Fundamental issue with that show was they had an idea of 'what if the oceans threw our rubbish back?' and then had to retrofit. And who amongst us cannot say that in such a situation we also wouldn't end up with "the guy from Silent Witness doing a South African accent suicide bombs some fish"?!
I remember from way back that the requirement to have meat/fish option made it impossible for some religious groups to operate in a compliant manner. School had to choose to operate in line with faith (vegetarian) OR in line with law (meat). Is a change in this in the proposals?
Oh! I completely got the wrong end of the stick!
That makes total sense and am with you. Thanks for responding so clearly and constructively.
For simpletons like me, sounds like differentiation (or ‘Mr Steedman’s chilli challenge’ of Mild, Medium and Spicy maths questions). Granted me SEND specific practice was rudimentary. I’m not clear what your solution is: is it a specialist provision model? Or whole class with minimal adaptations?
This was a similar thought to what I had (thought it was a really good blog, very thought provoking and am trying to be really clear on what these terms mean). Surely ‘effective teaching for the whole class’ involves at least some level of ‘adapting to individuals’. Doesn’t sound like a fudge to me?
Also thought the greater diversity in news sources was really interesting. BBC dominates, but more responses for Facebook/Insta/Friends+Family/Al Jazeera among Muslim respondents. Wonder if this is related to relative ages of populations - any thoughts on this element?
The thing that jumped out to me was the large Neither+Don't Know when asked about Russia and China (esp China, where c.50% of both groups were in the Neither+Don'tknow group). The +2 Net Favourable is also within the 3% margin for error, so think the only conclusion is 'it's complicated'.
At AoC’sParliamentary reception by @aoc-info.bsky.social Great to hear from @helenhayes.bsky.social about ‘Recognising the work of students and colleges in transforming lives up and down the country’ and ‘supporting excellence wherever it is.’ Couldn’t agree more!
An invigilator and three students sitting digital exams in an exam hall.
📢 Digital exams are more secure, better for the environment and good for students with special needs - but we need to go bigger to build evidence about what works.
Read our response to the Ofqual consultation.
www.aqa.org.uk/news/safer-g...
It was our first Student Advisory Group meeting of 2026 yesterday, and we welcomed new members, a new Student Chair, a new Trustee Chair, and a new Executive Sponsor. On the agenda were digital exams, Citizenship, and the new National Youth Strategy with special guests UK Youth and Girlguiding.
New research from Michigan State shows a) school climate has a pretty strong relationship with pupil absenteeism b) this seems to have got stronger since pandemic c) student sense of 'connectedness' may be particularly important aspect of school climate
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
Coverage in @theobserveruk.bsky.social of @aqaeducation.bsky.social's plans to move to digital exams for GCSEs and A-level. They have the potential to be fairer to students, assess a wider range of skills and knowledge, and are greener for the environment. #education #digital #exams
Thanks for the invite! Looking forward to talking more soon.
Panel discussion at the Social Market foundation event titled “Fixing SEND:What is possible?” Chair Rebecca Montacute, SMF Panel: Dani Payne SMF, Charlotte O’Reagan Sutton Trust, Cllr Anya Sizer Hackney Council, and Daniel Francis MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford.
Super event at the SMF, exploring the huge topic of ‘fixing SEND’
Thought provoking discussion and strong focus on realistic possibilities.
@smfthinktank.bsky.social
@beckymontacute.bsky.social
@danfrancis02.bsky.social
@charleyo.bsky.social
@anyasizer.bsky.social
@danihpayne.bsky.social
That's a fair assessment. It is pretty techy policy wonk stuff (which, as a techy policy wonk, I live and breathe for!).
But it is also the bread and butter, day-to-day, BAU governance of a struggling system. (OK, perhaps techy policy wonk again)
But a first step of 'gripping the nettle', perhaps?
With all the oxygen taken up by *gestures vaguely at everything else going on*, it was a helluva day to bury good news. A shame it hasn’t cut through.
While I fully agree that performance management (at all levels) is a problem in the Civil Service (and in other industries!), I don’t think the Darren Jones solution (Ministerial KPIs for SCS) is going to work. What makes a Minister an inherently good manager? Should Ministers’ even be ‘managers’?
But what do you think think? Do you agree with my concerns? Am I being overly pessimistic? 10/10
Available to watch here also: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/modern...
#civilservicereform #civilservice
It's an interesting piece, but the journalists' questions of "What makes THIS speech about Civil Service Reform different from the last umpteen?" really get to the heart of the matter.
9/10
I know Jones is talking about a reimagined British State with departments working differently. But I don’t believe they will do away with The Great Offices Of State (politicians want to be Home Sec/Lord Chancellor etc). So there will always be a Home Office and MoJ in some form. 8/10
Similarly, if one SCS in the Home Office has a KPI set by the Home Secretary, and another SCS in the Ministry of Justice has a different (perhaps mutually exclusive) KPI set by the Lord Chancellor, will two SCS get the sack for what is a misalignment between departments? 7/10
If their job is on the line for a Ministerial bugbear, will they provide robust challenge which is the hallmark of good policy and interventions? If a SCS is on the hook for - oh I dunno, let's make something up - let's say “annexing Greenland.” Is that fair? 6/10
For a speech that focused on ‘delivery’, it also worries me how this would work (or “be delivered”). It is all well and good having a target set by a realistic Minister, grounded in reality. But it isn’t hard to imagine a different set of ministers in charge, with wilder ideas. 5/10
But the proposed cures for these issues worry me. What is billed as a “a fundamental rewiring” seems rather shocking. The suggestion that SCS should be given Key Performance Indicators from Ministers concerns me. This seems to ride roughshod over the impartiality of the Civil Service. 4/10
And Darren Jones’ story of only 7 out of 7000 Senior Civil Servants (SCS) being on a development plan for poor performance was striking. Poor performance needs to be tackled rather than ignored, at all levels. Support and should be the first tool, before more structured interventions. 3/10
I agree with the diagnosis of cross-departmental working being painful, when it should be an opportunity for genuine collaboration on important things. There are problems that need to be addressed, I don’t think anyone would argue "the civil service is perfect, thank you very much!" 2/10
As an ex-civil servant, I like to keep an eye on what's happening around 'civil service reform'. @darrenpjones.bsky.social's speech ‘Move Fast Fix Things’ @instituteforgovernment.org.uk piqued my interest.
I agree with the diagnosis but worry about the cure. Thread 1/10
www.gov.uk/government/s...
An equally big takeaway is surely the EO pay being stagnant for a decade (it looks like EO pay is c.£24k - the same as when I entered DfE as an EO 10 years ago). How can you attract talented junior civil servants (who become tomorrow's mid- senior-CS) when they will be struggling to make ends meet?
Whether 'focusing better' is the desired outcome is a conversation to be had.
Take your point on that to an extent. but amphetamines do help people with ADHD 'focus better'. Although they help EVERYONE focus better, because that's what amphetamines do (speaking of tautologies!) They were handed out to soldiers in WW2 for exactly this purpose...