Opinion

“If I were education secretary I would…”

The first thing I would do is drastically limit my own powers, and those of my successors, by irreversibly...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

“If I were education secretary I would…”

I would face the facts. Since the advent of high-stakes testing, many schools have become depressing places for students...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

“If I were education secretary I would…”

I would publish more data and set fewer targets. I would make it easier for research organisations to access...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

What education questions to ask political canvassers

Forget 24-hour news, the internet and Twitter: parliamentary candidates will still go canvassing before May 7. Be prepared and...

Expert Contributor
Expert Contributor
Opinion

Lib Dem Conference: Round-up of education policy offers

If this weekend’s Liberal Democrat spring conference taught us anything, it’s that education rises up the agenda when the...

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
Opinion

The myth busters

Education bursts with myths: such as teachers don’t need qualifications, local authorities control schools and academies raise standards. But...

Janet Downs
Janet Downs
Opinion

Here’s what politicians REALLY think about education

If you ask politicians, of all parties, to tell you what they really think would improve education – what...

Expert Contributor
Expert Contributor
In Short, Opinion

6 super-nerdy things you might have missed in the Policy Exchange free school report

Today’s Policy Exchange ‘research’ conveniently released a bunch of positive facts about free schools on the exact same day...

Laura McInerney
Laura McInerney
Opinion

Who is the right group to monitor schools?

Having increasingly ‘freed’ schools from local government, it seems they still need to be monitored. But who should do...

Amy Finch
Amy Finch