Education
School project spending blurred in budget
(CNS): The total cost of the new John Gray High School development is forecast to be over CI$106 million, education ministry officials confirmed Wednesday during Finance Committee. But as the ministry sought the support of the committee for an additional $20 million to spend next year, the budgeting for the costly project became blurred when […]
Gov’t seeking new school inspector chief
(CNS): After three years as the director of the Office of Education Standards, Peter Carpenter will be leaving the job at the end of this year, triggering the hunt for a new chief school inspector. Officials have now confirmed that Carpenter is leaving for personal reasons and when he goes in late December 2020, he […]
No sign of outbreak re school COVID-19 case
(CNS): Over 200 samples taken from Red Bay Primary School students, teachers, staff and connected families have all come back negative for COVID-19. “This case is not a clinical threat to the community,” Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee said Saturday about the positive sample from a child at the school on Friday. But as […]
Primary student symptomatic with COVID-19
(CNS) UPDATED 2:45pm: A student from Red Bay Primary School and the child’s family are all in isolation after the child tested positive for the coronavirus in what appears to be the first local transmission of the virus since July. The Public Health Department has begun the process of contact tracing and the entire Year […]
School inspections to focus on local students
(CNS) The Office of Education Standards has published a new document that will guide the inspection of schools from the beginning of next year. The document builds on the framework published in June 2018 but has some significant changes, including the decision to single out and compare the achievement of Caymanian students. OES Director Peter […]
Gov’t increases cash for early learning
(CNS): The monthly payments for parents in the Early Childhood Assistance Programme (ECAP) has been increased by $50 for supplementary funding and $30 for basic funding to help parents who are struggling in the face of the current health crisis. The programme helps parents of Caymanians kids aged three and over cover the cost of […]
Sex and gender education key to fight abuse
(CNS): Educating young people, teachers, parents and guardians on the sensitive subjects of gender identity, sexual orientation and mental health is important in the fight against discrimination, bullying, abuse, mental illness and even suicide, according to Colours Cayman, a local LGBT advocacy group. With a recent surge in hate speech and verbal attacks on the […]
DES adjusts Year 12 programme requirements
(CNS): As all students returned to government schools this week, it emerged that COVID-19 has created yet another challenge for education in the Cayman Islands. Year 12 students taking the Dual Entry Programme usually start their final year of compulsory learning based on the results of external exams taken in the summer. But since they […]
Online classes over as kids return to school
(CNS): There will be no need for any more online classes during the first week of term because all student will be back behind their desks by 31 August as a result of the new relaxed COVID-19 regulations revealed this week. School leaders will no longer need to worry about social distancing in class and […]
All kids will need to wear masks in school
(CNS): With government schools expected to begin classes either online or in person on 26 August, officials have inspected facilities to ensure they are ready for students in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Cayman appears to have contained the virus, schools are still considered high-risk environments for transmission. All school students as well […]
Schools to open in the face of a ‘new normal’
(CNS): The Department of Education Services has released a schedule of key dates for the upcoming start of the new academic year under a ‘new normal’, given the concerns regarding COVID-19. While Cayman is now believed to be coronavirus free, there are still concerns of a resurgence and as a result students will be experiencing […]
