Tag Archives: education system

In praise of ‘low value’ subjects.

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Eddie Playfair

The English education system is built on value judgements. Measures of provider quality, qualification currency and student achievement create a web of rankings which shape our view of the system, and the resulting hierarchies impact how everyone feels about where … Continue reading →

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A manifesto to end educational inequality?

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Eddie Playfair

The challenge We urgently need to address inequality and the human damage it causes, in education and across society. So, any programme with the aim of ‘eliminating educational inequality’ merits serious consideration. The eleven proposals in the Teach First ‘manifesto … Continue reading →

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10 things which could improve education

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

I’d like to offer the following tentative 10 point charter to improve education at all levels as an initial contribution to the debate about the future of education in England. 1. Build a comprehensive system rooted in equality: We should … Continue reading →

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Shaping an alternative education policy.

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

The Labour Party National Policy Forum Consultation 2017. Labour is currently consulting on its Early Years, Education and Skills policies and the consultation document merits the attention of anyone who is interested in developing alternatives to the current direction of … Continue reading →

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Is collaboration the solution or the problem?

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

‘Collaboration between schools is now seen as an important way to improve educational performance yet little is known definitively about what impact this has for improving pupil attainment’. An interesting point which may well be worth looking into and luckily … Continue reading →

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Educational inequality in France

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

With a far more cohesive national education system than ours, it is tempting to assume that France is more successful in challenging social inequalities through schooling. In fact, French educators share many of our concerns about the limits of their … Continue reading →

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Unlimited potential (part 2)

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Unlimited potential (part 2) Part 2 of my chapter from The ins and outs of selective secondary schools (Civitas, March 2015) 5. Selection at 16 and beyond There is a strong case for extending the comprehensive ideal beyond 16, even … Continue reading →

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The fruits of democracy

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Reclaiming Education (Nov 15th 2014) The theme of the excellent Reclaiming Education meeting in Birmingham on 15th November was ‘priorities for the next government’ and one of the key questions raised was: how do we ensure that our education system responds to … Continue reading →

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Market madness #4 A good system can help schools improve

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

A series of short posts about the marketisation of public education: #4 A good system can help schools improve. Whenever I am asked to explain English secondary education to foreign visitors I usually start by saying that there is no … 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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