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12 April 2026

Tag: politics

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 coalition gloves are off. This partnership between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives is finished in all but name. They have to continue to govern, but no more legislation will pass once the dark cloud of […]

Ofsted should only ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ schools

Ofsted has become too pervasive. It is time now for it to become a regulator, rather than a school improver Ofsted has recognised the need for reform. It has said that good schools will face frequent but shorter visits in the future, and it will give more weight to subjects such as music. But in […]

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 do they say? Education is something that affects all of us. We all go through school, 49% of young people go to university, and later on in life as parents we want to ensure that the […]

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 that David Cameron announced 49 new ones and committed to opening 500 more. Well, fancy that. There have been endless back and forths about the correctness of the report. People seem to see what they want […]

David Cameron has NOT built the most new schools in history

In a press release today, the Department for Education claims: “This move brings the total number of free school places created since 2010 to almost a quarter of a million, making this policy the most successful new schools programme in national history with schools being created more quickly than ever before.” Except…. There are now […]

You’d be forgiven for thinking workload was a marginal issue

The Department for Education last week published the results of its Workload Challenge. It may have been launched with much fanfare, but the department’s reaction is little more than a damp squib According to education secretary Nicky Morgan, the aim of the Workload Challenge was to provide teachers with an opportunity to tell her about […]

Should the civil service be costing the opposition’s education policies?

What does a Labour voter from Morecambe, a Lib Dem voter from Truro and a Green voter from Brighton have in common? Yesterday they made a huge political contribution to the Conservatives. A line-up of Conservative Ministers yesterday published an extensive report, pulled together by officials from the Treasury, which attempted to cost Labour’s commitments […]

So many reforms but do they mean anything?

It’s the last week of term and all through the school everyone’s . . . absolutely exhausted. The year has been brutal. Not that it was a surprise. When Michael Gove finally was shown the door in July, some argued it was because he was too big for his boots and had become mean to […]

The year the government remembered its duty of care

The end of Michael Gove’s reign as education secretary was the major educational event of the year. Most teachers and school leaders welcomed the departure of this most ideological of politicians. His successor, Nicky Morgan, moved quickly to repair relations with teachers and launched the workload challenge. Just in time before an election, the government […]