Procedures implemented to protect school staff and pupils

2026.02.24

4.6   Deputy D.J. Warr of St. Helier South of The Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning regarding procedures put in place to protect staff and pupils from potential terrorist offences. (OQ. 33/2026):

Further to the arrest and subsequent detainment in 2024 of a man charged with terrorism offences, will the Minister detail what procedures, if any, were subsequently put in place to protect staff and pupils from such events in the future, and will - I can say "she" here, it says - will he further confirm if any of these procedures were implemented during the recent event at Haute Vallée School, and if no such procedures exist, why not?

Deputy R.J. Ward of St. Helier Central (The Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning):

I do not mind being called she; I do not have any issue with that. I am happy to detail for the Deputy actions that took place following the arrest of the man charged with terrorism offences in 2023. Incident specific meetings took place between C.Y.P.E.S. (Children, Young People, Education and Skills) officers and the Emergency Planning Officer to agree a proportionate response, to assess risks at a school-by-school level. Face-to-face site specific assessments followed at St Peter's, the Les Quennevais School in agreement with the States of Jersey Police, and we also hosted a visit at the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism team. I can confirm that appropriate critical incident procedures were applied by the staff and pupils in the most recent event. I would say I am sure that the Deputy , and perhaps the Assembly, will join me in thanking the staff for their swift and professional actions that dealt directly with the incident and the well-being of students and staff after the incident.

1. Deputy D.J. Warr :

Could the Minister say how the Teacher's unions are supporting teaching staff members with respect to terrorist incidents and knife crimes in schools?

Deputy R.J. Ward :

In a previous life, I could have spoken for the unions. In this life, I will not speak directly for the unions, but I know that we will engage at a school level with all parties that represent schools in order to ensure that procedures are in place. It is a difficult one, because these events are incredibly rare in Jersey. Incredibly rare, and I am very thankful of that. So, we have to have a proportionate response that is there in the background and safe but does not create undue worry for our students and parents and staff. I think that balance is, at the moment, very good, and we would work on anything that we can to make sure that balance is correct.

2. Deputy I. Gardiner of St. Helier North :

I join the Minister saying, he is completely right that these incidents are, thankfully, completely rare and I do believe that Haute Vallée School's reaction was very effective. I would like to check with the Minister, based on all this incident, does he plan to provide extra additional training for the staff on how to deal with these incidents?

Deputy R.J. Ward :

Additional guidance on how to support young people in response to a critical incident, which is really important as well, is specifically provided by the counter-terrorism policing website in England and was added to policies in 2023. So, there is something that was introduced. The Guidance to Critical Incident Management for Schools and Educational Services document was reissued in 2018, as the Deputy probably knows, building on previous iterations back in 2006. Work is ongoing and reviews of any incident will be undertaken, and improvements made where we possibly can. I am not going to give the figures because they are quite scary, but a significant amount of money has been spent on fencing and security and changes to security in schools. But I will reiterate, again, these events are incredibly rare. We have a culture on this Island where these events are rare. We need to maintain that culture and that is the key thing here: to reassure parents, to reassure students and to reassure staff as well that everything will be done where we possibly can to make our schools as safe as possible. Sorry, did I miss something?

Deputy I. Gardiner :

And if the Minister can extend what additional training, if any, will be provided to the staff. Deputy R.J. Ward :

Well, the training is through the guidance being reissued and training where is necessary. Haute Vallée School itself, I know, is undertaking some visits in the next few weeks to look at what possible training might be needed for staff, and also to review the incidents and what good practice it could pass on to other schools. That is an ongoing process, part of the professionalism of our teaching profession and our schools.

3. Deputy D.J. Warr :

I am sure the Minister is aware of this, but in the same way that health and safety is dealt with on a regular basis, I understand that in the U.K. there is what they call a "lock-down template" that has been used and issued in U.K. schools. Is there a way in which that can be brought together with health and safety to reassure teachers that they are getting the best possible help?

Deputy R.J. Ward :

So, there are lock-down procedures in school, the point being they are not practised, if you like, as they are in other jurisdictions because we are not in the same place as those other jurisdictions. Yes, absolutely, we would ensure that those things are there. School leaders also have access to online training since 2025, and face-to-face scenario-based training led by officers in the police has taken place in some schools. We take these issues extremely seriously. We cannot hermetically seal our schools. We do not want to. We have a better culture than that. But I reassure the Deputy that those things are happening, but it is that balance. We do not want to create a fear that does not need to be there. Our schools are open, kind places and we want to keep them that way.