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Trick or Treat? I imagine that that will be the cry that goes up when the spectre who haunted the corridors of the DfE for so many years, holding back the progress of English education for so long that Wales abandoned all hope and developed their own curriculum, returns to sacrifice children on the altar of assessment statistics. What more appropriate time for an old face to appear at the portals of Sanctuary Buildings than when the number of ministerial heads that have rolled, jumped, or been pushed is now uncountable. I'm sure that you'll be relieved to see that despite closure of nurseries in Hillingdon, scrapping the school transport scheme for disabled children in Hampshire, closing nine libraries in Wirral and £80 million of budget cuts in Birmingham, the estimated hundreds of thousands in severance pay for the five iterations of the the department which have ta...

Staff or Heat? Schools are facing their biggest challenge this winter in paying energy bills. The reaction by the then chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng and prime minister, Liz Truss was to put in ‘an energy relief scheme’ (21 September). This provided financial relief according to that scheme of £211 (per megawatt hour- MWh) for electricity against an ‘expected’ rate of £600 and £75 per MWh against £180 for gas. This is all well and good for the short-term but like water held in a colander it does not address the long-term financial drain this will have on schools in paying greater and greater energy bills. We already have the phrase ‘heat or eat’ are we now going to have a phrase for schools of ‘heat or staff?’. The recent BBC article posted under ‘News’ on this website highlights that exact dilemma ...

REFLECTIONS ON THE PROFESSION: From ‘67 to ‘22      Now that I have reached the twilight of my career in education. I find myself reminiscing more and more about the journey I have taken - it all began in 1967 at Goldsmiths’ College with the initial excitement of entering the profession as the Plowden Report was about to be published and a sense of being part of a new enlightened world, with the values of child-centredness breathing fresh life into the sector. The reality which has emerged over the years has been very different from what many of us anticipated with a tightly centralist system with high stakes assessment procedures and a multi-level framework for accountability. And yet I still have to ask the question – what are the elements which have  changed for the better? In what respects is this a more enriching and supportive...

Having just watched the Oracy NAPE Youtube video reminded me of a pilot scheme I worked on whilst teaching In Queens Park Academy. It was a trial project on teaching debating skills in primary schools and was organised by “The English Speaking Union”. They have a wealth of good ideas for games etc to give children confidence in public  speaking. I worked with a group of year 4 children for a year and then we attended a “Debating Competition” with other local primary schools including schools from the independent sector. Most of the children in my group were second language children and the scheme really boosted their confidence . It is so important for children to learn to voice their opinions in a rational and confident manner. I hope lots of schools will include “oracy “ in their curriculum. The children I taught thor...

  INVESTING IN THE EARLY YEARS The effects of the covid pandemic and events in Ukraine mean that care and education in the early years have never been more important.  As this starts within each family, the welfare of parents in these demanding times is also crucial.  With so many families facing stress and hardship because of rising costs of food and fuel, many children are suffering to a degree that we have not seen in this country since the second world war. Cuts in funding to the public sector has led to the weakening of much of the support for children predicated in the Children Act which became law in 1989.  These cuts have resulted in the loss of almost all Sure Start Centres, where parents could access multi-professional advice and help, while their children played and learned with support from well-qualified staff. Research in the UK shows the ben...