Education reform
Unqualified teachers haven’t ‘irreparably damaged’ the private sector: why do state schools deserve anything different?
The furore surrounding the news – which James broke on Coffee House this afternoon – that academies will now be able to employ teachers who are not qualified was so brilliantly… Continue reading
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Academies to be allowed to employ teachers without formal training
The pace of reform in education has been stepped up again today. The model funding agreement for all new academies has now been changed by the Department for Education to… Continue reading
25 Comments How long can the government ignore demands for free grammar schools?
The argument about grammar schools had been stuck in a rut. Opponents argued that the division between grammar schools and secondary modern was too binary. But with the advent of… Continue reading
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Three lessons for Mr Gove, by Andrew Adonis
The Spectator’s Schools Revolution conference is being held on Tuesday next week. One of the special guest speakers, Lord Adonis, here gives the present government three lessons gained from his… Continue reading
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Schools: the cash illusion
13 years of Labour rule taught us two vital lessons about school reform. The first is that there is no direct link between money and results. Funding per pupil more… Continue reading
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The ideological quandary over Gove’s curriculum reform
Primary school children studying subordinate clauses and foreign languages? What an outlandish but suddenly very real idea. Michael Gove announced earlier this week a curriculum reshuffle to restore rigour and… Continue reading
22 CommentsClegg goes mobile
Just as David Cameron is trying to move on from a tough few weeks by returning to themes that worked for him earlier in his leadership, Nick Clegg is also… Continue reading
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Gove takes on private school dominance and trade union opposition
The Education Secretary gave a very pugnacious speech this morning on the need to improve the country’s state schools. ‘It is remarkable,’ Michael Gove said at independent school Brighton College, ‘how… Continue reading
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Ash Green’s academy success story
I was a panellist on Radio Four’s Any Questions last night, in Bedworth outside Coventry. At the reception afterwards, I got talking to the pupils, teachers and even the local… Continue reading
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The coming schools crisis
Michael Gove’s school reform is being overwhelmed by the surging demand for school places, I argue in my Telegraph column today. When the Education Secretary first draw up his ‘free… Continue reading
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The importance of sacking bad teachers
The opposition of the National Union of Teachers to the government’s plans to make it easier to fire bad teachers is entirely predictable. The NUT has long placed the interests… Continue reading
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Detoxifying profit in education
Profit and education are still two words that should only be put together with caution. The coalition has long-accepted this is a toxic area, as typified by Nick Clegg in September… Continue reading
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How can employment and unemployment go up at the same time?
The employment level has risen since the election, according to today’s figures — albeit only slightly, from 29.0m to 29.1m. But unemployment’s up too: from 2.46m to 2.67m. So how… Continue reading
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Curb your enthusiasm, kids
Iain Martin has flagged upan article from the latest Times Educational Supplement, in which a Norfolk sixth-form teacher bemoans overenthusiastic pupils. Yes — you read that right. In the article, Jonny… Continue reading
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Public opinion is split on Gove’s reforms
It seems most of the public agrees with the need to improve our schools. A YouGov poll out this morning shows that 53 per cent think education standards have deteriorated… Continue reading
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Gove takes on bad teachers
Michael Gove’s giving a robust defence of his plans to make it quicker and easier for schools to sack bad teachers. ‘You wouldn’t tolerate an underperforming surgeon in an operating… Continue reading
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Transcript: Gove on sacking teachers
This morning, the Education Secretary went on the Today programme to explain his plans to make it easier to sack teachers. Here’s the full transcript: James Naughtie: From the start… Continue reading
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The anti-academies club
‘Anyone here from the Spectator?’ Last night a packed meeting at Downhills Primary in Haringey began with this ominous query from the chairman, Clive Boutle, who leads a local campaign… Continue reading
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Why the battle over Downhills Primary School matters
Downhills Primary School in Haringey is fast becoming a political battleground. Before Christmas, David Lammy, the local MP, a bunch of union leaders, left-wing opponents of education reform and Labour… Continue reading
37 CommentsGove: the Tories are the party of state schooling
Apologies for my recent, extended absence, CoffeeHousers — Vietnam and my immune system just didn’t get on. But I’m back now, and firmly embedded in Manchester, where Michael Gove has… Continue reading
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