In reply to the GSD's recent statement, the Government has highlighted that St Martin’s school was built so it could possibly be enlarged with a new floor and says that it is "something which will be considered if the intake trend continues".  

A statement from the Government follows below:

It is incredible that the GSD should criticise the wonderful new St Martin’s school after it has clearly declared in public in the past that it would not build a new one! That was the epitome of bad planning.  

The GSD evidently does not read the Chronicle and rushes into issuing press releases without doing any research. The article clearly explained that the school was designed, in full consultation with the professionals, to provide excess capacity based on the intake sizes for a decade before. 

The fact that the number of children needing St Martin’s school more recently was double, was not predictable even by the professionals consulted.  

However the Government will ensure that there is space for all children who may require this specialised provision. Not only do other schools have larger Learning Support Facilities than ever before, and not only are there more Special Needs Learning Support Assistants than ever before, but St Martin’s school was built so that it could be enlarged with a whole new floor, something which will be considered if the intake trend continues.  

That is called forward planning. The GSD would still have the children in portacabins in Landport.  

Minister for Education,the Hon Professor John Cortes MP, said:"Instead of complaining about our actions in supporting children with learning disabilities,the GSD should reflect on its abject failures in important this policy area, not just when they were in government a decade ago, but in the policies they were promoting in recent general elections. Given those remarkable GSD policy failures, it is transparently hypocritical that they should now be pretending that we have not done enough when they specifically said they would have done nothing. That is the sort of contradiction that people will see through, and parents will understand deprives the GSD of any credibility in respect of this sensitive and important issue that the GSD should have respected as above petty party politics.

“The new St Martin's School building still remains an incredible facility and the children attending have benefitted and will continue to benefit from the range of educational and therapeutic facilities available within it, as well as from the ongoing dedication and professionalism of the remarkable team of staff who support their learning journey.”