Rise in school exclusions is the symptom of broken schools system Responding to today's publication of Edward Timpson's report into school exclusions, Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Layla Moran MP said: Exclusion, whether temporary or permanent, should always be a last resort. And it should never be done under the radar. But this report does nothing to address the reasons why headteachers consider excluding the pupils they find difficult. Off-rolling pupils is not the cause of our problems. It's the symptom. The result of the perverse incentive to secure a better Ofsted grade or climb up the league tables. This problem ...
And, perforce, the most used station in Rutland because it is the only station in Rutland. We travel to Oakham from Corby over the mighty Welland Viaduct and see more of it from the ground later on. If you fancy travelling over it yourself, then a good opportunity is coming up. Between 25 May and 2 June every train from St Pancras to Leicester and beyond will take that route. This is to allow for the completion of the realignment of the track at Market Harborough station. And if you ever find yourself with time to kill on Oakham station, ...
"There is something that interests me as a psychologist and that is why the ghost stories had such a lasting influence. Why is it that we just love to be frightened?"Professor Uta Frith is Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development at University College London's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. Here she delves into the origins of James's unsettling stories and what they reveal about our love of a good scare. If you are interested in developmental psychology, I recommend you follow Uta Frith on Twitter. And if you like M.R. James's ghost stories there is A Podcast to the Curious.
My thesis that the smoothness of The Independent Group's political careers up till now has given them an exaggerated sense of their own competence received further backing today. Alex Wickham broke the story on Twitter this afternoon, and the Spectator's Steerpike has it all in one place: Following the political party's decision to change its name from the Independent Group to Change UK, it decided to update its Twitter handle today: from @TheIndGroup to the rather strange @ForChange_Now. Unfortunately, it seems the breakaway MPs didn't realise that someone might take over their old account handle once it had been vacated. ...
Current The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal The TARDIS Handbook, by Steve Tribe Feersum Endjinn, by Iain M Banks Last books finished The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black A Sunless Sea by Anne Perry Dark Lord of Derkholm, by Diana Wynne Jones The Good Doctor, by Juno Dawson Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing, by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon Animate Europe Plus, by David Shaw, Marta Okrasko, Juliana Penkova, Bruno Cordoba and Paul Rietzl Next books The Ginger Man, by J. P. Donleavy Bland Ambition, by Steve Tally
An update on my post about over 1,000 people joining the party since the spectacular local election results. It's now over 2,000.
We join the millions of Muslims in the UK and across the world in welcoming the Holy Month of Ramadan - Vince Cable.
[IMG: Roadworks sign] From Kent Highways: As part of the ongoing maintenance works to maintain and improve the highway network in Kent, we will be shortly be carrying out localised patching repairs to the carriageway near your property. These works are required to repair potholes, areas of excessive /crazing and similar potential defects in order to maintain the integrity of the surface, to stop ingress into the road and to alleviate further deterioration of the carriageway surface. There will be delays in order to carry out these works safely. Information signs will be placed either side of the works area, ...
[IMG: Tim Prater and Gary Fuller] As part of their commitment to listening to and working with local residents, Tim Prater and Gary Fuller, the new Lib Dem District Councillors for Sandgate and West Folkestone, will be holding regular drop-in advice surgeries in the ward each month. No need for an appointment - just turn up to discuss any issue you would like our help with. The surgeries are in a public place: if you'd prefer to speak to Tim or Gary one-to-one then please contact them directly and we can set up a personal meeting with you. The surgeries ...
Over on the Lib Dem website, Vince Cable has wished Muslims a peaceful Ramadan: Across the country, British Muslim communities will be taking time aside to engage in acts of charity, prayer and self-reflection. The contributions of British Muslims to Britain are ever-growing; adding to the richness and diversity of our nation. However, we are witnessing a worldwide resurgence of exclusionary, right-wing nationalism that has led to acts of terror against the Muslim community. We demand better. The attack in Christchurch earlier this year was a reminder that we must do all we can challenge those who seek to erase ...
The above was the Journal's coverage on Saturday of the Gateshead local election results. It was very thoughtful of them to include a big photo of me and completely ignore all winning Labour councillors. This photo of me speaking at council a few years ago is a favourite of the Journal. It is trotted out most times I'm quoted. Alas, the suit I am wearing in the photo is now a great deal more
Mon, 12:56: RT @gerrylynch: So hope for a great sea-change On the far side of revenge. Believe that further shore Is reachable from here. Believe in mi... Mon, 16:05: RT @ConorGallaghe_r: Every few years the NYT has an article marveling that Irish people don't sleep on dirt floors and eat turf for dinner... Mon, 16:56: RT @DPhinnemore: Not sure Raab was really listening to Barnier: Raab 'We need to know how the backstop ends, it needs to be short, finite... Mon, 17:11: Centre parties have captured a significant number of seats from both nationalists and unionists at the local electi... ...
Setting the young against the old is a smoke screen to protect the mega richThe House of Lords Committee report on "Intergenerational Fairness and Provision" recommends a redistribution of benefits from older people to younger people. Surely it is not an inter-generational issue; but one of confronting the widening income inequality and increasing poverty in our society? At just 29% of national average earnings Britain has one of the lowest state pensions in the developed world, with much of Europe paying in excess of 90%, and there are 1.9m older people living in poverty many of whom were forced into ...
The results of the local elections in Gateshead last week were very encouraging and the feel was much like it was over a decade ago, before the Coalition. One ward result that stood out to me in particular was Lobley Hill and Bensham (LHB). In Gateshead our targeting strategy places each ward into one of various categories. LHB was in what we call the "developmental" level. In other word, this
As I write this post, eFocus no. 118 for the Whickham area is in the pipeline due to be sent to people's inboxes in a few minutes. The lead story is the local election results, especially the gain of Dunston Hill and Whickham East by the Lib Dems from Labour. Local news stories include the Whickham festival in July, Marley Hill bowling green, Dunston Hill School and Whinnies Community Garden.
[IMG: Roadworks sign] Kent Highways have notified that there will be significant resurfacing work in Radnor Cliff starting in 10 days. This will be from the junction with Radnor Cliff Crescent down towards the Lower Sandgate Road car park and will consist of several large sections. Kent Highways are planning on closing Radnor Cliff for resurfacing works on Monday 13th May 2019 for 5 working days. The timing of the works should be from 08:30 through to 16:30 approx so to keep peak time disruptions to a minimum. Unfortunately delays through Radnor Cliff will be experienced but when safe to ...
A lot of people whom I share much with politically are still calling for a compromise on Brexit; where we leave the EU, yet retain something of the old regime, mostly in the name of keeping the economy from crashing. I respect this in principle. We voted to Leave in 2016 and not carrying out Brexit will have political consequences; best to try and find a settlement that brings the country back together if possible. Except, I think it is now too late for such a thing. The time for this would have been 2016, or at the very latest ...
It was a weekend for rejoicing, for most of us. Even if on Friday you were in a nerve-jangling contest which eventually you, unlike luckier colleagues, just missed out on (as happened by just one vote to an unfortunate North Devonian), or even if you were stuck for seven hours as we were in West Cumbria waiting for the single result we had interest in (eventually wearily won) - even so, every hour that passed we all had the glad spectacle on our smart phones of that orange bar rising on the BBC News round-up, and that blue bar sinking ...
As speculation grows about talks between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn to secure a Brexit deal that can get through the UK Parliament, it is becoming increasingly clear that both leaders face significant opposition within their own parliamentary parties to such an attempt. The Independent reports on warnings that more than 100 Tory MPs could block a compromise agreement with Labour: Nigel Evans, executive secretary of the influential committee, said: "If there is a compromise that turns out to be a kind of 'Brexit in name only' involving anything close to a customs union, there would be more than 100 ...
So, the Lib Dems are back. Well, sort of. Their national share of the vote on Thursday across England is calculated to have been about 19 per cent, undoubtedly way ahead of any of their recent performances, but still not up with the Conservatives and Labour, as was common before coalition: enough, however, to net [...] The post A small step towards a platform to overhaul the system appeared first on Radix.
Cycling is now pretty much mainstream activity for commuting, leisure, fitness etc. and with us staring down the barrel of environmental disaster called climate change it is set to become an activity that the vast majority of us are going to have to engage with because it's carbon neutral. But unlike places like Holland our cycle networks are at best poor or absolutely bloody inadequate would probably be a better description. Of course I've highlighted such problems on this blog site previously and I've also commented on the tussle between vehicle drivers and cyclists too. On this latter subject just ...
At 23:59 tonight, it will be too late to register for the European elections. So if you know anyone who isn't registered, you might like to direct them here. And if they are an EU citizen, they will have to fill in this form and deliver it personally to their local electoral registration office by close of business today. This is such a crucial election and the future of our country depends on it. It is our chance to send a message to the Government that this deeply flawed Brexit process must be stopped. Don't miss your chance to have ...
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design and Architecture Degree show celebrates the success of graduating students from DJCAD and the Department of Architecture, within the School of Social Sciences. For 10 days from 17th May, the Matthew and Crawford buildings transform themselves into one of the country's biggest galleries showcasing the culmination of several years of creative development and hard work. Go to the Degree Show website. It will provide a snapshot of the work undertaken by the hugely talented students, but to fully appreciate the diversity, please visit the show and join in wishing the 2019 graduates ...
