The school leaving age in Sark is set to increase to 16 and GCSE students could receive free study in Guernsey.
At the moment, while most secondary school students do stay in education until they’ve completed their education, aged 16, there is no legal obligation to stay beyond the age of 15, and only those who can afford a private education do so off-island. Those who stay in Sark undertake remote learning lessons online.
Top of the list of recommendations in the review by external education experts is the appointment of a part time Director of Education, based off-island, who would work one day a week.
The report says children who cannot afford a private education should receive funding to go to Guernsey for their post-13 education. The report authors say there is support from Guernsey for the creation of a ‘Sark House’ facility in the island.
The report also recommends that the government needs to put in place a stronger safeguarding system as a matter of urgency. It calls for the appointment of a Safeguarding officer and the purchase of specialist safeguarding training software as well as mandatory ongoing training for all school staff.
If Chief Pleas approve the recommendations and implementation plan, recruitment will begin for a Director of Education. The headteacher of Sark School has previously announced her plan to leave at the end of the current school year and will be replaced by a new Head of School role which would be a class teacher as well as a school leader.
