Management Information in Education: Follow Up

Background

Access to high quality and relevant management information is essential to enable organisations to make effective and efficient strategic and operational decisions. This is the case at corporate, departmental and team level for both ‘business as usual’ and change initiatives. A commitment at all levels to effective specification, preparation and use of management information is a key component of a culture that drives improvement.

In 2016 the C&AG undertook a review of the availability and use of management information in the States of Jersey’s Education Department. In 2018 the education function moved to the Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES).

Scope

This follow-up review has evaluated:

• the progress made in implementing agreed recommendations
• the extent to which the recommendations as implemented have addressed the improvement areas identified in the report; and
• the adequacy of plans for the implementation of any outstanding recommendations.

Conclusions

There has been some progress made towards implementing the recommendations from the 2016 Report. The progress that has been made however has been ad-hoc and reactive rather than executed as part of any overall co-ordinated plan, driven by the CYPES Leadership Team, to improve management information in the education function.

The Government Plan recognises that a new performance management framework is required, to provide strategic performance management and insight, to benchmark Government impact and to support senior and departmental teams to continuously improve public services. It set a target date to achieve this by 2023.

To improve management information, clear co-ordination and leadership of the management information agenda is needed. To be effective this will require an adequately resourced training and development programme, benchmarking against those identified as best in class and the fostering of an environment where learning and development are rewarded.