Posts Tagged ‘Michael Gove’

The bitterest pill of all

It is just over three years since I helped to set up the Local Schools Network. Originally intended as a forum to celebrate the successes of local state schools, the LSN has become much more than that. The contributions of parents, teachers and governors across the country mean it has become a place to discuss […]

Just say no to more grammars

If I were Michael Gove, the decision I would least relish at the moment would be having to rule on the fate of the Sevenoaks grammar school. This little time bomb was lobbed into the Secretary of State’s court around 18 months ago when the county council in fully selective Kent decided to approve the […]

Out and About, Policy Thu 16 May

Gove and Glasman at the LSE. Is the stakeholder model of governance coming back?

Last night I went to an interesting debate at the London School of Economics. The Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove and Labour peer Lord Glasman , author of Blue Labour and involved in the party’s policy review, were discussing who “owns” the concept of One Nation, originated by Benjamin Disraeli and appropriated by Labour leader Ed Miliband […]

Out and About Wed 15 May

Talk at the Cambridge Fabian Society

Last night I went to speak at the Cambridge Fabian Society about alternatives to the current education policy. Details of the meeting are here. These are some notes on which my talk was based. 1.Education policy matters. One of the best ways to judge a society is by its education system. Does it offer equal […]

Education Sat 18 Jun

Beware of attempts to undermine Feinstein’s graph

Agreement over education policy may be rare, but the need to address persistent gaps in attainment, and vastly differing life chances, between children from different backgrounds has attracted significant all party attention. The remedies may be disputed but no one would now seriously question the need to eradicate what is undeniably a scar on British […]

Education Tue 9 Nov

The truth about celebrity speakers, ‘dregs sifting’ and charter schools

Link to original article in Guardian Education I have been in two minds over whether to write about Katharine Birbalsingh, the South London deputy head whose scathing attacks on state schools was lapped up at the Tory Party Conference. Over my several decades as a journalist I have seen several Katharine Birbalsinghs come and go. […]