Latest news with #Etio
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
School review cost 'not in public interest'
Publishing the costs of a contract with an education review provider could reduce the government's ability to get "best value for money" in future, the education minister has said. Daphne Caine has defended her department's decision not to release the amount paid to external validators Etio in response to a Tynwald question for written answer. She told the House of Keys that as her department was in the second of a three year contract with the firm it was "not in the public interest" to release the information. But MHK Lawrie Hooper said the costs were "routinely made available by the UK in relation to the exact company and the services they provide". Hooper said the rationale was "nonsense", and said based on figures released by the UK government indicated the Manx services would "probably cost between £150,000 and £250,000". Cain suggested she could share the figure confidentially with the Public Accounts Committee. During Tuesday's sitting, Kate Lord-Brennan called for the minister to provide a cost range for the report, arguing releasing the information was about "education delivery, standards, and public money, not about Etio". Chris Thomas MHK said it was "unusual" not to share the costs even when a contract was live, and noted that Treasury had published the terms of contracts in the past. Concerns were also raised by Julie Edge MHK, who said she did not understand why there was "so much resistance when it is such an important piece of work for our schools". Tim Glover MHK questioned how released the figure confidentially would restore and maintain public confidence. Caine said it was not in the public interest if it "breached" commercial confidentiality, and the competitiveness of future bids was "compromised". She said the department would "likely" go out for tender in the next six months, and sharing the cost could limit the "commercial competitiveness so that all bids come in within a ball park". That was "not serving the best interest of the Isle of Man community", she said. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. School reviews 'foundation' for future improvement School review framework to be published in July Manx school processes external reviews to begin Covid review backs up teachers' concerns - union Department for Education, Sport and Culture Tynwald
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Sharing Isle of Man school review cost 'not in public interest'
Publishing the costs of a contract with an education review provider could reduce the government's ability to get "best value for money" in future, the education minister has Caine has defended her department's decision not to release the amount paid to external validators Etio in response to a Tynwald question for written told the House of Keys that as her department was in the second of a three year contract with the firm it was "not in the public interest" to release the MHK Lawrie Hooper said the costs were "routinely made available by the UK in relation to the exact company and the services they provide". Hooper said the rationale was "nonsense", and said based on figures released by the UK government indicated the Manx services would "probably cost between £150,000 and £250,000".Cain suggested she could share the figure confidentially with the Public Accounts Committee. During Tuesday's sitting, Kate Lord-Brennan called for the minister to provide a cost range for the report, arguing releasing the information was about "education delivery, standards, and public money, not about Etio".Chris Thomas MHK said it was "unusual" not to share the costs even when a contract was live, and noted that Treasury had published the terms of contracts in the past. Concerns were also raised by Julie Edge MHK, who said she did not understand why there was "so much resistance when it is such an important piece of work for our schools".Tim Glover MHK questioned how released the figure confidentially would restore and maintain public said it was not in the public interest if it "breached" commercial confidentiality, and the competitiveness of future bids was "compromised".She said the department would "likely" go out for tender in the next six months, and sharing the cost could limit the "commercial competitiveness so that all bids come in within a ball park".That was "not serving the best interest of the Isle of Man community", she said. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
30-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Action plan created to tackle issues in Manx schools
A new group made up of leaders in education across the Isle of Man are to create an "action plan" to tackle issues identified in an external schools report, the education minister has said. The Educational Leadership Team (ELT) is to be formed after external validators Etio published its first annual 12 months it looked at 14 schools and one educational service, in a process expected to take three years to include all of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC) Minister Daphne Caine said the ELT would look at "how best to assist all our schools and the educational system on the island generally". A framework for the external evaluations began last year is due to be published in July, which is to be rolled out to all schools and other educational settings by July said ELT will be made up of primary and secondary school leaders, representatives of University College Isle of Man, and departmental officers. 'Continuous improvement' Challenges identified in the annual report noted issues with attendance, the transition from primary to secondary school, and addressing diverse learning needs. Caine said the new team would be reporting on a monthly basis to the department with observations on both strengths and weaknesses alongside any recommendations. She said they would look at "the way we teach, what we teach" and the "engagement of students, particularly in the first years of secondary school". She explained that schools had their own individual development plans and would also "monitor themselves", while every three years undergoing the external validations process."Continuous improvement is what this is all about," she was also important, Caine said, to look at play-based learning in early years education. She said the ELT will be "putting together the prioritisation and an action plan to address the challenges that have been identified". Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
