In recent months Parliamentary education debates have been a little, umm, staid? Gove has been in hiding, Hunt was still getting his head around the Shadow Education Secretary brief, and lovely Edward Timpson (who is great, but doesn’t have a schools role) was constantly wheeled out to pretend that policy walls built on quicksand were definitely not sinking. No-one was convinced.
Today, however, was better. Both sides debated with vigour. Gove spoke much more than in recent weeks. He (mostly) laid off the smart alec comments and focused on giving decisive answers with only a normal amount of swerving (for a politician, at least).
In response Labour held fiercely to a few lines: lack of transparency in the Free Schools policy, worries about failing schools, and enormous concern at the 17.5% funding cut for 16-19, which is reducing the funding available for students wishing to stay at college a third year. A third year which, up until now, has always been considered an important entitlement.
When it came to the Advanced British Standard, I was initially guilty of judging a policy book by its cover. My first impression of the ABS was that it sounded too much like IBS to become a compelling brand. I then wondered about the ‘B’; given our devolved education system, what would be British about…
As one of my first projects at CfEY, I was delighted to join the team working on a rapid review of the current landscape surrounding school trips in England on behalf of the Clore Duffield Foundation. Our project aimed to gather key insights on how school trips can be made more accessible to children and…
Leaves are falling. I feel like hibernating. And the chancellor is up for speaking. Nothing says autumn like an Autumn Statement. Autumn Statements are chances to tweak, not transform. Unlike the Comprehensive Spending Review (where more radical, long-term ideas can be taken forward), these statements tend not to be too disruptive to departmental spending plans….
Comments