MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands, changes made to the provision of Camp Education

Portfolio holder for Education and Community, MLA Leona Roberts said: “Access to good education is of fundamental importance for everyone in the Falkland Islands”.

In August 2022 the Falkland Islands ExCo approved a set of recommendations on the way that Camp Education is provided to families. The recommendations were made after extensive consultation with the communities in Camp and in Stanley during the Camp Education Review. A key objective of the review was ensuring that children in Camp and Stanley have the same standard of education.

The Education Directorate has subsequently been working on a plan to implement the recommendations and recently has written to families and stakeholders to inform them of next steps.

The recommendations approved by ExCo cover three areas: Teaching, Stanley House and Schoolroom and Teacher Accommodation. New policies will be written to record the decisions made by ExCo and will be published on the Education Directorate’s website.

The biggest change for teaching is that each child in a Camp Education schoolroom will be taught for 2 weeks in every 6 by a teacher, previously this was only true for the first child in each family. This means that a family or schoolroom with 3 children will have a teacher full-time. This change will be made from September 2023.

For Camp Education children in Years 6 to 11, Stanley House will continue to be their home in term-time. Other ideas were considered but the consensus was that Stanley House’s offer is valued by families and they wish it to continue. More flexibility is being introduced on the payment of fees and families will be able to choose to pay monthly if they wish.

Finally, ExCo approved a set of standards for classrooms and teacher accommodation in Camp and clarity on how buildings are provided, maintained and paid for. The next step on this is to record the current position, identify any gaps and agree priorities for action. Progress on this will be monitored by the Education Board.

Portfolio holder for Education and Community, MLA Leona Roberts said: “Access to good education is of fundamental importance for everyone in the Falkland Islands. Camp Education has been a vital part of our community for over 125 years and I am pleased to see that we are ensuring that it will continue to thrive and support children and families in Camp. I hope that the decisions made by ExCo demonstrate that we have listened to families and that these decisions give everyone in Camp (and those who are thinking about moving there) assurance that their children will receive a quality of education.”

This academic year, 21 children are learning in 8 Camp schoolrooms and 16 children board at Stanley House and learn at IJS or FICS

Children are taught in Camp Education until Year 5. Year 5 is a transition year with some weeks at Stanley House and attending IJS. At Year 6 (10 years old) children study full-time in Stanley and can stay at Stanley House