Practical proposals
20 November 2009Shortly after a re-opening of the debate on ‘licences to teach’, teacher quality has come to the forefront of the US education agenda.
The Blog
‘Cherry-picking’ health care
19 November 2009Catching up on health news after getting back on holiday I cannot resist commenting on this two-week old story. ‘Treatment centres accused of cherry-picking less complicated patients’ scream The Times and the HSJ. Well, surprise, surprise; as good ammo as it is to bash the independent sector (ignoring the fact that there are also well… [Read More]
Cents and Sensibility
Yesterday’s Queens Speech at the State Opening of the UK Parliament has drawn unanticipated criticism for the Government’s failure to propose legislation reforming the MPs expenses system (unanticipated by the Government, but perhaps not the Opposition, as David Cameron’s comments drawing attention to the omission were conspicuously followed by Sir Kelly (author of the recent… [Read More]
Do lesbians make better parents than mums and dads?
17 November 2009Professor Stephen Scott is Professor of Child Health and Behaviour at the Institute of Psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital. He is also director of research at the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners. This is a quango that the DfES gave Professor Scott and two colleagues £30 million to set up in 2007. In a widely… [Read More]
Quality: questionable guides
13 November 2009The issue of quality assessment in relation to education has come up twice this week in two quite different arenas. Firstly, Ofsted, the schools’ inspectorate, has been accused (again) of over-reliance on exam and test results in its judgements. Secondly, the teaching union NUT has staged a revolt on the introduction of Ed Balls’ ‘licences to teach.’
PSHE: Politicised Structure Harms Education
11 November 2009Last week Ed Balls confirmed that Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) would become a statutory part of the national curriculum for all young people.
Imposing Secularism in State Schools Isn’t Religious Neutrality, but Religious Persecution
10 November 2009‘Now there’s spiritual warfare and flesh and blood breaking down. Ya either got faith or ya got unbelief and there ain’t no neutral ground.’ So sang Bob Dylan. I was put in mind of those lyrics by a recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
You can now register
6 November 2009To make life a little easier for our regular contributors you can now register a username and an email address. Once registered, your first comment will require approval, but when your initial comment has been approved further comments can be made without waiting for moderation.
Updated: When outsiders are called in
3 November 2009Back in May, we discussed the rampant use of management consultants within the NHS. It looks as though the DH is now cracking down on the same problem.
Was Alan Johnson Right to Call for Professor Nutt’s Resignation?
Many prominent scientists are currently up in arms over the Home Secretary’s call for Professor David Nutt to resign as chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) for having publicly criticised the Government for not accepting its advice that cannabis should not be up-graded from a class C to a class… [Read More]