Just to add, I assume 'black' was Crosby's idea? Now I'm not suggesting anything to do with race, more that black is a serious colour, fitting with Cam's tough new image. I suspect Steve Hilton would have urged him to call it his orange book in the spirit of the true moderniser.
Just to add, I assume 'black' was Crosby's idea? Now I'm not suggesting anything to do with race, more that black is a serious colour, fitting with Cam's tough new image. I suspect Steve Hilton would have urged him to call it his orange book in the spirit of the true moderniser.
Isnt "little black book" just the turn of phrase that most people would use?
Im sure there is no more to it than that.
*** Oh I think I have misunderstood a joke, sorry ***
ILEA was a joke. But it was not replaced with anything better. London's schools improved dramatically from 1997 onwards in both Labour and Tory boroughs, which does rather suggest that something could have been done previous to 1997 if there had been any political will.
A friend of mine who went to school in Lambeth at the time thought that ILEA was actually not as bad as the people who ran Lambeth's education department, after ILEA was abolished.
From memory Lambeth was an absolute cesspit of the worst kind of lefty bollox. Those days still send a shudder down my spine. They were utterly horrific.
At least the schools were located in a nuclear free zone.
How do you know there weren't any nucular waste trains passing through Clapham Junction back then?
Clapham Junction is in Wandsworth, Sunil. Shame on you for not knowing that!
People keep on telling me to avoid Clapham Common, something to do with it being frequented by Labour Cabinet Ministers.
::Innocent Face::
Out badger spotting (until Owen Paterson shot them all)
If Owen isnt careful his may be the second Cabinet career the badgers do for in recent times.
Don't misunderestimate Owen, have you forgotten his brilliant work in Northern Ireland uniting the Tories and Ulster Unionists to electoral success in 2010?
He eats meat as well.
Cameron should take responsibility for the Northern Ireland debacle.
India's gay community is in shock after the country's top court reversed a landmark 2009 Delhi High Court ruling which had decriminalised homosexual acts.
The court has now left it to parliament to legislate on Section 377, a 153-year-old colonial law, under which a same-sex relationship is an "unnatural offence" and punishable by a 10-year jail term.
Opposition to the 2009 ruling had come from more than a dozen political, social and religious groups and petitioners.
They put up an array of arguments, many of them bizarre and, some might say, disingenuous.
One petitioner was a TV astrologer who told the court the ruling "compromises national defence since soldiers will start having sex with each other". Another opponent of change was a former MP - he argued that it was "against Indian culture".
Neil/Sunil - Given the number of times India and Pakistan have gone to war, surely Indian soldiers having sex with each other is one way of preventing war and saving lives?
A teenager accused of exposing his manhood in a burger bar was cleared after the alleged victim admitted she could not be sure if she had actually seen her mop handle.
A teenager accused of exposing his manhood in a burger bar was cleared after the alleged victim admitted she could not be sure if she had actually seen her mop handle.
Neil/Sunil - Given the number of times India and Pakistan have gone to war, surely Indian soldiers having sex with each other is one way of preventing war and saving lives?
Given that the term 'little black book' apparently originally referred to an address book of hookers one can only wait with baited breath to see what will be in Cameron's 2015 manifesto.
The Nats MUST be encouraged by that incredible surge in support following the White Paper: the Yes vote is up 1 point in YouGov since September: a stunning and epochal movement of a third of a point towards Yes every month.
All they have to do is slightly shift the date of the referendum back to maybe 2047AD, when the world is ruled by cruel robot-wizards from Neptune, and they will have overtaken No.
How 'liberal' and 'radical' is David Cameron intending to go?
I'm guessing too liberal and too radical for your liking.
Well that all depends on ones definition of 'radical'. Socially, I'm not that radical, economically I'm quite radical and in terms of Government and politics I'm very radical. So radical I'd do away with many of the political and bureaucratic trappings of today.
As for 'liberal' Is there a more abused and misrepresented (and therefore meaningless) word in politics?
How 'liberal' and 'radical' is David Cameron intending to go?
I'm guessing too liberal and too radical for your liking.
Well that all depends on ones definition of 'radical'. Socially, I'm not that radical, economically I'm quite radical and in terms of Government and politics I'm very radical. So radical I'd do away with many of the political and bureaucratic trappings of today.
As for 'liberal' Is there a more abused and misrepresented (and therefore meaningless) word in politics?
"Liberal" means you can't do anything without first getting permission from the state and "Democrat" means going along with the EU against the wishes of the majority.
"National curriculum tests for 14-year-olds in England's school should be reintroduced, says the chief inspector of schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw.
Sir Michael said it had been a mistake to drop the tests (known as Sats) at the end of Key Stage 3 in 2008.
He also said Sats taken at age seven should be externally moderated - at present teachers conduct assessments.
Giving his annual report, said he was "strongly urging" ministers to re-introduce external tests for both ages.
He said it was vital that youngsters' progress in English and maths was regularly checked....
"In getting rid of the tests, we conceded too much ground to vested interests. Our education system should be run for the benefit of children, and no-one else.
"With the proposed abandonment of national curriculum levels, it is vital that children's progress and outcomes are benchmarked at regular intervals in their school career.
"If we are serious about raising standards and catching up with the best in the world, we need to know how pupils are doing at seven, 11, 14 and 16."
The Ofsted chief said the watchdog had evidence that some in-school assessment at the end of Key Stage 1 (age seven) was unreliable.
He said sometimes schools were depressing results at this age so that progress by the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11) looked better."..
Sir Michael said the decision to abolish national curriculum tests for children in England at the end of Key Stage 3 (Year 9) had been a mistake.
The tests were dropped in October 2008 by the then Labour Education Secretary, Ed Balls, following a debacle over the marking these external assessments."
A teenager accused of exposing his manhood in a burger bar was cleared after the alleged victim admitted she could not be sure if she had actually seen her mop handle.
"I have a little black book with two players in it, and if I get a chance to do them I will. I will make them suffer before I pack this game in. If I can kick them four years over the touch line, I will."
Fixed Odds Betting Terminals aka the Crack Cocaine of Gambling... subsidising bookmakers who wont lay a bet on Racing or Football, whilst encouraging the young, bored, & unemployed to do their dough
ILEA was a joke. But it was not replaced with anything better. London's schools improved dramatically from 1997 onwards in both Labour and Tory boroughs, which does rather suggest that something could have been done previous to 1997 if there had been any political will.
A friend of mine who went to school in Lambeth at the time thought that ILEA was actually not as bad as the people who ran Lambeth's education department, after ILEA was abolished.
From memory Lambeth was an absolute cesspit of the worst kind of lefty bollox. Those days still send a shudder down my spine. They were utterly horrific.
At least the schools were located in a nuclear free zone.
How do you know there weren't any nucular waste trains passing through Clapham Junction back then?
Clapham Junction is in Wandsworth, Sunil. Shame on you for not knowing that!
People keep on telling me to avoid Clapham Common, something to do with it being frequented by Labour Cabinet Ministers.
::Innocent Face::
Out badger spotting (until Owen Paterson shot them all)
"He thought too much about his organ. So now we're stuck with Rhodri Morgan."
"I have a little black book with two players in it, and if I get a chance to do them I will. I will make them suffer before I pack this game in. If I can kick them four years over the touch line, I will."
"National curriculum tests for 14-year-olds in England's school should be reintroduced, says the chief inspector of schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw.
Sir Michael said it had been a mistake to drop the tests (known as Sats) at the end of Key Stage 3 in 2008.
He also said Sats taken at age seven should be externally moderated - at present teachers conduct assessments.
Giving his annual report, said he was "strongly urging" ministers to re-introduce external tests for both ages.
He said it was vital that youngsters' progress in English and maths was regularly checked....
"In getting rid of the tests, we conceded too much ground to vested interests. Our education system should be run for the benefit of children, and no-one else.
"With the proposed abandonment of national curriculum levels, it is vital that children's progress and outcomes are benchmarked at regular intervals in their school career.
"If we are serious about raising standards and catching up with the best in the world, we need to know how pupils are doing at seven, 11, 14 and 16."
The Ofsted chief said the watchdog had evidence that some in-school assessment at the end of Key Stage 1 (age seven) was unreliable.
He said sometimes schools were depressing results at this age so that progress by the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11) looked better."..
Sir Michael said the decision to abolish national curriculum tests for children in England at the end of Key Stage 3 (Year 9) had been a mistake.
The tests were dropped in October 2008 by the then Labour Education Secretary, Ed Balls, following a debacle over the marking these external assessments."
On topic. "In this context the more Cameron highlights the things that the LDs have stopped his party doing the more that it makes the case for such anti-CON tactical voting.'
But surely the stronger effect would be to encourage 2010 LD voters to return from Labour. Hence a bit of a win-win for Cameron.
Question on BBC1s Pointless (100 people were asked the question, which correct answer got the fewest points?)
Post War Leaders of the Opposition...
5 were pointless...
Did temporary leaders count? Cause Harriet Harman, Margaret Beckett etc. would have been a good lot of them if so.
If permanent then surely Hugh Gaitskill was one of them, Douglas-HOme maybe? John Smith even? Winston Churchill?
Maybe famous PMs (who were also LoO) were overlooked. Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, Attlee and Major are not famous for their stints as Leader of the Opposition.
Question on BBC1s Pointless (100 people were asked the question, which correct answer got the fewest points?)
Post War Leaders of the Opposition...
5 were pointless...
Did temporary leaders count? Cause Harriet Harman, Margaret Beckett etc. would have been a good lot of them if so.
If permanent then surely Hugh Gaitskill was one of them, Douglas-HOme maybe? John Smith even? Winston Churchill?
Maybe famous PMs (who were also LoO) were overlooked. Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, Attlee and Major are not famous for their stints as Leader of the Opposition.
Pointless answers were Alec Douglas-Home ( I got that one!), George Brown, Herbert Morrison, James Callaghan & Hugh Gaitskill.
The Contestants said Callaghan, Blair (30), Cameron 27, IDS 11, John Smith 12, Michael Howard 3, William Hague 19, Kinnock 21.
Yes campaigners would have you believe that the future for Scotland inside the United Kingdom is bleaker than a November day in Fraserburgh. A cold future awaits us, perhaps even a mini ice age. Just contemplating the notion should be enough to give you the shivers.
the SNP think Scotland is some poor, abused, much put upon creature. A victim, in other words. There is, thus, a streak of self-pity running through the Yes campaign and self-pity is rarely ennobling or dignified. Poor wee Scotland needs independence, you see, to protect itself against the southern nasties.
But most people don’t think like that. They don’t believe Scots should be scared of a future within the United Kingdom for the obvious reason that they’re not scared by living in the United Kingdom right now. Trying to persuade them otherwise asks them to doubt their own experience.
ILEA was a joke. But it was not replaced with anything better. London's schools improved dramatically from 1997 onwards in both Labour and Tory boroughs, which does rather suggest that something could have been done previous to 1997 if there had been any political will.
A friend of mine who went to school in Lambeth at the time thought that ILEA was actually not as bad as the people who ran Lambeth's education department, after ILEA was abolished.
From memory Lambeth was an absolute cesspit of the worst kind of lefty bollox. Those days still send a shudder down my spine. They were utterly horrific.
Remarkably, the Conservatives actually gained the Lambeth Norwood division, in the 1981 GLC elections, at a time when they lost to Labour, thanks to the behaviour of Lambeth council.
Everywhere that Militant and their fellow travellers went was left much worse off than it had been. Their creed was utterly destructive. I spent most of the 80s wanting to do physical harm to each and every one of them. Hate is a very negative emotion, but I never hated anyone like I hated the scumbags that almost brought Labour to its knees. The day that Kinnock delivered his Militant speech at the Labour conference and the fight back started was among the best of my life up to then. At last something was happening and there was hope. He may have morphed into something I do not like very much these days, but for that speech and what he did following it Kinnock has my eternal gratitude.
Hear, hear SO. Kinnock deserves great credit for that speech and what he did. Labour in the 80's were a disgrace and ruined the life chances of so many people, in London and elsewhere, who looked to them.
Question on BBC1s Pointless (100 people were asked the question, which correct answer got the fewest points?)
Post War Leaders of the Opposition...
5 were pointless...
Did temporary leaders count? Cause Harriet Harman, Margaret Beckett etc. would have been a good lot of them if so.
If permanent then surely Hugh Gaitskill was one of them, Douglas-HOme maybe? John Smith even? Winston Churchill?
Maybe famous PMs (who were also LoO) were overlooked. Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, Attlee and Major are not famous for their stints as Leader of the Opposition.
Or even not so famous PMs. Heath and Wilson were both LotO's too.
"National curriculum tests for 14-year-olds in England's school should be reintroduced, says the chief inspector of schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw.
Sir Michael said it had been a mistake to drop the tests (known as Sats) at the end of Key Stage 3 in 2008.
He also said Sats taken at age seven should be externally moderated - at present teachers conduct assessments.
Giving his annual report, said he was "strongly urging" ministers to re-introduce external tests for both ages.
He said it was vital that youngsters' progress in English and maths was regularly checked....
"In getting rid of the tests, we conceded too much ground to vested interests. Our education system should be run for the benefit of children, and no-one else.
"With the proposed abandonment of national curriculum levels, it is vital that children's progress and outcomes are benchmarked at regular intervals in their school career.
"If we are serious about raising standards and catching up with the best in the world, we need to know how pupils are doing at seven, 11, 14 and 16."
The Ofsted chief said the watchdog had evidence that some in-school assessment at the end of Key Stage 1 (age seven) was unreliable.
He said sometimes schools were depressing results at this age so that progress by the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11) looked better."..
Sir Michael said the decision to abolish national curriculum tests for children in England at the end of Key Stage 3 (Year 9) had been a mistake.
The tests were dropped in October 2008 by the then Labour Education Secretary, Ed Balls, following a debacle over the marking these external assessments."
Common sense? Well, note that he only thinks it matters because of "the proposed abandonment of national curriculum levels". Why externally assessed (and who will pay for this new bureaucracy) and not administered and marked by computer? It was external assessment that went wrong last time.
Note too that he says, "we need to know how pupils are doing at seven, 11, 14 and 16," yet children are already tested at seven, 11 and 16, so it is only the 14-year-olds Wilshaw is talking about.
And who is being assessed? If it is the schools, as this bit implies, "He said sometimes schools were depressing results at this age so that progress by the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11) looked better", then why not test just a small sample? Why test everyone? The PISA tests, which were all the rage last week, do not assess every child in every country.
If this is for the benefit of the children, what happens next? If Fred and Sameena are found to be lagging in maths at key stage 3, will they qualify for free, enhanced tuition? And why did they not already have this better teaching? I suppose it might guide their choice of GCSE courses but surely both they and their teachers will already know who is better at French, and who leans to biology? What's the point?
This sounds less like common sense than a saloon bar bore banging on about the good old days. Screw common sense: where's the evidence?
The Nats MUST be encouraged by that incredible surge in support following the White Paper: the Yes vote is up 1 point in YouGov since September: a stunning and epochal movement of a third of a point towards Yes every month.
All they have to do is slightly shift the date of the referendum back to maybe 2047AD, when the world is ruled by cruel robot-wizards from Neptune, and they will have overtaken No.
What a bunch of pies they are , did not like the Scottish result so put up a pathetic script. I wonder if they are any better at financial guidance. One to give a miss I think, "expert" is only in their tiny minds.
Come on, AndyJS, it's one of the funniest news stories you've read in a while. I'm sure Mandela isnt too upset about it.
You get the impression that Mandela had a really great sense of humour, and made others laugh in his presence. In that sense i would imagine he would find the whole thing hilarious.
The Nats MUST be encouraged by that incredible surge in support following the White Paper: the Yes vote is up 1 point in YouGov since September: a stunning and epochal movement of a third of a point towards Yes every month.
All they have to do is slightly shift the date of the referendum back to maybe 2047AD, when the world is ruled by cruel robot-wizards from Neptune, and they will have overtaken No.
What a bunch of pies they are , did not like the Scottish result so put up a pathetic script. I wonder if they are any better at financial guidance. One to give a miss I think, "expert" is only in their tiny minds.
Sometimes you're funnier than any of the spoofs we've had on pbc!
Yes campaigners would have you believe that the future for Scotland inside the United Kingdom is bleaker than a November day in Fraserburgh. A cold future awaits us, perhaps even a mini ice age. Just contemplating the notion should be enough to give you the shivers.
the SNP think Scotland is some poor, abused, much put upon creature. A victim, in other words. There is, thus, a streak of self-pity running through the Yes campaign and self-pity is rarely ennobling or dignified. Poor wee Scotland needs independence, you see, to protect itself against the southern nasties.
But most people don’t think like that. They don’t believe Scots should be scared of a future within the United Kingdom for the obvious reason that they’re not scared by living in the United Kingdom right now. Trying to persuade them otherwise asks them to doubt their own experience.
The Nats MUST be encouraged by that incredible surge in support following the White Paper: the Yes vote is up 1 point in YouGov since September: a stunning and epochal movement of a third of a point towards Yes every month.
All they have to do is slightly shift the date of the referendum back to maybe 2047AD, when the world is ruled by cruel robot-wizards from Neptune, and they will have overtaken No.
I love this disclaimer under the Scottish polling:
Note: We have detected unusual voting patterns on the 'I live in Scotland' vote – inc a disproportionate number of Scottish voters (even taking into account the topic). Its likely there’ve been email/social media campaigns to drum up voters. So the result may be far from representative.
Question on BBC1s Pointless (100 people were asked the question, which correct answer got the fewest points?)
Post War Leaders of the Opposition...
5 were pointless...
Did temporary leaders count? Cause Harriet Harman, Margaret Beckett etc. would have been a good lot of them if so.
If permanent then surely Hugh Gaitskill was one of them, Douglas-HOme maybe? John Smith even? Winston Churchill?
Maybe famous PMs (who were also LoO) were overlooked. Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, Attlee and Major are not famous for their stints as Leader of the Opposition.
Pointless answers were Alec Douglas-Home ( I got that one!), George Brown, Herbert Morrison, James Callaghan & Hugh Gaitskill.
The Contestants said Callaghan, Blair (30), Cameron 27, IDS 11, John Smith 12, Michael Howard 3, William Hague 19, Kinnock 21.
On testing... certainly I'd be in favour of a reliable (there's the rub) test between KS2 and 3, externally marked and moderated. But that will cost a lot of dosh, and the quality/consistency of external marking is another issue.
Back on topic, I would be astonished if the LibDem manifesto looked anything like the Tories. Yes the yellows will campaign in the positives they want to take from the coalition. But their policy platform has to be different, and going off the outrage amongst their grass routes on Clegg signing onto Austerity (and Carton not!) the party wouldn't let him. Especially with an eye on a Lab-LS coalition option.
Anyway, I struggle with why anyone who isn't a party member would vote LibDem in the general election. If you support the government vote Tory. You want to throw it out vote Labour. Want to vote them all out vote UKIP. The LibDems are a duplicate of several of those options defending on the seat in question.
Back on topic, I would be astonished if the LibDem manifesto looked anything like the Tories. Yes the yellows will campaign in the positives they want to take from the coalition. But their policy platform has to be different, and going off the outrage amongst their grass routes on Clegg signing onto Austerity (and Carton not!) the party wouldn't let him. Especially with an eye on a Lab-LS coalition option.
Anyway, I struggle with why anyone who isn't a party member would vote LibDem in the general election. If you support the government vote Tory. You want to throw it out vote Labour. Want to vote them all out vote UKIP. The LibDems are a duplicate of several of those options defending on the seat in question.
Perhaps they think dividing the political spectrum like that is a bit too simplistic?
Come on, AndyJS, it's one of the funniest news stories you've read in a while. I'm sure Mandela isnt too upset about it.
It's quite funny in itself, but the problem is it's an indication of how the ANC does everything else these days. Jobs are doled out according to connections rather than merit, and no-one bothers to check up on it, even for the most important of occasions.
It shows that, regrettably, South Africa is heading in the same direction as Zimbabwe.
@Carola - The overall picture on Free Schools is quite amazingly positive. I'm astonished at how many are already up and running (I won my bet with tim on that with a big margin to spare), the early OFSTED inspection results are good (albeit on a small sample), and the take-up of places, in the first couple of years from a standing start, is astonishingly high given the short time they have had to establish themselves.
The moaning by Laura McInerney and others only serves to illustrate this. She is reduced to finding fault with things which are completely irrelevant (such as the number of places in so-called 'greatest need', which of course is not what these are about), piddling (a write-off of £700K on 15 aborted projects - how much does she think government departments usually spend on feasibility studies?), or show the opposite to what she's criticising (such as the finding that 40% of the schools had 1 in 5 vacancies in their second year - I'd have expected many more for something so new).
So yet another example of "heir to Blair" Cameron acting like a tribute act.
Except Cameron was taking the Selfie, a Kinnock was.
Following both Blair and a Kinnock now. What's the betting he's spoking a Wilsonion pipe by Christmas?
Cameron wasn't holding the camera, Barry and the Dane were (so not technically a selfie) If anything he was 'photo-bombing. - A first for a PM ; )
It's only photo-bombing if they didn't know/want him in the picture.
To which the obvious quip is ‘perhaps they didn’t – cheers for the explanation. : )
I do my best to help. Selfies are of course photos taken of yourself, either alone or with others (you can be in someone else's selfie, of course, or have a group selfie although proper protocol lays down primary author credit goes to the person taking the photo, with second position taken by the phone owner if that's a seperate person, then other group members).
Photo bombing is someone (or something) popping up away from the focus of the picture (mainly in the background), intention implied but not necessary.
Fair sized sections of the internet are devoted to cataloguing such instances.
@Carola - The overall picture on Free Schools is quite amazingly positive. I'm astonished at how many are already up and running (I won my bet with tim on that with a big margin to spare), the early OFSTED inspection results are good (albeit on a small sample), and the take-up of places, in the first couple of years from a standing start, is astonishingly high given the short time they have had to establish themselves.
The moaning by Laura McInerney and others only serves to illustrate this. She is reduced to finding fault with things which are completely irrelevant (such as the number of places in so-called 'greatest need', which of course is not what these are about), piddling (a write-off of £700K on 15 aborted projects - how much does she think government departments usually spend on feasibility studies?), or show the opposite to what she's criticising (such as the finding that 40% of the schools had 1 in 5 vacancies in their second year - I'd have expected many more for something so new).
McInerney is pro free schools. It's process and accountability she has issues with.
@Carola - The overall picture on Free Schools is quite amazingly positive. I'm astonished at how many are already up and running (I won my bet with tim on that with a big margin to spare), the early OFSTED inspection results are good (albeit on a small sample), and the take-up of places, in the first couple of years from a standing start, is astonishingly high given the short time they have had to establish themselves.
The moaning by Laura McInerney and others only serves to illustrate this. She is reduced to finding fault with things which are completely irrelevant (such as the number of places in so-called 'greatest need', which of course is not what these are about), piddling (a write-off of £700K on 15 aborted projects - how much does she think government departments usually spend on feasibility studies?), or show the opposite to what she's criticising (such as the finding that 40% of the schools had 1 in 5 vacancies in their second year - I'd have expected many more for something so new).
McInerney is pro free schools. It's process and accountability she has issues with.
This is religion for Richard don't introduce facts
A profitable one too, by the looks of things.
'I won my bet with tim on that with a big margin to spare'
This is religion for Richard don't introduce facts
The facts are 174 free schools open, 82,000 places, 86% of places taken, a higher proportion of schools ranked Good or better by Ofsted than Academies or Maintained schools (admittedly on a very small sample so far), and £50 contributed by tim to the good cause of the Nabavi wine cellar. That's a pretty good scorecard however you look at it.
This is religion for Richard don't introduce facts
The facts are 174 free schools open, 82,000 places, 86% of place taken, a higher proportion of schools ranked Good or better by Ofsted than Academies or Maintained schools (admittedly on a very small sample so far), and £50 contributed by tim to the good cause of the Nabavi wine cellar. That's a pretty good scorecard however you look at it.
The biggest issue at the moment in ed imo is the difference between what Wilshaw says (much of which I agree with, though he's too *careful* about apportioning blame to managers) and what Ofsted do. Ofsted is a dog's breakfast, though there are signs that things are changing... that's if the inspectors take any notice of stuff like this:
And the focus on the Ofsted mess has largely been pushed by teacher bloggers who are fed up to the back teeth with getting the blame for crap/weak management.
This is religion for Richard don't introduce facts
The facts are 174 free schools open, 82,000 places, 86% of place taken, a higher proportion of schools ranked Good or better by Ofsted than Academies or Maintained schools (admittedly on a very small sample so far), and £50 contributed by tim to the good cause of the Nabavi wine cellar. That's a pretty good scorecard however you look at it.
The biggest issue at the moment in ed imo is the difference between what Wilshaw says (much of which I agree with, though he's too *careful* about apportioning blame to managers) and what Ofsted do. Ofsted is a dog's breakfast, though there are signs that things are changing... that's if the inspectors take any notice of stuff like this:
And the focus on the Ofsted mess has largely been pushed by teacher bloggers who are fed up to the back teeth with getting the blame for crap/weak management.
This is religion for Richard don't introduce facts
The facts are 174 free schools open, 82,000 places, 86% of place taken, a higher proportion of schools ranked Good or better by Ofsted than Academies or Maintained schools (admittedly on a very small sample so far), and £50 contributed by tim to the good cause of the Nabavi wine cellar. That's a pretty good scorecard however you look at it.
The biggest issue at the moment in ed imo is the difference between what Wilshaw says (much of which I agree with, though he's too *careful* about apportioning blame to managers) and what Ofsted do. Ofsted is a dog's breakfast, though there are signs that things are changing... that's if the inspectors take any notice of stuff like this:
And the focus on the Ofsted mess has largely been pushed by teacher bloggers who are fed up to the back teeth with getting the blame for crap/weak management.
@Carola - I agree on Ofsted, and indeed the whole testing/inspection process which has become demoralising for teachers, over-bureaucratic, and too focused on process. It's also true that Free Schools are a very small part of the overall picture (although they draw a disportionate amount of criticism - maybe that's part of Gove's plan, so he can get on with promoting Academies which in numeric terms are hugely more important).
I hope that Michael Wilshaw will be able to make Ofsted a more effective instrument. It's not easy to design a good regulatory/oversight structure, but he seems to have a good appreciation of the issues.
This is religion for Richard don't introduce facts
The facts are 174 free schools open, 82,000 places, 86% of places taken, a higher proportion of schools ranked Good or better by Ofsted than Academies or Maintained schools (admittedly on a very small sample so far), and £50 contributed by tim to the good cause of the Nabavi wine cellar. That's a pretty good scorecard however you look at it.
And the percentage of the nations children in Goves obsession compared to the millions of children rescued from the wreckage of the Tories legacy in London?
You're blaming them for the carnage wreaked by ILEA and the GLC now?
@Carola - I agree on Ofsted, and indeed the whole testing/inspection process which has become demoralising for teachers, over-bureaucratic, and too focused on process. It's also true that Free Schools are a very small part of the overall picture (although they draw a disportionate amount of criticism - maybe that's part of Gove's plan, so he can get on with promoting Academies which in numeric terms are hugely more important).
I hope that Michael Wilshaw will be able to make Ofsted a more effective instrument. It's not easy to design a good regulatory/oversight structure, but he seems to have a good appreciation of the issues.
I don't think he does have a good appreciation of the issues, though he seems to be waking up to them now. Ofsted is the blobbiest bit of the 'Blob' there is.
Ofsted inspector training does seem to be shifting focus, but movement has been slow - unnecessarily slow. I think Wilshaw is genuine re his desire to improve education, but I don't think he's appreciated the fact that there are many teachers out there (the vast majority, in my experience) who are desperate for change.
I think Gove's drive is different, and I don't think he cares about teachers, good or bad.
Why does the Home Page only work if you put www1 before PB.Com?
Personally I type www.p and the predictive firefox does the rest. Only works because I have limited interests and don't regularly visit www.perfectchancellor.com and other Richard N favourites :-)
The Tories wrecked govt in London deliberately and left it's schools the worst in the country. Labour left with its schools having improved beyond all comparison, and left a capital to be proud of.
Well, that answers the question of whether you ever lived there.
This is religion for Richard don't introduce facts
The facts are 174 free schools open, 82,000 places, 86% of places taken, a higher proportion of schools ranked Good or better by Ofsted than Academies or Maintained schools (admittedly on a very small sample so far), and £50 contributed by tim to the good cause of the Nabavi wine cellar. That's a pretty good scorecard however you look at it.
And the percentage of the nations children in Goves obsession compared to the millions of children rescued from the wreckage of the Tories legacy in London?
You're blaming them for the carnage wreaked by ILEA and the GLC now?
Meanwhile, over in Wales...
When were they abolished?
You remind me of that tragic stalker EdP, are you a reincarnation?
I love the way responding to the most prolific poster here marks one out as 'a stalker'.
Rest assured, I wouldn't waste my time following you elsewhere. Have you ever thought about your own website?
The Tories wrecked govt in London deliberately and left it's schools the worst in the country.
LOL!
Were you living, as I was, in London when Red Ken was at the GLC? The idea that the GLC (and the bizarre duplication with the resonsibilities of local councils) was some kind of model of good governance is one your funniest suggestions ever.
I the past you've criticised the wrecking of Londons govt by the 1979-1997 tories, and I realise the BBC or someone else will be to blame for the state of Londons schools in the 90's but the population carried on electing Labour councils, something changed and schools improved out of all proportion.
That really is strange because I lived in London and went to school there and I don't recognise this rosy picture you are trying to paint.
I must be imagining the shortages of books and even paper then?
Why does the Home Page only work if you put www1 before PB.Com?
Personally I type www.p and the predictive firefox does the rest. Only works because I have limited interests and don't regularly visit www.perfectchancellor.com and other Richard N favourites :-)
I've just been doing politicalbetting.com and the home page hasn't been updated since December 3rd, so I tried www1 the other day and it worked.
Doesn't really matter of course, but it must be costing Mike traffic/revenue because a lot of people don't think of using www. these days.
Comments
Im sure there is no more to it than that.
*** Oh I think I have misunderstood a joke, sorry ***
Cameron should take responsibility for the Northern Ireland debacle.
The court has now left it to parliament to legislate on Section 377, a 153-year-old colonial law, under which a same-sex relationship is an "unnatural offence" and punishable by a 10-year jail term.
Opposition to the 2009 ruling had come from more than a dozen political, social and religious groups and petitioners.
They put up an array of arguments, many of them bizarre and, some might say, disingenuous.
One petitioner was a TV astrologer who told the court the ruling "compromises national defence since soldiers will start having sex with each other". Another opponent of change was a former MP - he argued that it was "against Indian culture".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25328885
A teenager accused of exposing his manhood in a burger bar was cleared after the alleged victim admitted she could not be sure if she had actually seen her mop handle.
http://www.courtnewsuk.co.uk/?news_id=35292
I know they come in all shapes and sizes - but this gal really needs to get out more.
http://delilahmarvelle.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/very-first-little-black-book-in-history.html
How 'liberal' and 'radical' is David Cameron intending to go?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/poll/02-12-2013/should-scotland-be-an-independant-country?utm_source=MSE_Newsletter&utm_medium=pollresults&utm_term=10-Dec-13-lt&utm_campaign=poll&utm_content=10
56% Yes
44% No
As for 'liberal' Is there a more abused and misrepresented (and therefore meaningless) word in politics?
"National curriculum tests for 14-year-olds in England's school should be reintroduced, says the chief inspector of schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw.
Sir Michael said it had been a mistake to drop the tests (known as Sats) at the end of Key Stage 3 in 2008.
He also said Sats taken at age seven should be externally moderated - at present teachers conduct assessments.
Giving his annual report, said he was "strongly urging" ministers to re-introduce external tests for both ages.
He said it was vital that youngsters' progress in English and maths was regularly checked....
"In getting rid of the tests, we conceded too much ground to vested interests. Our education system should be run for the benefit of children, and no-one else.
"With the proposed abandonment of national curriculum levels, it is vital that children's progress and outcomes are benchmarked at regular intervals in their school career.
"If we are serious about raising standards and catching up with the best in the world, we need to know how pupils are doing at seven, 11, 14 and 16."
The Ofsted chief said the watchdog had evidence that some in-school assessment at the end of Key Stage 1 (age seven) was unreliable.
He said sometimes schools were depressing results at this age so that progress by the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11) looked better."..
Sir Michael said the decision to abolish national curriculum tests for children in England at the end of Key Stage 3 (Year 9) had been a mistake.
The tests were dropped in October 2008 by the then Labour Education Secretary, Ed Balls, following a debacle over the marking these external assessments."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25336254
Guy: Do you know the difference between a chicken sandwich and a penis?
Lady: No
Guy: Excellent, Do you fancy going on a picnic with me?
I shall say no more as this is a family site and it isn't the lagershed, yet.
"I have a little black book with two players in it, and if I get a chance to do them I will. I will make them suffer before I pack this game in. If I can kick them four years over the touch line, I will."
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/18/seven-sins-football-wrath-part-two
http://www.newham.gov.uk/Pages/News/Tough-new-conditions-imposed-on-William-Hill-betting-shop-by-Newham-council.aspx
So now we're stuck with Rhodri Morgan."
Post War Leaders of the Opposition...
5 were pointless...
If permanent then surely Hugh Gaitskill was one of them, Douglas-HOme maybe? John Smith even? Winston Churchill?
But surely the stronger effect would be to encourage 2010 LD voters to return from Labour. Hence a bit of a win-win for Cameron.
The Contestants said Callaghan, Blair (30), Cameron 27, IDS 11, John Smith 12, Michael Howard 3, William Hague 19, Kinnock 21.
Top Answers were Cameron, Blair & Ed (33)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/nelson-mandela/10511569/Translated-what-the-Mandela-signer-was-really-saying.html
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/dec/11/mandela-memorial-sign-language-interpreter-making-it-up-fake
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25330672
Respect to the guy for getting up there, is he related to Ali G?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-386136/Revealed-The-identity-BBCs-latest-star.html
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/may/13/broadcasting.bbc
Looks to me like he already has
I assume this comment on the Guardian website is being sarcastic:
"Frances56 11 December 2013 4:12pm
He did his best and that's what matters."
I hope that there aren't people out there who want retribution.
Note too that he says, "we need to know how pupils are doing at seven, 11, 14 and 16," yet children are already tested at seven, 11 and 16, so it is only the 14-year-olds Wilshaw is talking about.
And who is being assessed? If it is the schools, as this bit implies, "He said sometimes schools were depressing results at this age so that progress by the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11) looked better", then why not test just a small sample? Why test everyone? The PISA tests, which were all the rage last week, do not assess every child in every country.
If this is for the benefit of the children, what happens next? If Fred and Sameena are found to be lagging in maths at key stage 3, will they qualify for free, enhanced tuition? And why did they not already have this better teaching? I suppose it might guide their choice of GCSE courses but surely both they and their teachers will already know who is better at French, and who leans to biology? What's the point?
This sounds less like common sense than a saloon bar bore banging on about the good old days. Screw common sense: where's the evidence?
Still flailing about with the diddy unionist propaganda Scott. Cringe cringe
http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-12-11/fake-interpreter-seen-signing-for-jacob-zuma-in-2012/
It's True.
LD - 37.6%
UKIP - 35.5%
CON - 18.0%
LAB - 8.4%
GRN - 0.4%
OTH - 0.2%"
twitter.com/BWalker_1995/status/410801969474056193
http://teachingbattleground.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/how-to-be-bad-smt/
On testing... certainly I'd be in favour of a reliable (there's the rub) test between KS2 and 3, externally marked and moderated. But that will cost a lot of dosh, and the quality/consistency of external marking is another issue.
Two views on the latest on free schools:
http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/media-centre/blogs/category/item/national-audit-office
http://lauramcinerney.com/2013/12/10/the-12-most-critical-findings-of-the-nao-free-school-report/
I suppose all the children in the Blair photo 'took a selfie' just by being in the frame whilst he pressed the shutter button?
Anyway, I struggle with why anyone who isn't a party member would vote LibDem in the general election. If you support the government vote Tory. You want to throw it out vote Labour. Want to vote them all out vote UKIP. The LibDems are a duplicate of several of those options defending on the seat in question.
http://www.steveprentice.net/tube/TfLSillyMaps/southlondontube.jpg
It shows that, regrettably, South Africa is heading in the same direction as Zimbabwe.
The moaning by Laura McInerney and others only serves to illustrate this. She is reduced to finding fault with things which are completely irrelevant (such as the number of places in so-called 'greatest need', which of course is not what these are about), piddling (a write-off of £700K on 15 aborted projects - how much does she think government departments usually spend on feasibility studies?), or show the opposite to what she's criticising (such as the finding that 40% of the schools had 1 in 5 vacancies in their second year - I'd have expected many more for something so new).
13%, 12%, 14%, 12%, 10%, 9%, 9%, 12%.
Average: 11.4%
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election#2012
YouGov — Labour leads, 1st to 11th December 2013:
6%, 8%, 6%, 12%, 5%, 5%, 5%
Average: 6.7%
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election#2013
Photo bombing is someone (or something) popping up away from the focus of the picture (mainly in the background), intention implied but not necessary.
Fair sized sections of the internet are devoted to cataloguing such instances.
South Suffolk MP Tim Yeo says he will fight to be reselected as the Conservative candidate for 2015. More on @BBCSuffolk after 5":
twitter.com/alisonacton/status/410814984516407296
'I won my bet with tim on that with a big margin to spare'
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/dec/11/ofsted-annual-report-michael-wilshaw
And the focus on the Ofsted mess has largely been pushed by teacher bloggers who are fed up to the back teeth with getting the blame for crap/weak management.
http://teachingbattleground.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/what-ofsted-actually-want/
I hope that Michael Wilshaw will be able to make Ofsted a more effective instrument. It's not easy to design a good regulatory/oversight structure, but he seems to have a good appreciation of the issues.
Meanwhile, over in Wales...
Ofsted inspector training does seem to be shifting focus, but movement has been slow - unnecessarily slow. I think Wilshaw is genuine re his desire to improve education, but I don't think he's appreciated the fact that there are many teachers out there (the vast majority, in my experience) who are desperate for change.
I think Gove's drive is different, and I don't think he cares about teachers, good or bad.
Plus when they had a strike he had to sneak in via a back entrance to avoid getting a thumping.
Obviously not.
Rest assured, I wouldn't waste my time following you elsewhere. Have you ever thought about your own website?
I must be imagining the shortages of books and even paper then?
Clueless or shameless, which is it?
Doesn't really matter of course, but it must be costing Mike traffic/revenue because a lot of people don't think of using www. these days.