Tag Archives: politicians

Phonics test – Nick Gibb fails again

Posted on September 27, 2018 by

Schools minister Nick Gibb is crowing, once again, that thousands more children are ‘on track to become fluent readers’. Improved pass rates in the Phonics test show no such thing. “163,000 more 6-year-olds are on track to become fluent readers … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Challenging the tyranny of the Phonics Check

Posted on July 9, 2018 by

It is hard to compete with Margaret Clark’s tenacity in challenging the deeply flawed Phonics Screening Check along with  schools minister Nick Gibb’s dogmatic support of Synthetic Phonics. After editing two books in a single year, she has just completed a … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Curriculum, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Pull yourself together, child!”

Posted on May 13, 2018 by

England is in the middle of a mental health crisis for young people, and a major cause is the way in which they are being put under pressure to achieve. It happens at university: 146 students killed themselves in 2016 … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Protecting children from primary school tests

Posted on March 18, 2018 by

The damage caused by primary school testing to children’s education and wellbeing is now very clear. Among other effects, it has helped to create a crisis in children’s mental health. As we know, large numbers of children are now suffering … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Curriculum, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Will anything but a boycott stop the tests?

Posted on July 11, 2017 by

The Reclaiming Schools network has played a significant role in exposing the damage caused by high-stakes testing, including our pamphlet ‘The Mismeasurement of Learning‘, widely circulated in the NUT and elsewhere, various series of blogposts carrying detailed analysis from specialist … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tower block tenants – the people who didn’t matter

Posted on July 2, 2017 by

The possibility of a tower block catching fire and burning out within the hour was a nightmare never to be contemplated. And now it has happened. Words cannot describe the experience of Grenfell Tower residents, living and dead, as they … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Justice | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Back to the 1970s? I’ll vote for that

Posted on May 21, 2017 by

A personal comment by Dr Terry Wrigley, Visiting Professor, Northumbria University A few days ago the Daily Mail threatened that a Labour victory in the General Election would mean a return to the 1970s. That set me thinking. I started … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment