Academisation was one of the worst things to happen to education in England
How much has it cost? For what benefit?

Why is anyone even listening to what this deluded man has to say about education anymore?

Absolutely true as anyone who has worked in schools with challenging intakes would know.

Six out of 10 UK secondary schools hit by cyber-attack or breach in past year Hackers are more likely to target educational institutions than private businesses, government survey shows

And Starmer says he wants AI to take over school record keeping so teachers spend longer in the classroom. Laughable, really. It’s becoming obvious that there are some records that shouldn’t be kept on the www and information about children is a no-brainer in this respect.

I’m joining Hugh Grant & @hackedoff.bsky.social in calling for fair, independent regulation to protect ordinary people from abuse and restore trust in the press. It's time to finally hold them to account. Please join us signing the petition to change the law🙏
you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/a-...

Agree …makes comparisons difficult. Ours is a large urban practice. Staff are great when you see them but….

If the government wants economic growth it must bring essential industries into public ownership Successive governments clobber households and small businesses by hiking interest rates to manage inflation, but don’t inconvenience corporations.

Since privatisation England's water companies paid £88.4bn in dividends.

90% of water companies owned by foreign investors/govts.

90% of dividend not recirculated in the UK economy. No UK tax paid on dividends.

Public ownership would make a difference.

a white maze with a black background and a solution ALT: a white maze with a black background and a solution

One of the problems with the NHS is finding your way through the labyrinthine systems. They may well be efficient. And once you are there in a hospital or GP surgery they do seem to be but for those of us outside trying to find someone to answer our questions it's just....

Thank you for highlighting. So much ££ wasted on various procurement contracts! My NHS sister is horrified by some of them. Saw similar practices in local council 🤦🏼‍♀️

How can a child in care cost £281,000 a year? Ask the wealth funds that have councils over a barrel | George Monbiot Children crying out for stability are paying the highest price for Britain’s chaotic and exploitative residential care, says the Guardian columnist George Monbiot

And here’s a social care one.

Education MATters: exploring England’s state school industry Conservatives claim the academisation of schools as one of their greatest achievements. But do the figures stack up?

In education and social care (my professional area) rolling privatisation has resulted in money in the system being used to pay private companies/super-salaried non-teaching CEOs etc, so services supplied have steadily deteriorated. Here’s a worked example. Is this the same for GPs?

What the above convo highlights is the variation on what is offered. Getting through at 8.00 am is awful- our practice has no online system. They have limited no of same day. It’s not easy to get to either.

I can already book non-urgent GP appointments online, with slots on offer about 2 weeks away.

But it doesn't matter what system you use if there aren't enough GPs and appointments available. Switching from phone to online just means different demographics miss out.

I was talking to a ninety year old friend yesterday. It’s heartbreaking- she just wants to give up. I struggle with the NHS App & I am tech confident 😞 The only way to ask a question is through a third party platform & it doesn’t always work.

Nursery hackers threaten to publish more children's profiles The criminals say they will share 30 more profiles along with 100 employees' data if a ransom is not paid.

This is utterly appalling. Maybe the future of online record keeping should not be some kind of brave new AI world, but more focused analytical thinking about what types of data we can safely keep online, and what types we can’t. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Reviews like this are so helpful for helping readers find stories in a very crowded busy world. Thanks to all the readers taking time to share their thoughts.

Arrogance?

Definitely- think Dayana needs some customer service training 😬

Indeed - hard to recruit effective ones.

Indeed..the attitude to subjects is fascinating across diff professions.If I introduced myself as a Science teacher I was regarded differently than if I introduced myself as a teachers of Health & Social care/Business ( the latter being less +ve in teaching) Strange world.

Exactly- my nephew did his nursing degree via apprenticeship route. Took ages but was only way due to caring responsibilities. At least he has no debt. We need expert careers staff who can advise/support pupils on those routes. Plus attitudes need to change. Still too much snobbery in GB re Uni’s

Yes - it comes back to those job roles being valued by all. Good careers advice & a better attitude to practical careers.

Less flexibility in terms of assessment I understand & larger groups. Plus more difficult to obtain good /effective work experience.

Yes I read that report. High levels of deprivation & limited job opps are a major issue. You really see it when you visit.

Indeed Sue..maybe all the fonix tests & certain enforced schemes as lauded by certain ex ministers have put children off reading 🤷‍♀️

You know, maybe the DfE needs to ask itself the question about why, if the current extremely heavy emphasis on phonics is 'working', they still need to test reading in year 8? 🤷‍♀️

Morning ☺️

the post office is a public service. it doesn’t need to make money. public transit doesn’t need to make money. the library doesn’t need to make money. some things exist for the public good and we desperately need lawmakers to stop thinking about them in terms of capitalism. these are not businesses.

Yes - I lived nr Portsmouth & same issues have occurred there. Decline of Dockyard had an impact. There were also many factories that provided employment ladders for school leavers. All gone ! So tough trying to obtain good work experience for pupils now.

I used to teach BTEC in 6th form. We had smaller groups & high levels of verification as a lot of practical assessments & WEX. It was great qual for many & switched them on to learning. Those courses are less flexible now.