January 1st 2015: A new year, a new name, a new editor. That's how last year began and it was terrifying. After just 13 weeks in journalism I was made editor of weekly newspaper Schools Week which had already become renowned for breaking smart, … Read More
Another Christmas Eve, another Education Secretary's annual reading list. But this year there's a problem: Nicky Morgan doesn’t seem to like books. She almost never mentions them. Her speeches seldom quote books. She rarely singles out ideas from authors. Admittedly, a few days … Read More
Jeremy Corbyn wants to renationalise the trains and make them into 'The People's Railways'. It's a natty name. Lucy Powell has said that she would like to bring schools back into local oversight, and some have leapt to the conclusion that this … Read More
Yesterday I got on the Central Line tube at Oxford Circus, one of the busiest parts of London, just minutes after a downpour started. The carriage was sticky and warm, and quiet. I sat on a mostly empty row of seats. … Read More
Before the election there was a lot of fuss about Conservative co-chair Grant Shapps. Did he deny having a second job? Did he change wikipedia entries about himself? And who the heck is Michael Green? Whatever was true or not - and … Read More
It was with great regret that I couldn't attend an Education Media Centre event last week at the University of Durham. I'd been looking forward to it for months, but with the news breaking about the PM's school asking for … Read More
In October, education secretary Nicky Morgan launched the 'Workload Challenge' - a consultation with teachers about their work burden and would could be done to reduce it. The Department for Education tweeted the hell out of it and made a thing … Read More
This year's #nurture1415 blog challenge involves listing 5 highlights of the year and 5 hopes for the next. Right, well... here goes. The Highlights 1. Being opposed in court by the Department for Education That sounds weird, I know. It didn't feel particularly good … Read More
1. Why "knowing stuff" does not make you the smartest person in the room http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM-gZintWDc 2. How being academically smart, even when your friends are not, is a really useful thing http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=nWoFPcdcA1E&t=6 3. Why you don't owe an education to yourself, but to everyone else http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8gfipuaIA68&t=8 Read More
I won at the internet last month. They emailed to tell me. 'They' being a company called metr.ic and the email said that from among 150,000 daily news articles, mine was one of the top 100 most commented on. It … Read More