Right, this blog is for a new page I’m setting up on the site which will be concerned with the use of Fischer Family Trust data in schools. This is an area that I’ve been trying to get to grips with over the last year, amid tales from teachers and others which point to concerns about the workings of this data system, which makes estimates of pupils’ future exam performance based on their previous test scores and other information. Many of the underlying issues with the use of FFT data in schools seem to have links with wider concerns about the implications of England’sRead More →

A powerful article was published yesterday on the effects of Government targets on the quality of care in NHS hospitals. It was written under a pseudonym, which of course gives a clue as to the difficulty people often feel in speaking out about problems with the regime they work under. I include a link to it here because I, and I’m sure others, can see a pattern emerging in the coverage of what happened at this hospital and the Baby P incident, and a link with my observation of what has happened in schools over the past 20 years. It is, of course, that theRead More →

I struggle, sometimes, to believe what I’m reading from those who have been supposedly amongst the most well-informed and influential experts on education in England. These are the Government’s policy advisers, who have helped shape its attitude to what goes on in our schools, and whose opinions may have an impact on the educational experience of millions of pupils. Prime in my sights at the moment is Conor Ryan, the former adviser to David Blunkett during his time as education secretary, and then to Tony Blair in the years before he stood down as Prime Minister. Last month, Ryan wrote a piece in the Independent defending national tests, whichRead More →