St Helena : St Helena Education Discussions Continue...
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Public Relations Information Office) 06.02.2010 (Article Archived on 20.02.2010)
Discussions continue within the Education Department on what can be achieved over the next three years, through the Education Sector Support Programme. Consideration is also being given to how this support can continue to bear fruits after 2013.
Education Discussions Continue...
Discussions continue within the Education Department on what can be achieved over the next three years, through the Education Sector Support Programme. Consideration is also being given to how this support can continue to bear fruits after 2013.
During meetings with senior managers of the Education Department, thought is being given to a number of points that were raised at a recent parents’ evening where there was opportunity to comment on the plans the department is making.
The Primary re-organisation has now been fully implemented and therefore, high emphasis is being placed on secondary education and on what needs to be done to ensure that educational standards continue to advance at Prince Andrew School. The key challenge is that over the next few years, smaller numbers of pupils will be entering the school. Lilla Oliver, Chief Education Officer said that in earlier years, PAS had more than 500 pupils but by 2013, numbers could be as low as 200.
This presents a range of challenges but the department is committed to working around them. In particular, Lilla explained that fewer pupils will not mean that the school will offer fewer subjects at GCSE and A Level. If anything at all, the school wants to be able to give students more to choose from when it comes to their ‘options’ subjects, through using different teaching methods like distance learning. Lilla said that this will make schooling more enjoyable for students and more beneficial for them in the longer term.
High emphasis is also being placed on using information and communication technology to improve learning in the classrooms. This could include video conferencing in Prince Andrew School and access to courses online.
Discussion is also focused on the primary sector, with particular attention being given to assessing the effectiveness of the restructuring that was done a few years ago. Primary education was the priority under the first phase of the education support programme and phase two is very much geared to monitoring and evaluation.
Other discussion has focused on staffing and in particular, on having a strategy in place to ensure that posts within the department are always filled.
Lilla explained that overall, the Education Department is aiming to help students achieve even higher examination results and to develop long-term plans for curriculum development.
Public Relations/Information Office
Office of the Chief Secretary
4 February 2010
|
