Tag Archives: Equality

Finding Labour’s Education Mojo

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Less than a year before the general election, has the Labour Party developed winning education policies? Tristram Hunt’s latest speech ‘The Choice in Education’ was a bit like a pre-tour band rehearsal. A range of material was tried out, some … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Education, Education policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Post-16 citizenship in tough times

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

The times we live in demand more than ever that we assume responsibility for ensuring that all young people are educated for global citizenship, in other words for survival. What might this look like post-16? The context The current context … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, NewVIc, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Voting and the habit of democracy

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Do young people see the point of voting? Is democracy important in their lives? Should ‘something be done’ about low election turnouts among 18-25’s? Today, we are voting in elections for the European parliament and in many areas we are … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unashamedly egalitarian

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

If you had the choice before birth of the type of society to be born into but didn’t know your status in advance, what type of society would you choose? No doubt most of us would choose a more egalitarian … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

One nation education

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

“One nation under a groove … is what we’re funkin’ for” sang George Clinton’s Funkadelic in the late 1970’s. After I bought the single I had the tune in my head for weeks. It was funky and catchy and the lyrics … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

10 proposals to improve education

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Following my previous post: 10 principles to shape education, I would like to suggest 10 measures to start putting those principles into practice: 1. Aim for a comprehensive system: state funded schools, colleges and universities should have a single status … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Our common values, our common education

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Eddie Playfair

We humans are natural learners. We are born with an insatiable urge to question, understand and master our environment and to communicate with others. Thanks to memory, language, thought and eventually culture and technology we have been able to extend … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment