Adam Steedman Thake

Thanks for the invite! Looking forward to talking more soon.

Panel discussion at the Social Market foundation event titled “Fixing SEND:What is possible?” Chair Rebecca Montacute, SMF Panel: Dani Payne SMF, Charlotte O’Reagan Sutton Trust, Cllr Anya Sizer Hackney Council, and Daniel Francis MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford.

Super event at the SMF, exploring the huge topic of ‘fixing SEND’
Thought provoking discussion and strong focus on realistic possibilities.

@smfthinktank.bsky.social
@beckymontacute.bsky.social
@danfrancis02.bsky.social
@charleyo.bsky.social
@anyasizer.bsky.social
@danihpayne.bsky.social

That's a fair assessment. It is pretty techy policy wonk stuff (which, as a techy policy wonk, I live and breathe for!).
But it is also the bread and butter, day-to-day, BAU governance of a struggling system. (OK, perhaps techy policy wonk again)
But a first step of 'gripping the nettle', perhaps?

With all the oxygen taken up by *gestures vaguely at everything else going on*, it was a helluva day to bury good news. A shame it hasn’t cut through.

While I fully agree that performance management (at all levels) is a problem in the Civil Service (and in other industries!), I don’t think the Darren Jones solution (Ministerial KPIs for SCS) is going to work. What makes a Minister an inherently good manager? Should Ministers’ even be ‘managers’?

Move fast and fix things: Modernising Whitehall to deliver for Britain | Institute for Government Keynote speech from Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Darren Jones MP.

But what do you think think? Do you agree with my concerns? Am I being overly pessimistic? 10/10
Available to watch here also: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/modern...
#civilservicereform #civilservice

Move fast and fix things: Modernising Whitehall to deliver for Britain | Institute for Government Keynote speech from Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Darren Jones MP.

It's an interesting piece, but the journalists' questions of "What makes THIS speech about Civil Service Reform different from the last umpteen?" really get to the heart of the matter.
9/10

I know Jones is talking about a reimagined British State with departments working differently. But I don’t believe they will do away with The Great Offices Of State (politicians want to be Home Sec/Lord Chancellor etc). So there will always be a Home Office and MoJ in some form. 8/10

Similarly, if one SCS in the Home Office has a KPI set by the Home Secretary, and another SCS in the Ministry of Justice has a different (perhaps mutually exclusive) KPI set by the Lord Chancellor, will two SCS get the sack for what is a misalignment between departments? 7/10

If their job is on the line for a Ministerial bugbear, will they provide robust challenge which is the hallmark of good policy and interventions? If a SCS is on the hook for - oh I dunno, let's make something up - let's say “annexing Greenland.” Is that fair? 6/10

For a speech that focused on ‘delivery’, it also worries me how this would work (or “be delivered”). It is all well and good having a target set by a realistic Minister, grounded in reality. But it isn’t hard to imagine a different set of ministers in charge, with wilder ideas. 5/10

But the proposed cures for these issues worry me. What is billed as a “a fundamental rewiring” seems rather shocking. The suggestion that SCS should be given Key Performance Indicators from Ministers concerns me. This seems to ride roughshod over the impartiality of the Civil Service. 4/10

And Darren Jones’ story of only 7 out of 7000 Senior Civil Servants (SCS) being on a development plan for poor performance was striking. Poor performance needs to be tackled rather than ignored, at all levels. Support and should be the first tool, before more structured interventions. 3/10

I agree with the diagnosis of cross-departmental working being painful, when it should be an opportunity for genuine collaboration on important things. There are problems that need to be addressed, I don’t think anyone would argue "the civil service is perfect, thank you very much!" 2/10

Move fast. Fix things. Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones' speech on rewiring Whitehall and building the new digital state.

As an ex-civil servant, I like to keep an eye on what's happening around 'civil service reform'. @darrenpjones.bsky.social's speech ‘Move Fast Fix Things’ @instituteforgovernment.org.uk piqued my interest.
I agree with the diagnosis but worry about the cure. Thread 1/10
www.gov.uk/government/s...

An equally big takeaway is surely the EO pay being stagnant for a decade (it looks like EO pay is c.£24k - the same as when I entered DfE as an EO 10 years ago). How can you attract talented junior civil servants (who become tomorrow's mid- senior-CS) when they will be struggling to make ends meet?

Whether 'focusing better' is the desired outcome is a conversation to be had.

Take your point on that to an extent. but amphetamines do help people with ADHD 'focus better'. Although they help EVERYONE focus better, because that's what amphetamines do (speaking of tautologies!) They were handed out to soldiers in WW2 for exactly this purpose...

A wild Laura McInerney appeared!
Amazing, thank you so much! Will have a proper listen.

Again, don't mean to come across as facetious. I often find it tricky to navigate sensitive discussion through BlueSky and text in general!
Thanks again for your considered responses!

Equally, broken bones aren't treated at root cause (dodgy carpet at top of stairs, meaning I fell down the stairs and broke my leg), they treat the symptom (leg bone is broken, can't walk as leg is broken).

But you go to the doctor with a swollen, painful knee, and go for an X-ray or MRI scan, which rules out a break/ligament. And get diagnosed with 'arthritis', which is Medical Latin for 'swollen painful joint' - which is descriptive and tautological.
Is it the testing that removes the tautology?...

Could one not argue that many medical conditions are tautological? A broken leg is a "tibia that has been broken".
Appreciate that they need X-rays and tests, so different perhaps?...

On the dopamine receptors point, I can't say I'm an expert so a lot is taken on faith. Completely take your point
A clarificatory question on 'tautological diagnosis'...

Thank you very much for taking the time to provide such a deep, detailed answer. A lot to unpack! It is hugely appreciated.
I hadn't seen Prof BC (who I think is excellent) saying that - have you got a link?...

Not trying to be a dick! Just trying to get a better understanding of a complicated area.

The Co-Occurrence of Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children – What Do We Know? Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) often co-occur. The DSM-IV had specified that an ASD diagnosis is an exclusion criterion for ADHD, thereby limiting research of this common clinical ...

And you think this isn't the case? I understand some of the scepticism re diagnostic criteria, it is not as precise as some may like.
But prior to 2013, you could not be diagnosed with both Autism and ADHD which to me indicates better understanding of condition. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Interesting point, Ben. As someone exploring supporting students with SEND would love to know more. What do you think people think 'the number of children with SEND is increasing' means? And what do you think it actually means?
Could grab a coffee to chat? drop me a DM ☕

Today is #LiteracyDay and it got me thinking. We can often assume that young people today are naturally digitally literate, born into a naturally digital world. But how true is that?
Read my thoughts in my latest AQi blog, link in below.
What do you think? Are young people digital natives?

Super interesting findings - particularly like the symmetry of the 41% for/against religious observance. And the difference Mat/Pat leave.
Can I clarify: How was the list of activities created? Was it based on reasons MPs have given for missing votes?