Tag Archives: politicians

What curriculum do young people need?

Posted on July 23, 2020 by

  For the last 30 years, the school curriculum in England has been imposed on teachers top-down. Teachers were not regarded as knowledgeable and were simply expected to “deliver” what politicians decided. The current version, launched by Michael Gove in … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum, Teachers | Tagged , , ,

School reopening? top scientists say not yet

Posted on May 25, 2020 by

“It is clear from the evidence we have collected that 1 June is simply too early to go back. By going ahead with this dangerous decision, the government is further risking the health of our communities and the likelihood of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , ,

Sending England back to work and back to school?

Posted on May 11, 2020 by

England is still in crisis, and its government are in denial. It is very clear from Boris Johnson’s ‘address to the nation‘ last night (Sunday 10 May) that the government are trying to wish their way out of this crisis … Continue reading →

Posted in Teachers | Tagged ,

Too early to reopen schools : look at Europe

Posted on April 30, 2020 by

Some European countries have started reopening schools as part of a relaxation of the Coronavirus lockdown. Not surprisingly, there are some calls to do the same here so maybe it’s worth making some comparisons. Firstly, Britain is one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Justice, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , ,

PISA: no victory for Michael Gove

Posted on December 4, 2019 by

Michael Gove was Education secretary when the 2012 PISA results came out. He expressed alarm that England seemed to be falling behind Shanghai and Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong. He wanted to make England a future “winner” in the … Continue reading →

Posted in GERM | Tagged ,

No joke – a brutal class war

Posted on December 1, 2019 by

The extreme social divisions in today’s Britain are not just a case of unfair distribution. They are the consequence of a brutal class war conducted by the superrich on the working class. The rhetoric since 2010 has been about Austerity … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Justice, Uncategorized | Tagged ,

Child poverty – Conservative rule

Posted on December 1, 2019 by

  Britain is one of the richest countries in the world, but with scandalous levels of poverty. Child poverty has grown massively since the Conservative-led government took over in 2010, and is set to increase even more. According to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Justice, Uncategorized | Tagged , , ,

Primary school tests and children’s mental health

Posted on June 7, 2019 by

One study after another has shown the damage being caused by SATs to children’s mental health. In a survey by the ATL (now part of the National Education Union) in 2016, 89% thought that testing and exams were the biggest cause … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Uncategorized | Tagged , , ,

Academies and local authorities: what a Labour government should do

Posted on April 30, 2019 by

by Richard Hatcher, Birmingham City University We know that the policy of academies been a disaster for education. The question is what should be done about them? Angela Rayner’s speech at Labour Party Conference in September was mainly about academies. … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance | Tagged , , , , ,

Grammar schools and “ordinary working families” again

Posted on January 23, 2019 by

In our last blog post, we looked into a new and deeply flawed ‘research report’ by former Department of Education official Iain Mansfield. It was written in support of the Prime Minister’s argument that expanding grammar schools across England would … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Justice | Tagged , , ,