chairperson of the Education Committee said, “This really shows that we have made the right decision (concerning the Government endorsement) as the Government is encouraging local authorities to federate schools throughout the country”.
One benefit which off Island students feel is particularly relevant is that the sometimes difficult transition to St. Marys and the Secondary School will be smoothed over. The School will have one Head Teacher, Mr. Paul Mulligan, who has already arrived on the Islands, Mrs Alison Headley has been appointed Deputy Head. The post of ‘School Manager’ is, as yet, unresolved.
The Schools will have just one set of Governors who will be responsible, along with the School Management Group, for managing resources as well as appointing Staff. One major criticism of the plan is the fact that the Head Teacher would find it impractical visiting all of the Schools on a regular basis, this could lead to Children becoming detached from the system and ultimately undermine the principle of Federation. Teachers on the off- Islands would loose their ‘head teacher’ status.
It is interesting to note that in independent ‘Ofsted’ inspections, the primary schools have generally faired better than the Secondary School, which had several ‘major’ criticisms levelled towards it. The transition is expected to have several sticking points concerning administration within the first few months, but it is ultimately hoped that this ‘shared resource’ (which some have called a ‘cost cutting’) initiative will ultimately benefit the most important factors in the equation, the pupils.