Category Archives: Education policy

Post-16: education’s wild frontier

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Sixth form education in England has become the wild frontier for selection and marketisation with a plethora of new providers, whether 11-18 academies or 16-18 free schools trying to outdo each other in setting ever more exclusive entry requirements and competing … Continue reading →

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Labour’s vocational vision: two-nation thinking wrapped in one-nation talk?

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

The Labour party wants to position itself as the party of skills and vocational education. Party leader Ed Miliband and shadow minister Liam Byrne have both made recent major speeches on this issue. Clearly, any party standing on a ‘one … Continue reading →

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Meeting the widening participation challenge

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

My contribution to the Westminster Higher Education Forum seminar on 1st July 2014. Thank you very much for inviting me and I’m going to keep it short. I think my take home message is probably the same as Les Ebdon’s … Continue reading →

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If not now, when?

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

So, first we slashed the funding for education for 18 year olds Even if they were half way through a 2 year advanced course. When was education ever the wrong choice?   Then, if they haven’t yet achieved an advanced … Continue reading →

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Market madness #3 The well-informed educational consumer

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

A series of short posts about the marketisation of public education: #3 The well-informed educational consumer. An ideal market requires well informed consumers who are in a position to make choices between products based on accurate information about the things … Continue reading →

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A pale shadow of democracy

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

The government’s new local arrangements for overseeing schools are a pale shadow of what we need. A new regional architecture is being created to oversee England’s schools and we are beginning to see its outlines. Mostly, it’s made up of … Continue reading →

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Headteacher Board elections: excitement mounts

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Elections? This month? About education? With policies, candidates, proper voting and everything? Overseen by the electoral reform services? Cool! Yes, indeed, there are national elections taking place right now across England which will shape the education system in every part … Continue reading →

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Sixth forms working together against the tide

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Opening speech to the Sharing Good Practice conference at St.Angela’s school, Stratford, 4th June 2014. We are all here today because we are committed to providing the best possible educational opportunities to young people aged 16-18 and because we think … Continue reading →

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Market madness #2 “Choice and diversity”

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

A series of short posts about the marketisation of public education: #2 “Choice and diversity” “Choice and diversity” was the last government’s euphemism for marketisation in public services, putting a positive spin on something which is not particularly popular with … Continue reading →

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Blob and anti-blob

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

‘Lump and label’ name-calling is a poor substitute for real debate in education as elsewhere. The use of the term ‘blob’ is a classic example of ‘lump and label’ thinking or inappropriate use of agglomeration and reification. A wide and … Continue reading →

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Market madness #1 Oversubscribed?

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

A series of short posts about the marketisation of public education: #1 Oversubscribed? “6 applicants for every place”…”heavily oversubscribed”. These sorts of claims are often used to establish how popular, and by implication successful, schools and colleges are. They should … Continue reading →

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A tale of two boroughs

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I want to start by telling the story of 16-18 education in two London boroughs; a story which illustrates some of the things I think we should be concerned about. Borough A was an economically disadvantaged area where most secondary schools … Continue reading →

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The Blunkett review and education’s democratic deficit

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

The Blunkett review is to be welcomed and its implementation would clearly help recreate an education system where there is none. However, it does not fully address English education’s democratic deficit. “Standards not structures” never made much sense as a mantra. Politicians … Continue reading →

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Election 2015: Labour’s draft education manifesto

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Will education feature as a significant campaign issue in the 2015 general election? Will the major parties be offering us distinct visions of the future of education? It’s clear that any incoming government will inherit a divided and incoherent non-system. … Continue reading →

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Post-16 funding: making the wrong choices

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I agree with quite a lot of what Michael Gove says about the purpose of education and I like his championing of egalitarian aims. I welcome the fact that he has moved the Conservative party away from selection pre-16. I … Continue reading →

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