I am deeply disappointed that the government looks to have caved into parent and teacher pressure, with SATs for seven-year-olds set to be scrapped. This is the latest example of successive governments losing their nerve on testing. First SATs for 14 year-olds were shelved, and now the government is planning to scrap those for seven-year-olds,…
The tale of two countries whose names both beginning with ‘S’ demonstrates perfectly how progressive education does not automatically equal success. One of these countries is within our very own United Kingdom while the other is on the other side of the world. Both have similar-sized populations of around 5 million but there is a…
The current ‘one-size fits all’ education system has failed generations of bright working-class children, so yesterday’s budget, although not going far enough, signals a change for the better. We need to make pathways for academically bright children from poorer working-class backgrounds to succeed, just like their forbears. (Read my thoughts here http://stephencurran.co.uk/raise-aspiration-end-social-injustice/) The allocation of…
Growing up in a working-class household in Kent I could never have envisaged that one day I’d be advising ministers on the education of our children. My mother was a cleaner who left school at 12 and my father was a railway guard. Neither were educated but both encouraged me to do the very best…
The government has recently announced a raft of measures to improve our country’s industry – with education playing a key role in this. I have long argued that what we need is as varied an education system as possible so our children’s individual talents are best harnessed. As well as raising the academic standards for…