Rob Hardcastle

Here with my good friend Eddie McGeown watching BRADFORD VS Peterborough

I understand that if you have any red on IDSR then you are very unlikely to get anything better than Needs Attention in whichever inspection strand it relates to. Bit depressing really as we hear a lot about understanding context but this feels like window dressing. Back to the Wilshaw days I guess.

Really great piece from Dr Kate Chhatwal, CEO of Challenge Partners, about what DfE Minsters should be considering now as they lay the foundations of Trust inspections.
schoolsweek.co.uk/our-trust-pe...

As we return to a pre-WW2 order, the middle powers face a challenge With economic stagnation and extremes of inequality comes corrosion of trust in democratic institutions. So Trump may be a symptom, not a cause, of what Carney called a

This, this and this again!
BBC News - As we return to a pre-WW2 order, the middle powers face a challenge - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I really didn't think I'd see a time when China is being seen as a more bearable partner than the USA. Middle tier countries unite. India also has a hugely important role to play moving forward as an at least functioning democracy.

Given the awful shooting in Minneapolis last night and their international political stance,Mark Carney was right to say middle tier countries like Canada and UK must urgently work together.Otherwise we are driven into the hands of China.Worringly, the latter seems to be the direction we are taking.

Having watched this shocking video, I wonder what the UK Government's view @teamlabouruk.bsky.social is of these actions? Can we just stand by with a no comment and nothing to do with us attitude? This is what dictatorships do to people, not the USA!

Wow. What a speech and in today's world we need so many more like Canadian PM Mark Carney.

A private memo from central banks to governments You come at the king (of finance), you best not miss

This has many sensible points, however it does wreak a bit of central bankers pseudo threatening elected politicians.
Democracy is more important.

A private memo from central banks to governments
www.economist.com/leaders/2026...
From The Economist

I reckon I can look back at the usual list of CEOs that are always part of the consultation groups and name some who will be asked again to contribute.

Ofsted MAT inspections could begin in 2027 Inspections at multi-academy trusts are to be introduced via new legislation

I bet they don't ask a single CEO of a primary MAT that has 5 or fewer schools to be part of the group helping to work on the inspection framework design.
schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-mat-i...

It is important because I always want them to feel that they can draw on me and other Trust team members for the support they need with any issue, big or small. As an ex-LA HT I know how isolating the role can be without it. With this in place the HT role really can be the best one you'll ever have.

Such a great piece Sam. Thank you for it. This is a must read for all SLT. It really is based in cold hard day to day reality and the HT role is often as joyous as it is exhausting. As CEO of a small MAT, I pride myself on the deep and positive relationship I have built with each HT in our settings.

Grandparents with money to spare while children struggle to pay their bills is a failure of resource allocation, argues columnist Jonathan Guthrie.

Read the story on FTEdit 👉 on.ft.com/490F2dX

Then take today's FTEdit poll 🗳️ on.ft.com/4oLBQHM

Without downloading any new pics, describe your vibe for today using an image from your gallery:

US and UK agree zero tariffs deal on pharmaceuticals The deal follows threats of tariffs as high as 100% on branded drug imports.

Of all of the hulabaloo in the media today about resignations and who said or meant what, this is by far and away the most important story today.
BBC News - US and UK agree zero tariffs deal on pharmaceuticals - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Why is Government borrowing from the BoE, 'not debt in any real sense'? Isn't this exactly the mindset from 1920s Germany with hyper-inflation the result of this economic experiment? Genuinely interested in your views on this as I decide when my democratic vote goes?

Truss showed that if markets don't think your good for your debt then the bond markets wobble and enormous pension funds find themselves in tricky positions to ensure their investments create necessary returns leaving ordinary working folk in danger of not getting their public or private pension?

Let's be clear you said that borrowing more to fund capital investment is ok and seemed comfortable with a much higher debt to GDP ratio like Japan. Can you go into more detail about the actually numbers behind the spending multiplier you speak about so these numbers can be properly scrutinised?

Thanks Zack. Your politics is certainly proving popular right now. How about you set out a little.more details on how you will unlock money in assets very rich people hold. You said this was the 'real problem' in your BBC interview on Saturday? Will this be a Reeves Mansion Tax ++ or something else?

Does it matter? It's a talking house which secures little or no action from the big players. More carbon added to the atmosphere over the years from all the delegates and staff flying to different parts of the world for the event than it probably saved through the resolutions.

It's true we will all have to pay more but the MPs in the Labour Party agreeing to measures that incorporate all right now looks unlikely so I suspect those suffering the 60% tax trap and those with houses in Band F, G and H are in for a rough ride this week.

Farage's 'gold plated' pension reform plan faces firefighters strike threat Reform set to say it would axe defined benefit schemes used in public sector

I wonder if the ill fated revised
pension scheme United Learning proposed might be revisited again if this is where we end up?
inews.co.uk/news/politic...

IT WAS THE BEST RESULTS EVER. NEVER BETTER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER. 😂

Drink plenty of water each day! Simple as.

Trump does not rule out seeking third term - but says he will not use VP loophole Trump rules out running for vice-president, an idea floated by supporters to circumvent the US constitution which bars him from running again.

This is a worry if the constitution in the US is changed to again allow a person to be more than a two term President. However, if this happens might Obama run against him?

BBC News - Trump does not rule out seeking third term - but says he will not use VP loophole
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Is this term 'transformational' defined?

a couple of men are standing next to each other in a room . ALT: a couple of men are standing next to each other in a room .

Classic.

Phillipson to reveal phonics check national 'ambition' The government will set a new “ambition” for 90 per cent of pupils to reach the expected standard in phonics, Bridget Phillipson will reveal tomorrow. The education secretary will also officially unve...

They will have had to work incredibly hard to secure this. Perhaps more so than a school that gets to the soon to be required 90% pass but serves the most affluent families. Line in the sand metrics can be too blunt! Let's be more nuanced with accountability please!
schoolsweek.co.uk/national-amb...

Nobody will deny getting pupils to be able to decode, encode and confidently manipulate phonemes is vital to early reading skills and sets them up well for later curriculum success, but please let's not demonise the school who achieves 80% and educates children from overwhelmingly low income area.