THE Education Department has praised increased flexibility in offering housing licences to teachers. Education minister Martin Ozanne said that the Housing Department, which had been criticised for inflexibility in the past, was now more understanding.

‘There is cooperation where we can clearly demonstrate we have exhausted all existing avenues,’ he said.

‘The Housing Department is listening when we have legitimate concerns in areas that we can’t recruit from, mainly in specialist areas in the secondary sector.

‘If we can’t recruit locally or for under a five-year period, they are prepared to discuss providing a 15-year licence instead.’

Deputy Ozanne said that his department had developed a good working relationship with Housing over the years.

He added that the schools-development programme should help recruitment and retention in the future.

‘We are looking at schools of no larger than 720 pupils in the secondary sector because teachers feel comfortable working in that size of school compared with the larger schools in the UK,’ he said.

‘We hope that we are able to employ local teachers coming through our schemes and will not have to employ as many from off the island, but there will always have to be some who have to be employed from off the island.’

He said that the cost of housing was a key factor in teacher recruitment.

‘We have had to readjust our relocation package and rent support for the first couple of years after they come to Guernsey and provide financial support – otherwise, we would not be able to recruit,’ said Deputy Ozanne.

Financial support for local graduates training as teachers has also been introduced.

‘We are finding now that youngsters who have graduated see this as an opportunity for them to become qualified in a profession and we now have quite a number at teacher-training colleges,’ said Deputy Ozanne.